About Eco-Consult Pacific

Eco-Consult Pacific has extensive specialist knowledge of the Pacific Islands and their specific needs. We provide support to national and regional authorities and organisations in the design, implementation and evaluation of programs towards sustainable development in its broadest scope, in particular those concerning the management of human and natural resources. We have a team of like-minded partners and associates with extensive experience in the Pacific, who hold a similar view on its potential for sustainable development, and the ways this should be achieved. Our common ground is that we intend to make significant contributions to improve our environment to the ultimate benefit of the Pacific Island peoples.

Eco-Consult Pacific recognises that the specialist human resources that have developed over the last years in the region will form the mainstay to sustainable resource management in Pacific Island Countries. Our database, of over 4100 consultants, all with considerable expertise in the region, includes a large number of experienced Pacific nationals. Our extensive network is the largest in the Pacific region, and includes regional and international institutions from where resources can be identified and sourced. The countries and peoples of the Pacific are unique to the world, as are many of their challenges, and Eco-Consult Pacific is best placed to help find the appropriate solutions.

We believe that our approach has significant advantages for the region through:

»	A considerable support to human resource development in the Pacific through an increased exposure to international and regional problems by Pacific Island Country experts
»	A considerable support to human resource development in the Pacific through an increased exposure to international and regional problems by Pacific Island Country experts
»	An improvement in the delivery of answers to both national and regional needs by involving experts who have a close affiliation with the Pacific Island Nations and an intimate understanding of the complexity and diversity of its cultures, customs and constraints
»	The expenditure within the region of funds allocated to consultancy fees, materials, travel and allowances, which thus contribute directly to the island economies
»	A reduction of project implementation costs because of lower establishment and associated costs
»	The promotion of regional experts for consultancies worldwide through an increased international recognition of professionalism in the region
»	The promotion of regional experts for consultancies worldwide through an increased international recognition of professionalism in the region
»	The implementation of an increased number of projects in the region as budgets for consultancies are reduced because of lower costs of airfares, overhead costs and profit margins.

Key Staff

Mr. Wilco J.M.M. Liebregts, Managing Director
M.Ag.Sc, B.Ag.Sc., Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands

Mr. Wilco Liebregts, a national of the Netherlands, has held the position of Managing Director for over 15 years, during which he has managed over 50 projects for many international, national and regional organizations. He is specialized in the management, monitoring and evaluation of projects. His qualifications are further supported by more than 25 years of relevant work experience in research and development in rural development in the Pacific region. He has worked in 18 Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Mr. Liebregts is specialised in the development of appropriate pest management strategies in a wide range of Pacific Island farming systems, particularly in using non-chemical pest control approaches, including biological control, pest ecology and IPM. From 1984 to 1987 he was employed as entomologist by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in the Samoan-German Crop Protection Project. From 1987 to 1997 he worked for the CSIRO Division of Entomology, Australia, as consultant and later as Pacific Co-ordinator for several biological control projects funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). He is author of more than 30 research and review papers in referenced journals and conference and workshop proceedings. Mr. Liebregts has conducted consultancies for UNDP, FAO, GTZ, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, SPREP, CSIRO, SPC, Land Grant Program/ADAP, College of Micronesia and AusAID. His interests include biodiversity and the development of sustainable management techniques for farming- and ecosystems in the Pacific.

Associates

Mr. Stanley Hancock Associate
MBA (Finance & Marketing), ENPC Paris, France, Dipl. Snr. Bus. Mngmt, Asian Productivity Centre, Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Stanley Hancock, a citizen of Fiji, is a specialist in marketing, business feasibility studies, financing and joint-venture co-ordination. He has advised and trained a wide range of both private and public sector clients on business and organisation management, finance and policy planning. He worked for Deloitte and Touche (UK) as a Regional Advisor to the EU-funded Tourism Council of the South Pacific where his responsibilities included liaison with donor organisations, project formulation, management and evaluation in 12 Pacific Island Countries. Prior to this, Mr. Hancock was employed for 3 years by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as Advisor/Manager for bilateral and multilateral projects in various sectors including Natural Resources, Health, Education, Human Resource Development and Infrastructure. Earlier in his career, he was attached as a consultant to the Japanese Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry to assist various manufacturing industries. In the Pacific, he managed and developed businesses in the tourism and manufacturing sectors. Mr. Hancock is fluent in English and French, and maintains a strong interest in the sustainable development of the tourism, business and natural resources sectors in the region.

Dr. Richard Beyer Associate
PhD (Carbohydrate Chemistry), Univ. of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, BSc Hons (Food Science), Univ. of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K.

Dr. Richard Beyer, a UK citizen, is a prominent food technologist in the Pacific and considered a leader in food preservation. He is the author of over 15 commissioned reports relating to income generation and food security for the Pacific region. He has recently completed a textbook relating to the preservation and processing of root crops, bananas, plantain and breadfruit which was commissioned by the FAO. Until August 2009 Dr. Beyer was acting Permanent Secretary of Agriculture of the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture, where he initiated the re-development of the sluggish agriculture sector to make it become more private-sector focused, and in streamlining the Ministry. Prior to that, in his position as Director of the Institute of Applied Sciences, University of the South Pacific from 1996 to 1999 he introduced and promoted food research and development to the region, assisting a wide range of private and government clients in product development and diversification. Dr. Beyer’s excellence has been recognised by winning the Carter Holt Harvey Award for Product Development for more than five times. From 1980 to 1985 he was the Assistant Director and subsequently acting Director of the Armed Forces Food Science Establishment in Australia. Prior to this, he worked for the multi-national British Oxygen Company as well as a range of smaller companies in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. At the University of Otago he was a faculty member of the Food Science Department, where he built up an extensive research programme in dairy product development. From 1999 – 2001 Dr. Beyer acted as an Advisor in Food Technology to the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Forests, in a project funded by the CDE, Brussels. He has since conducted a large number of consultancies for the European Business Assistance Scheme (EBAS) in Fiji and Vanuatu.