Dr. Gangadhara Narala Reddy is an academic and researcher in Civil Engineering, specializing in Geotechnical and Environmental Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. from IIT Bhubaneswar and master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering from NIT Bhopal. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
Dr. Reddy’s work centers on developing innovative, sustainable solutions to address climate change impacts and enhance resilience in vulnerable regions. He has developed a proposal on geotechnical solutions for riverbank stabilization in Nausori City, Fiji in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Climate Change reflects his ability to bridge research with practical applications. He is also actively engaged with stakeholders through workshops and training programs, such as the “Workshop on Enhancing Climate Resilience of Fiji’s Road Network” and “Short Term Training Program on Sustainable Materials & Resilient Buildings - Philosophy, Design, Implementation, and Performance”.
Dr. Reddy’s work highlights the critical importance of integrating climate science into civil engineering solutions. He has expertise in designing climate-resilient infrastructure networks in Fiji to withstand climate-induced challenges, ensuring sustainable and disaster-resilient systems including road network, slope stability analysis, and resilient design of foundation systems.
Dr. Reddy has extensive consultancy experience, including geotechnical investigations, soil and rock testing, earth retaining wall design, and addressing collapsible/swelling soils. He has conducted various geotechnical fieldworks for housing projects, red mud and fly ash audits, and pile load tests, contributing to sustainable infrastructure development and engineering solutions.
Dr. Reddy has over 32 Scopus-indexed publications. He co-authored the book "Advances in Sustainable Materials and Resilient Infrastructure" (Springer, 2022) and has delivered invited talks at over 10 international workshops and conferences. His leadership extends to editorial roles, serving as Associate Editor for Innovative Infrastructure Solutions and on editorial boards for Discover Civil Engineering and Discover Geosciences. He has received prestigious fellowships, including the CSC Fellowship for research in China.
Dr. Reddy’s expertise spans sustainable materials, geotechnical engineering, pavement Geotechnics, climate-resilient infrastructure, and use of sustainable material applications for soil stabilization. His commitment to advancing climate change adaptation and mitigation through community engagement and nature-based solutions underscores his contributions to Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Project Manager with more than 8 years of experience in the education sector as a secondary school teacher, more than 2 years of experience in the business development sector as a business manager in development banking and more than 10 years in the field of environment, climate change and disaster risks management and resilience building working with donors, development partners and stakeholders. I have over 10 years experience in project management working in 15 countries in the Pacific region. These experiences includes capacity building, business developments, disaster risk management/reduction and climate change adaptation, mitigation and finance, climate science information, biodiversity and land degradation.
I have represented Nauru, Fiji and SPREP at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) and familiar with the UNFCCC processes and procedures in coordination, monitoring and reporting to the UNFCCC secretariat. In addition, I was the development of the Third National Communication Coordinator for Fiji and experience with building capacity by mainstreaming multilateral environment agreement (UNFCCC, UNCBD and UNCCD) into inter-ministerial structures and mechanisms across Fiji Government and non-government organizations.
Ben Sims has 13 years of experience in more than ten countries across Asia and the Pacific. Ben is an expert in climate finance, public financial management, investment planning, climate risk assessments, adaptation planning (asset, community, sector and national levels), policy and institutional design and reforms, and the development of sectoral and national strategies and plans.
Ben has provided consultancy services for government agencies and international organisations, including SPREP, ADB, World Bank, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), UN Environment, UNDP, UNDRR, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Government of New Zealand. Recent consultancies are summarised in this profile - my full consultancy record is provided in my CV.
Ben’s recent work in the Pacific includes leading the development of the PNG National Climate Finance Strategy and PNG GCF Country Programme; completion of climate finance training for government agencies in Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands; design of the GCF no-objection procedure for RMI; and analysis on strengthening flood risk management institutions in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. He has also led an assessment on mainstreaming climate change into Cambodia’s PFM system and development of an investment plan to strengthen the country’s disaster risk management. Ben was previously a staff member at GGGI, where he worked on establishing the Institute’s country programs in Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
He holds a Master of Environmental Management and Development and Master of Diplomacy from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Auckland, and is a Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance from the Frankfurt School. Ben is currently studying a Master of Public Health at the University of Auckland part time, where he is researching the impacts of flooding on population health.
James Lewis, Director of Intercoastal Consulting, is a certified practicing civil engineer with over 15 years of experience specialising in coastal engineering throughout Australasia and across the Pacific. He has a broad knowledge of coastal protection design, integrated coastal management and surf amenity. James’s skills extend outside the office where he has led large-scale metocean deployments, analysing the data captured in the field to calibrate numerical models used to inform coastal design.
He has focussed the last 10 years of his career on working in Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in climate change adaptation, concerned primarily with developing climate-resilient coastal protection. James aspires to see the design phase through to implementation; having supported procurement, and contracting and undertaken construction supervision on large projects in remote locations. He aims to provide value and support through the complete project lifecycle including the social, financial and institutional aspects of these projects, endeavoring to understand the administrative, governmental and funding mechanisms specific to each country and community and their relation to the delivery of a successful project.
Using his knowledge of coastal engineering, the ocean and the environment, James’ primary endeavor is to assist coastal communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
