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.
Dr. Neeraj Shankar is an experienced professional with a strong track record in the design, delivery and review of climate adaptation, Loss and Damage (L&D), and disaster management projects across the Pacific and other climate-vulnerable regions. Brings deep expertise in strategy development, policy review, climate risk governance, and institutional capacity strengthening for national governments, regional organisations, and development partners.
Notable work includes supporting the co-development of four L&D projects under New Zealand MFAT’s Addressing Climate Change Loss and Damage Programme, designing and implementing early warning systems, conducting climate and disaster risk assessments, and preparing national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) status reports. Also offers specialised experience in Non-Economic Loss and Damage (NELD), including protection of cultural heritage, intergenerational knowledge, human mobility impacts, and social cohesion.
Currently developing the first Pacific-wide regional evidence base for Loss and Damage for SPREP, strengthening the foundation for future L&D programming, reporting and access to climate finance. Recognised for building strong, trust-based relationships with diverse stakeholders, government agencies, regional bodies, community networks and technical specialists, and for facilitating inclusive, culturally grounded, multi-stakeholder consultations.
Safeguard Manager (Consultant) - South Tarawa Water Supply Project (GCF, ADB, WB)
National Climate Change Coordinator - Office of te Beretitenti/ President - Kiribati
Assistant Project Manager - Third National Communication (TNC)
Volunteer - Environment and Conservation Division
Krishneil Narayan is the Executive Director and Principal Consultant at Sustainable Future Consultancy in Fiji.
As a development professional with 18 years of experience, he specializes in sustainability and climate policy formulation, translating the policies into activities that benefit communities and accessing climate finance for Pacific Island countries.
As an advisor, Krishneil provides his expertise in climate and disaster-resilient development project design, implementation, and evaluations to various governments, NGOs, development organizations, and the private sector.
Krishneil previously worked as a climate change negotiator at the United Nations for over a decade, prioritizing the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and contributing to the adoption of the 2013 Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, as well as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
Previous clients have included: Oxfam Australia, Bread for the World (Germany), Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, UNDP, UN Environment, the Pacific Community (SPC), UK Government (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), New Zealand Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Fiji Government (Ministry of Women), International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Joe is an experienced policy advisor and strategist who has worked on climate issues in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the Indo-Pacific since 206. He is currently working on the NZ Emissions Reduction Plan, National Adaptation Plan and advising on mitigation, Article 6 and International Carbon Markets for NZ's Climate Directorate.
His previous work includes providing diplomatic, strategic and technical advice for Pacific leaders at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), providing advice and designing campaign strategies for regional and international civil society organisations (incl. Greenpeace, Caritas, BOGA, Fossil Fuel Treaty), and helping clients achieve their strategic objectives through cross-sector engagement and partnerships.
Joe is a Samoan and has sound understanding of the cultural nuances required to engage with Pacific leaders and communities and has an extensive professional network among Climate professionals, civil society and community groups which enables him to work collaboratively throughout the region to achieve the objectives of his clients and Government partners.
Ruth is a climate change, environment and international development professional, with a particular focus on climate resilience, adaptation planning, and climate finance readiness. She has 9 years’ experience providing policy research, analysis, implementation and project/programme management in these fields, working extensively with a range of donors/international development partners and national governments worldwide. Ruth's recent assignments have included supporting countries with INDCs, capacity building support, contributing to the evaluation of EU adaptation strategy implementation and leading inputs to the EU’s 7th national communications.
Prior to joining Ricardo, Ruth was Climate Finance Adviser for the Commonwealth, where she designed and led a work programme on climate finance readiness and resilience, focusing on improving the access, use and delivery of climate finance for small and vulnerable member states, including the Commonwealth Climate Finance Skills Hub proposal.
Paul Mitchell has over a decade of international development experience in more than 20 countries across five regions. Paul is an expert in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. He has led adaptation programs for the Australian aid program and international NGO Save the Children. He has also provided consultancy services for government, non-government and international organisations. Paul focuses on helping organisations integrate climate change risk and adaptation into development programs at all levels and throughout the project cycle, as well as developing and implementing capacity building programs. He holds a BA (Hons) in Cultural Studies and Sociology and a Masters in International Development from UNSW. Paul has completed consultancies in the Pacific for a range of organisations, including: DFAT, the World Bank, Save the Children, CARE and Oxfam. More information is available at www.adapt-develop.com
