I am a social scientist and freelance researcher with a passion for working in international development. I have experience working on various gender and social research and consultancy contracts in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. My most recent research focuses on understanding gender in the Pacific and aims to better integrate gender considerations into development projects, particularly related to natural resource management. I have a Master of International and Community Development, and a Bachelor of Social Science (Environment). I am a native English speaker, and am proficient in Solomon Islands Pijin and Papua New Guinean Tok Pisin.
Charlotte is a highly accomplished, skilled and talented development professional with over a decade of experience in international development in 20 countries worldwide. She has a proven track record of providing strategic and programming direction to organisations to develop, implement and monitor policies, strategies, campaigns and programs to build gender-sensitive community resilience. She is an excellent educator and communicator of development theory and practice to a variety of stakeholders including government officials, non-governmental staff and partners, communities, academics, and other groups. She is co-author of Toward Resilience (Practical Action, 2013), a practitioner’s guide to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programming and advocacy, which integrates gender throughout; and has developed a range of participatory risk assessment tools and guidance for working with poverty-affected and vulnerable communities.
Environment & development consultant with 10 years’ experience in 7 sectors in 16 countries, including 10 Caribbean & Pacific SIDS. Key highlights:
2014 Climate Change Project Officer, The Australian National University
2013-2014 Sustainable Financing Consultant, Cuso International
2013 Marine Protected Areas Expert, GOPA Consultants
2012-2013 Policy Research Manager, Caribbean Policy Research Institute
2012 Executive Director/Park Manager (World Heritage Site), Jamaica Conservation & Development Trust
2011 Climate Change Consultant, Environmental Solutions Ltd
2011-2012 Environmental Project Manager, Conrad Douglas & Associates Ltd
2007-2009 Environment & Sustainable Development Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Currently self-directing PhD research into climate change adaptation in SIDS. Seeking to use my qualifications & skills to help limit human-induced climate change, & ensure that adaptation actions in SIDS meet their development & resilience needs & goals.
For fifteen years Julie has supported governments, communities, NGOs, and humanitarian organisations across the Pacific, Asia and Australia to address climate change through their policy, project and program work. Her specialties are adaptation, resilience and gender. She has expertise in research, writing and analysis. She also has substantial expertise in developing and delivering tailored training packages and developing targeted and practical communication materials, guidelines and toolkits for diverse audiences. She has excellent written and verbal communication skills and substantial experience in mentoring, capacity building and leadership. She has a Masters in Sustainability from Murdoch University and is completing a Master of Climate Change from the Australian National University.
Dr. Margaretha Wewerinke has a broad range of experience related to human rights, climate change and sustainable development. She has advised governments and NGOs on questions of international law at climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in relation to potential legal claims related to loss and damage caused by climate change. She designed and taught a 10-day capacity building workshop on the added value of a human rights approach to climate change for Pacific Island states at the University of the South Pacific's PaCE-SD in Suva, Fiji in 2011 and is now teaching International Climate Change Law and Regional Environmental Law at the Emalus Campus of USP in Vanuatu. Her consultancy and capacity building work has focused on using domestic courts as well as international mechanisms - such as the UN Human Rights Council - to raise concerns related to climate change and its adverse effects on the enjoyment of human rights.
Over 30 years experience financial & contract management, budgeting, established financial systems in Samoa, Tokelau, SPREP & PIFS. Now, Financial Management Specialist, Samoa's Pilot Project Climate Resilience (PPCR-ECR) and Adaptation Fund-ERCC. Ability to meet funders' accountability criteria to drawdown upto US$3M in 3mnths intervals. Wealth of project experience in PPCR, AF,GEF, ADB & EU writing proposals, manage, monitor, report financial, contract progress & project results across sectors i.e regional economic integration, communities resilience to climate change & disaster risk management. Over 20 years experience in organisational development, institutional strengthening & governance, established performance management, monitoring & evaluation frameworks at regional & national levels. Extensive experience in results-based planning & management,capacity building and institutional reviews. SPREP Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC) capacity building management planner.
Over 27 years of experience on international development projects, focusing on coastal management, ICZM, coastal adaption, climate policy, wetland biodiversity management and catchment management. Over 12 years’ experience of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) including programmes that involve participatory planning processes, conducting feasibility studies, the assessment climate change and small island state environmental management and the design of programme implementation involving climate change.Over 10 years’ experience in institutional assessment and identification of capacity and organisational constraints within public administration, private sector, civil society (mostly in small island states). Extensive knowledge of donor agency development policies relating to disaster risk, climate change and coastal adaptation. Strong working experience for SPREP since 2011 in Tuvalu, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Fiji, FSM, Samoa. Strong experience in many other SIDs globally.
