Isimel A. Tuembe
Degree: Post Graduate Diploma in Climate Change
Graduated: April 2013
Current Employment:
PNG Country Mobilizer. USAID Coastal Community Adaptation Project (Project Funding Agency) and PaCE-SD (Employer)
What was your reason for enrolling in a Climate Change degree in PaCE-SD?
Due to Climate Change Impacts that have been threatening the ecosystems and the livelihoods of people in Papua New Guinea and in general, Pacific Islanders, I decided to take this course to assist people in finding ways and means to address the its (Climate Change) impacts.
What does your current career involve? (i.e your main responsibilities)
Assist Coastal Communities in building their resilience to Climate Change impacts. This involves;
1. Baseline Survey and Vulnerability & Adaptation Assessments
2. Conducting Risk Mapping: Mapping out the whole community which pin point locations of different infrastructures in the communities and identify the level of vulnerability of these infrastructures to climate Change impacts. All the infrastructures are listed under Social, Economic, and Water & Coastal sectors. This process will always come up with a long list of infrastructural sectors.
3. Infrastructure Prioritization Index: This is a multi-criteria assessment that scales down the long list of infrastructural sectors to only three most vulnerable and important to the community.
4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Assessments. Assist the communities to draw up Disaster Risk Reduction and Response plans for the Communities.
5. How has your knowledge and skills gained from your studies assisted you and the organisation that you are working in with their duties related to climate change?
Climate Change Adaptation is something that most proactive communities have undertaken themselves. However, they lack the basic Climate Change knowledge and understanding that can help them properly understand the cause of all these threats that they are faced with. Thus, what I acquired from the PGD in Climate Change has assisted me in educating community members to become aware of Climate Change and its impacts and what they can expect in the future.
Can you tell us about any success stories in your career after you have graduated that you believe was made possible with your study experience at PaCE-SD?
During the baseline survey where I prepared a brief presentation of Climate Change, all the community members were keen to learn about climate change and its impacts, especially in the Pacific. Also, I am almost done with organizing the communities in conducting a Disaster Response drill, which is based on the Disaster Response Plan C-CAP developed in the Communities. This drill will be conducted annually which will be a great achievement for me.
Though C-CAP provided a Disaster Risk Reduction workshop before conducting the DRR assessments in the communities, most of the ideas that I implement come from the Disaster Risk Management Course I was enrolled in while I was pursuing my PGDip in Climate Change at PaCE-SD.
What have you done differently/better now in your job after graduation?
I am able to write quality constructive field assessment reports and am able to effectively communicate with communities.
What ambitions do you have for the future in your career?
I am planning to further my education into studying Climate Change and its impacts on the Marine Environment. This is because we Pacific Island Nations are more dependent on the marine environment for sustaining our livelihood and the economy.
What are you most proud of in your life? (Can be a personal achievement or work related).
Effective delivery of completed tasks and submissions to my superiors on time is something I am always proud of.
What inspires you to pursue the type of work that you are in?
I am from an Island Province in Papua New Guinea and the impacts of Climate Change with regard to sea level rise and coral bleaching are the main issues that I observed occurring in my Village. Based on this, I decided to study fisheries and climate change so I can effectively assist my people in addressing these issues.
Who is your role model and why?
The figure in my life is Mr Lloyd Werry who was my Fisheries Science Lecturer during my undergraduate studies. He had been pushing me to succeed during my undergraduate studies all the way through to my PGDip. Currently he still insists that I apply for scholarships to do my Masters. One thing that is fascinating about him is his wish for for me to secure a scholarship to study either Climate Change or Marine Resource Management, and this aligns with my dream.