Dorjee Sun is a social entrepreneur based in Singapore. His work for Carbon Conservation was the subject of the international feature documentary The Burning Season in 2008. He currently serves as Director of Who Gives, Carbon Agro, and Carbon Conservation. Sun was born to a Chinese father and a Tibetan mother from Darjeeling in Sydney, Australia. He grew up in northern Sydney and attended North Sydney Boys High School. He graduated from a combined Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Law, and Dip. Asian Studies in 2001 from the University of New South Wales. During his studies he spent two years on scholarship in Beijing, China, studying Chinese language and law at Peking University. Sun is the founder of a recruitment software company, as well as an award-winning education company that has mentored more than 150,000 students in Sydney and Melbourne. He has served as a University of Melbourne Asialink Asia Australia Leader, Youth Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council at both national and state levels, University Law Society President, and as a member of the Education TechnologyAdvisory Board. Sun's company, Carbon Conservation, developed the Ulu Masen project in Aceh, Indonesia, in 2008, aiming to develop 3.3 million carbon credits a year. In 2011, with no carbon credits generated, Carbon Conservation sold 50% of its shares to the Canadian mining company East Asia Minerals Corporation who are developing a gold mine inside the protected forest reserve. The Burning Season looks at the problems of deforestation in Indonesia, issues and challenges from the farmer's perspective, the plight of the orangutans, and Sun on his quest to find a business solution. It follows him as he tries to convince potential investors from eBay, Starbucks, and Merrill Lynch to invest in a carbon trading solution that will help avoid deforestation in Indonesia while at the same time provide a living for locals. In 2009, the African Rainforest Conservancy named a newly discovered species of blue spotted chameleon from the rainforests of Tanzania after Sun. The species was named Kinyongia dorjeesuni. This species, however, is not recognized by taxonomic authorities and critics consider the species a nomen nudum, as it fails to conform by Article 13 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, which requires a formal species description stating those characteristics that are purported to differentiate the taxon. Time Magazine recognised Sun as one of the Heroes of the Environment for his work as a carbon-trade broker. In April 2009 he was honored by the African Rainforest Conservancy for his work.
