Dr Chime Youdon is a Research Fellow and Head of the Resilience, Sustainability, and Ocean Resources (RSOR) Cluster at the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), India’s premier maritime policy think tank based in New Delhi. Her interdisciplinary expertise spans climate diplomacy, environmental equity, maritime strategy, and sustainable development, with a strategic emphasis on enhancing the resilience of coastal and maritime infrastructure across India and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Specialising in global climate governance, coastal urban sustainability, climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, and blue economy transitions, Dr Youdon adopts a systems-based approach to addressing the complex, interlinked risks posed by climate change. Her work delivers innovative, actionable frameworks for strengthening climate and ecological security across maritime domains.

As Head of the RSOR Cluster, Dr Youdon leads transformative, multi-disciplinary research and policy initiatives. She has spearheaded collaborative projects with globally respected institutions, including the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Keio University (Japan), Nature Seychelles, and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), focusing on climate risk assessment, systemic vulnerability mapping, and adaptive strategies for sustainable seaport infrastructure.

She has led and facilitated numerous high-level multi-stakeholder workshops, policy dialogues, and expert consultations on a wide range of critical themes, including climate security, ocean health, ecological resilience, holistic blue economy frameworks, and comprehensive coastal adaptation strategies.

She has led and facilitated numerous high-level multi-stakeholder workshops, policy dialogues, and expert consultations on a wide range of critical themes, including climate security, ocean health, ecological resilience, holistic blue economy frameworks, and comprehensive coastal adaptation strategies. She also serves as an expert consultant and trainer on blue economy policy, climate change governance, and the resilience of critical maritime infrastructure, delivering capacity-building programmes for institutions such as the International Centre for Environment Audit and Sustainable Development (iCED) and the School of Policy and Governance (SPG).

Dr Youdon is a 2024 QUAD Infrastructure Fellow, supported by the U.S. Department of State, where she focuses on secure and sustainable port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific.  She is also a member of the QUAD Working Group on Resilient Seaport Infrastructure and an alumna of the Comprehensive Security Cooperation Course at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS), Honolulu.  She is also recipient of  CDRI Fellowship (2021–2022) for her research on climate resilience of Indian ports and the Vice Admiral KK Nayyar Fellowship (2020–2023) for her work on Resilience and Sea-level impact on coastal urban agglomerations.

Dr Youdon earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Global Climate Change Policies from the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Her doctoral research critically examined the roles of the European Union and China in shaping international climate negotiations.

Dr Youdon’s research has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, policy papers, and strategic reports. Her recent works include the book Rising Seas and Coastal Impacts: Metropolitan Resilience in India and high-impact articles on systemic risk in seaport ecosystems, climate adaptation frameworks, and pathways toward an inclusive blue economy.

Through her scholarship and strategic engagement, Dr Chime Youdon continues to shape the discourse on sustainable maritime futures, advancing equitable, climate-resilient solutions in response to a rapidly transforming global seascape.

• Global Climate Change Politics
• Climate Change resilience
• Climate change adaptation of critical maritime infrastructure nature-based solutions
• Blue economy
• Blue justice.

• Associate Fellow, National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi (since March 2019)
• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) Fellow, working on the project “Incorporating Infrastructure Resilience in India’s Port-led Development Model”. (2020-21) https://fellowship.cdri.world/fellowship-batch-2021.php
• Vice Admiral KK Nayyar Fellow, Working on the project “Climate Resilience of Coastal Urban Agglomerations”, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi (2020-2022)
• Apprentice, The European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium (2017).
• Research Intern, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi (2016)

Ph.D. in European Studies, Thesis: ‘The European Union and China in the Climate Change Negotiations: From Copenhagen to Paris’, Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (2021)

M.Phil Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi;

M.A. Politics (with Specialisation in International Relations), School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and,

B.A. (Political Science with Honours), Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi.

• Co-presented an abstract of the Monograph “Rising Seas and Coastal Impacts: Metropolitan
  Resilience in India”, part of the Vice Admiral KK Nayyar Fellowship Conference 2023,
  Organised by the NMF at SCOPE Complex Auditorium, 22-23 Feb 2023.
• Coastal Marine Pollution, 4th ASEAN-India Workshop on Blue Economy, Jointly organised by
  Ministry of External Affairs, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, RIS, ASEAN-India Centre
  at RIS, NMF, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
• Mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions: Climate Change Adaptation and Disasters Risk
  Reduction, at Symposia on the theme “Addressing Climate-Change-Induced Threats to Critical
  Maritime Infrastructure: National and Regional Maritime Infrastructure, Organized by the NMF-
  KAS on 04 Oct 2022.
• “Incorporating Sustainable Infrastructure in India’s Port Led Development Model” at a
  roundtable discussion on India’s Maritime Diplomacy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), co-
  organised by ORCA and Society for Policy Studies, June 2022.
• Seminar on Preventing Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution, Project on Indo-Pacific Partnership
  on Marine Ecology under AIIPOIP, jointly organized by FICCI, Australian Government,
  Southern Cross University and Pacific Islands Development Forum, 27 May, 2022.
• Preventing Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution, Seminar organised by FICCI, Australian
  Government, Southern Cross University, Pacific Islands Development Forum, May 2022
• Policies and Challenges to India’s Blue Economy: Understanding the Roles of Mangrove
  Ecosystems” at Workshop on Blue Economy in the Bay of Bengal, Towards Regional
  Governance for Blue Economy with Contribution of the French Know-How, organised by The
  Bridge Tank, France with AFD, March 2022.
• “Policies and Challenges to India’s Blue Economy: Understanding the Role of Mangrove Ecosystems”, at the Resilient Coastal Ecosystems as a Crucial Prerequisite for Sustainable Economic Value Chains at the Workshop, co-hosted by The Bridge Tank with the mandate of the French Development Agency (AFD), 26 Nov 2021
• “China’s Position and Strategic Objectives in International Climate Change Negotiations”, for Tibet Climate Crisis talk series at Tibet Third Pole, Tibet International Network, 15 Nov 2021
• “Becoming a Leader: A Workshop by the National Maritime Foundation”. One of five team members that conducted a 60-min workshop at a virtual event organised by the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement, USA on the theme of “Youth-led Ocean Action and Advocacy”, 10 October 2020
• Presented a Paper Title: “Water Diversion Policy of China and its Hydropower Projects” at 3rd Himalayan Studies Conference, University of Colorado, September 2017
• A Gender-Specific Problems of Refugee Women: A Case Study of Tibetan Women” at Women’s World Congress, University of Hyderabad, Aug 2014
• Presented a paper entitled “Human Right in Tibet and the EU’s Approach” at 2nd International Congress on Human Rights and Duties, at Yadam Institute of Research, New Delhi, 10 December 2015
• Presented a Paper on “China’s Participation in Climate Change Negotiations”, at World Conference on Climate Change, Valencia, Spain, Oct  2016