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.
Dr Mead’s background in coastal oceanography and marine ecology, specialising in hydrodynamic and sediment transport numerical modelling, coastal processes, climate change adaptation, coastal protection, offshore submerged reefs and amenity enhancement, and ecological assessment, allows him to effectively bridge the multi-disciplinary gap between physical processes and marine ecological impacts, which he has successfully for the past 20 years. Countries of Work Experience: Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Marshall Is, Mauritius, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England, USA, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Wales, Vietnam, Chile, Bahrain.
May 2015 to Present: Hazard Analyst, NIWA, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Mar-2015 to May-2015: Individual Consultant, UNDP Adaptation Fund Assignment – Status Review of the National Coastal Infrastructure Management Plans in Samoa.
Nov-2014 to Jan-2015: Samoa National Coordinator, ADB funded Strengthening Disaster and Climate Risk Resilience in Urban Development in the Pacific Project, Phase II – Samoa Case Study.
June 2014: Field Collaborator, Archaeo-Environmental Investigations along the mid-Holocene shoreline near Aitape, PNG.
Jan to Dec-2011: NZ MoRST-Fulbright Visiting Graduate Researcher, Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering, University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Aug-2004 to Jan-2007: Senior Scientific Officer, Geophysics Section, Meteorology Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Government of Samoa.
Dec-2003 to Aug-2004: Scientific Officer, Climate Applications Section, Meteorology Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Government of Samoa.
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 the leader of several large research projects in New Zealand, focussing on adaptation to climate variability and change. I participated in the Samoan Climate Early Warning System project (part of the Samoan National Adaptation Plan of Action) through input to the Agriculture, Health and Forestry sectors project design. I regularly interact with NMHS and sector representatives to identify climate data and information needs and preferred delivery mechanisms. I am involved in the GFCS. I am involved in various Pacific activities, focussing on climate observations, climate outlook and early warnings, training and capacity building, fundamental climate research, and climate and health. I am a co-chair of WMO CCl OPACE-4 and the chair of the PICS Panel.
Kirstie Méheux is a disaster risk management professional at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, specialising in training and professional development of personnel in risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Kirstie has operational experience in disaster response in both Fiji and Australia. Kirstie is also an experienced researcher in the field of disaster management in Pacific Island Countries. Kirstie has delivered training in 12 Pacific island Countries and Territories. Prior to joining SPC, Kirstie worked with Australian Red Cross in their Emergency Services Team, responsible for the recruitment, training, and deployment of volunteers within Australia. Kirstie has also held Visiting Fellowships at the University of New South Wales and Fiji National University with whom she is partnering to develop a Post Graduate Certificate Programme in Disaster Risk Management.
David Wratt retired as Chief Scientist, Climate at NIWA in September 2014. He was responsible for oversight, strategic direction, planning and leadership of NIWA's work on climate, climate change, and climate services. He is still available to assist with climate and climate change related tasks in the Pacific. David has contributed extensively to the work of the IPCC, first as a Working Group 2 Coordinating Lead Author, and then as a Vice-Chair of IPCC Working Group 1. He placed particular importance on information exchange and outreach events in Pacific Island and South-East Asian countries. From his work on development and applications of weather and climate knowledge David has published papers, book chapters and client reports on: climate change assessment, projections, scenarios and impacts; agricultural applications including detailed climate mapping; mountain meteorology; linked rainfall and hydrology modelling; air pollution meteorology.
I am a Principal Scientist and Freshwater Group Manager at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), New Zealand. I have 20 years of experience in environmental science and management. My areas of expertise are water quality data analysis, water quality monitoring operations and network design, invasive species ecology, river hydrology, groundwater ecology, algal ecology and coral reef ecology (60 scientific papers).
Prior to working at NIWA, I was a research ecologist at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. At NIWA, I have led large, government funded research programmes and numerous consulting projects for Maori tribes, NGOs, local, regional and national agencies, and private industry. I have just completed a 15-month sabbatical at The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. During that sabbatical, I organised citizen-based water quality monitoring for the island of Maui, and compiled coastal water quality data from islands across the mid-Pacific.
I am a marine chemist with experience in climate change as it pertains to the ocean, namely ocean acidification, increasing sea surface temperatures, and I also have experience in coastal biogeochemical cycles. I have also researched chemical and biological interactions at hydrothermal vents. I am currently working as the Pacific Islands Global Ocean Observing System (PI-GOOS) Coordinator at SPREP, and as part of the Pacific Meteorology Desk Partnership.
I am a climate change and international development professional with 9 years experience managing international climate change projects in 18 countries in the Asia-Pacific. I worked for the Australian Government for 6 years in high-level policy and program roles and served as the Regional Program Manager of the Pacific-Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning (PACCSAP) Program based in Samoa during 2012-2014. I am skilled in project formulation, program management and policy analysis and specialise in climate risk management, climate resilient infrastructure design, coastal adaptation planning, national adaptation planning, policy-relevant communication, community-based adaptation and program evaluation. I thrive in multidisciplinary and multicultural team environments and have extensive experience applying integrated adaptation planning approaches in Pacific Island Countries.
Fifteen years of experience with environmental assessment and planning, sustainable development and climate change in government, inter-government, non-government and academic organisations. Extensive knowledge of the agricultural, mining, energy and tourism sectors. Examples of work and project experience: incorporated climate change and disaster risk management considerations in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines and EIA training courses for Pacific Island countries; audited the energy and water consumption of mainstream and eco-tourism operators in Queensland, Australia; developed a methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions for the Australian tourist accommodation sector; identified mechanisms for building social-ecological resilience in tropical savanna landscapes; developed environmental research and management recommendations for seabed mining in northern Australia; authored the Darwin Harbour Water Quality Protection Plan (Australia).