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  • Disaster Risk Management Trainer and Professional Development Adviser
    Secretariat of the Pacific Community

    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.

  • Scientist
    National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research

    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).

  • Dynamic and dedicated professional with strong technical and policy background. Advanced qualifications (PhD) in environmental sciences, climate change & energy. Distinguished record in academia as a teacher, researcher and administrator. Extensive inter-governmental experience at international levels, in climate change. Over 20 years experience in climate change and related issues, mainly in Pacific but also worked in Africa and Asia. Public service experience, having worked for Governments of Australia, Fiji and Marshall Islands and international NGOs such as Independent Diplomat (ID). Considerable experience working for international organisations such as UNEP, ADB, regional organsations such as SPREP as climate change technical expert, and USP. Serves on the UNFCCC Roster of Experts. Extremely familiar with all issues in the UNFCCC climate negotiations. Extensive record of developing, managing, implementing and monitoring projects at national and global levels. Excels at working in a fast paced, multi-cultural environment and has excellent communication skills.

  • I'm a trained Environment & Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner/Specialist with over 10 years of practice and consultancy experiences. Provided technical advice to Governments of Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu on policy changes, marine resource use, climate change. Area of expertise includes; policy analysis, environment management systems, V&A, M&E, mainstreaming climate change adaptation interventions into planning processes, MPA, community engagement and workshop facilitation. Authored book on, Climate Change Adaptation and the Coastal Zone of S.Tarawa (2014), "Kiribati: the inter-linkages and the array of adaptation barriers and limits". Co-authored the "Kiribati Second National Communication Report to the UNFCCC" (2013) and other technical reports.

  • 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.

  • Dr. Jami Bartgis completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Oklahoma State University and predoctoral internship at the University of South Florida, Florida Mental Health Institute. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and has spent her career working for both tribal and urban American Indian (AKA, Native American) communities. Dr. Bartgis is currently the President and CEO of One Fire Associates, LLC, a research and evaluation firm dedicated to community-based and participatory projects with underserved and disenfranchised populations. In her previous position as the Director of Technical Assistance and Research at the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) in Washington DC; Dr. Bartgis provided technical assistance, research support, and capacity building for urban Indian health clinics and programs across the United States to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for American Indian and Alaska Native people living in urban areas. Highlights of her previous work include the development, implementation and evaluation of children’s health systems; a range of community-based and participatory projects to advance health and environmental knowledge, policy and practice; and the honor of working with countless American Indian youth and families as a clinical service provider, community-based researcher/evaluator, and in the development and advocacy of health service systems for her community.

  • 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.

  • With over 16 years of experience in sustainable energy development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, my work focuses on increasing energy access, improving livelihood, and building resilience of vulnerable communities in developing countries. I have provided services to donors and development agencies; including IFAD, Sida, UNESCO, UNEP and USAID; both being part of an organization as well as independently. I have been extensively involved in understanding the needs of developing countries of Asia in relation to improving access to energy supply and resilience to climate change; and developing innovative solutions to address those needs in ways that are appropriate to local contexts. Areas of my expertise are:

    • Climate Change Adaptation: Adaptive capacity for municipalities; community based adaptation planning; and climate vulnerability assessment.
    • Climate change mitigation: Strategies for low carbon development, sustainable waste management, sustainable city planning, and Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas emissions.
    • Sustainable energy: Energy access through renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency in buildings and facilities, and policy analysis for cleaner technologies in SMEs.