I am a highly experienced climate change and development consultant with extensive experience in the Pacific region working with national and sub-national governments, NGOs and Red Cross Societies. I have designed, managed and evaluated climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction projects in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste. Some project I have recently been involved in include: (i) Development of an activity design document (ADD) on ocean acidification in the Pacific (funded by NZ MFAT and implemented by SPREP); (ii) Review of sanitation and water services in informal settlements in Melanesia (commissioned by the World Bank); (iii) Evaluation of the Vanuatu Humanitarian Team (Oxfam); (iv) Design of marine ecosystem based community based adaptation project in Nissan district, Bougainville, PNG (CARE International); (v) Evaluation of the project "Supporting Community Planning for a More Resilient Vanuatu" (French Red Cross and Vanuatu Red Cross Society)
Barbara is a climate change and disaster risk reduction specialist with more than 16 years of direct professional in-the-field experience. She has provides advisory services in policy and program development, program and project evaluation, training and capacity building, to national and local government agencies and international and regional organizations, including the United Nations system and NGOs with focus on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for resilient development, food security, gender, policy leadership and advocacy. She is specialised in programmes aiming at climate change and disaster risk reduction mainstreaming into national and sector response policies, strategies and plans.
She has used multi-stakeholder participatory approaches in Pacific countries and has proven hands-on expertise in-the-field. She worked with government and beneficiary institutions to formulate policies and implement programmes. She was responsible for the formulation of national policies, vulnerability assessment, gender, disaster risk reduction and natural hazards prevention and mitigation through the promotion of long-term strategies to adaptation planning for effective aid delivery at national and regional level. In her work she has developed funding recommendation, strategic positioning, partnership and recommended doable and realistic implementation plans, including timelines, costing and roles and responsibilities.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Global Environmental Protection and International Policies and is an active member of the Pacific Infrastructure Advisory Centre and Adaptation Learning mechanism as well as the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery East Asia and the Pacific Disaster Knowledge Network. Barbara is serving on United Nations Women National Committee Aotearoa New Zealand.
An in-depth knowledge and extensive experience of environment and development issues, including technical assistance and capacity building projects in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. During my work in 59 countries, I have demonstrated a strong commitment to the use of participatory planning and evaluation methodologies at the national and community levels, including local and national sustainable development planning and evaluation. My analytical skills include highly developed policy analysis skills with experience of integrated approaches to a wide range of issues including governance, environment, natural resource management, disaster risk management, climate change, livelihoods, resilience building, community development and social policy. In my work over the last 40 years, I have shown an ability to assess complex situations in order to succinctly and clearly distil critical issues and draw forward looking conclusions, identifying practical lessons for practical application and policy development.
Palanitina is a highly qualified, experience and respected senior Samoan public service leader with significant experiences in health governance and health system strengthening. public health services in general, public health education, health promotion, disease prevention and high level public health leadership, management and administration. She had held senior executive positions in the Samoan Government, including the Director General of Health (DGoH) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ministry of Health for 9 years (Feb 2005 – Feb 2014) and Assistant CEO of the Division for Women in the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD) from Sept 1998 – Jan 2005. Palanitina has championed health system strengthening (HSS) based on the WHO Framework on HSS 2005. She led and completed in 18 months (Feb 2005 – July 2006) the realization of the public health reform which began in 1998. She was instrumental in the development and advocacy for passage through Parliament of 18 legislations plus several health policies within her terms of leadership; to practically implement the MOH’s new monitoring and regulatory functions. She has been advocating for women’s empowerment at policy and program levels. She led the practical translation of regional and international conventions through empowerment programs, including the establishment of women’s leadership networks. She led the establishment of the Partnership for the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which the Samoan Government ratified in 1992. A sought after adviser, Palanitina has evaluated a number of Pacific regional and country programs, including for AusAid before becoming DFAT, WHO and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. She has facilitated country and regional collaborations and, through her consultancy and government CEO appointments, Palanitina has had significant involvement in the delivery and review of regional and some international programs through WHO.
The consultant's key fields of expertise include Environmental Management (Env Mgt Sys, Env Audit, EIA, SEA), Sustainable Development, Climate Change (Adaptation, Mitigation, Science, Policy), Community Waste Management, Community Based Adaptation, Ecosystem-based Adaptation. Proficient project management and project performance management skills that include practitioner skills in project management in controlled environments; skills in concept, grant and full project and funding proposal writing, climate financing proposal writing, design, work planning and budgeting. Skilled in project appraisal of project aspects such as costs, timescales, quality, scope, risk and benefits; deliver of quality project products, monitoring, reporting and evaluation. Offers training and workshops on V&A Assessments that include technical and community-based tools and frameworks, socio-economic assessments, lessons learned, results-based management, survey design and implementation, M&E design and implementation, gender & climate change. Range of working experiences at different levels of development intervention - international and regional (negotiations, policy, advocacy, lobbying, media campaigns and presentation, knowledge management); regional and national (project management, policy, science, gender, adaptation, mitigation, media campaigns, public awareness) and community (CBA, EbA, V&A, negotiations, training, gender mainstreaming level, implementation, negotiation skills on climate change, waste management, attitude and behavioral change campaigning). Have on-the-ground and field experiences in 14 Pacific Island communities, particularly in Palau, Marshall Islands, Fiji, Niue, Cook Islands, and Papua New Guinea. Sector expertise areas of climate change adaptation activities and results in integrated coastal zone management, water resources management (specializing in low-lying atolls), food security, food production, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry, tourism and health.