Home > Programme > Climate Change Potal > Staff

Staff - Climate Change, Climate Variability and Sea Level Rise

Dr Netatua Pelesikoti [Programme Manager - Pacific Futures]

SPREP’s Climate Change is under the Pacific Futures Programme. Netatua is not only the programme manager, she also provides direct ‘hands on’ advice and on the ground delivery for the climate change programme.

Netatua is a coastal ecologist by profession. She did her first degree at the University of the South Pacific in Geography and Economics, a Masters in Coastal Management from the Netherlands and a PhD from Australia in Coastal Monitoring focusing on the coastal water quality, coral reef and sea grass.
She supports the climate change team in change policy and action strategies, mainstreaming, climate science and disaster risk management.

Dean SOLOFA [Pacific Islands Global-Climate Observing System (PI-GCOS) Officer]

Dean is the Pacific Islands – Global Climate Observing System (PI-GCOS) Officer since late 2005. PI-GCOS is a programme focused at its core at strengthening the observing systems capability in Pacific, with the primary focal points being national meteorological services. Dean formerly worked for five years with the Samoa Meteorology Division before joining SPREP, with his experience covering climate observing systems and institutional strengthening and strategic planning related to national meteorological services. Dean’s work with PI-GCOS has largely been focused foundation setting for a more sustained and coordinated effort of the Secretariat and regional partners to support meteorological issues on capacity building to SPREP Members, while at the same time executing PI-GCOS focused projects in instrumentation, data rescue and data management. Dean holds a Postgrad Diploma in Environmental Physics and a BSc in Physics.

Diane McFadzien [Climate Change Adaptation Officer]

Diane joined SPREP in December 2010, as the Climate Change Adaptation Officer at SPREP.  Originally from the Cook Islands, Diane graduated with a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Otago (New Zealand).  Diane began her career in the Policy Division of the Office of the Prime Minister (Cook Islands) before joining the Cook Islands National Environment Service as the national Climate Change Coordinator from 1999 – 2002.  From government, she then moved to Fiji where she spent 4 years managing a regional Climate Programme for WWF South Pacific Programme, and two years for  WWF International, coordinating climate work  across the Asia Pacific region.  From 2008 Diane moved to a policy focused role for WWF International (based in Singapore) coordinating WWF’s UNFCCC policy work across Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

Espen RONNEBERG [Climate Change Adviser]

Espen is the team leader for the climate change work at SPREP since 2006. He has wide ranging experience with the climate change negotiations process, working with the Marshall Islands from 1992 to 2000, and serving as Vice-President of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties at Kyoto (1997) and Buenos Aires (1998) on behalf of the Small Island Developing States. During those years and the subsequent six years as Inter-regional Adviser for SIDS in the UN in New York, he also gained valuable practical experience with project development and management. He has expertise in sustainable development processes as well as with different aspects of climate change work, such as adaptation, mitigation and climate change science. He holds a MA in International Relations and a BA in Economics and Political Science.

Joe Stanley [Global Environment Facility - Support Advisor]

Joe is the Global Environment Facility Support Adviser for Pacific Island Countries based at SPREP. Before joining SPREP he worked as a freelance development consultant. He has also served as Senior Economist with the Forum Fisheries Agency in Honiara, and as Economist for the South Pacific Commission in Noumea. He worked as a Resident Partner for Coopers & Lybrand in Samoa before joining the FFA, and before that as Corporate Planning Manager and later Director of Commercial Services for Polynesian Airlines. Prior to that he served with the Government of Samoa as Senior Development Officer, and later Deputy Director, of the former Department of Economic Development. He started his career as Industrial Loans Officer with the Development Bank of Samoa.

Makelesi Gonelevu [Knowledge Management Officer]

Makelesi joined SPREP in April 2011 as the Knowledge Management Officer. She has extensive experience in information/database development and management and capacity building in the Pacific having worked at the Land Resources Division (LRD) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) for 8 years. In 2010, she became a database consultant for a number of SPC-LRD projects and GOPA Worldwide Consultants. Her focus at SPREP is the development of the Pacific Climate Change Portal and setting up of the necessary mechanisms to ensure its sustainability. Makelesi is a Fiji national and holds a Masters Degree in Information Technology (Professional) specialising in Web/Database integration.

Peniamina Leavai [Project Officer-Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change]

Peniamina is the Project Officer for the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Project at SPREP.  Before joining SPREP he worked as the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Programme Officer of the United Nations Development Programme Multi Country Office Samoa.  He worked as an Activity Manager for the AusAID & Development Cooperation Section of the Australia High Commission, Apia Samoa.  Before that Mr. Leavai was Samoa’s Principal Climate Change Officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment.  He took on the role of Second National Communications Project Coordinator.  Prior to this role was Samoa’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) Coordinator where he was the Senior Climate Change Officer.  Peniamina worked in the business community before he became a public servant.  He was the Safety Health & Environment Facilitator for Mobil Oil Samoa.  He started his career as a Weather Forecast & Hydrology Officer for Samoa’s Meteorology Division.

Sefanaia Nawadra [Sustainable Development Adviser]

Sefa has worked in the environment management and engineering field for over 20 years in a number of different roles. He started his career in 1989 and spent 5 years with the Fiji Government initially as an Environmental Engineer with the Ministry of Agriculture before being transferred to the Department of Environment as Principal Environment Officer. He then worked for 6 years in the private sector, first with Shell Pacific Islands Limited as the Health, Safety and Environment Manager then was Environmental Services Manager for Sinclair Knight Merz one of the bigger engineering and environmental consulting firms in the region. He did his first stint of with SPREP as Marine Pollution Advisor from 1999-2006 setting up the Pacific Ocean Pollution Prevention Program (PACPOL). He then returned to Fiji as Conservation International’s Fiji Country Program Director before joining SPREP again in April 2011. Sefa holds a first degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Canberra and a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of London.

Setaita Tavanabola [Project Communications Coordinator - Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change]

Setaita Tavanabola is the Communications Coordinator Intern for the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism and Management and Public Administration from the University of the South Pacific. Fiji-born, Setaita began her career working as a communications officer at Transparency International Fiji after obtaining work experience from the local media organisations while in university. Setaita coordinates and facilitates communication activities of the PACC Project, working with relevant SPREP Programme Officers and SPREP partners to assist coordination and facilitate PACC communication activities under the PACC Project.

Taito NAKALEVU [Project Manager - Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change]

Taito Nakalevu is the Project Manager for the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project. Originally from Fiji, he obtained his Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji. Taito started his career as a high school teacher in Fiji and moved on to a European Union funded Programme  called the 'Pacific Regional Agriculture Programme' (PRAP) as a Graduate Research Assistant, a project that was executed by the University of the South Pacific and later, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). In this position, he worked very closely with the Fiji-German Forestry and Agroforestry Project carrying out agroforestry research in the hinterlands of Fiji. In 1999, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Resource Planning and ALTA as Senior Research Officer, Land Use Planning, for the Central/Eastern Division.

Tepa Suaesi [Environmental Officer]

Tepa Suaesi joined SPREP in 2007 as the Environmental Officer. He began his career as a teller at the Bank of Western Samoa now ANZ Samoa before training and serving as a high school teacher. He later attended the University of Phillippines graduating with a Bachelor of Science on Forest Products Engineering. After which he joined the Government of Samoa working the areas of forest research, environment education and training, coastal infrastructure management, biodiversity conservation and GEF funding.

To contact any member of the Climate Change Team send email to: climategroup@sprep.org.

Click here to view all SPREP staff.