About Eco-Consult Pacific

Eco-Consult Pacific is an independent consulting company based in Suva, Fiji, which 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 programmes towards sustainable development in its broadest scope, in particular those concerning the management of human and natural resources.

Eco-Consult Pacific is a young and dynamic company, led by 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 ultimately improve our environment to the benefit of the peoples of the Pacific Island Countries.

Eco-Consult Pacific is aware that specialist human resource development has increased significantly in the last decades, and recognises that this forms the mainstay to sustainable resource management in Pacific Island Countries. We have therefore available an extensive database of consultants with considerable expertise in the region, including a large number of experienced nationals from the Pacific. Eco-Consult Pacific utilises this database to promote the participation of Pacific Island Country specialists in national, regional and international projects. The countries and peoples of the Pacific are unique to the world, as are many of their problems - and who could be better specialised to 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.

Board of Directors

Mr. Yee Wah Sing, Chairman
Dipl. Trop. Agric., Fiji College of Agriculture

Mr. Yee Wah Sing, a Fiji national, graduated with distinction as Dux of Fiji College of Agriculture in 1981. Within a year he had started a modest ginger and taro farm supplying the local market, which grew rapidly into the company Yee Wah Sing-Frespac Ltd. The company continued to expand and today exports fresh produce as well as high quality crystallised ginger produced in its food processing factory at Lami near Suva. To ensure the supply of raw materials, the company established a unique advisory service which provides more than 500 farmers with technical information on crop management and material support. The merit of this advanced integration with rural producers was recognised by the Fiji Trade and Investment Board in 1995 when the company was awarded the Unique Exporter of the Year Award. In the following years, 1996 and 1997, the company continued its success and received the top award for Food and Beverage exporter of the Year. Mr. Yee Wah Sing is Managing Director of Grow Fiji Ltd. and until recently a Board Member of Buderim Ginger Ltd., the world’s largest ginger producer. He has served on several statutory boards, including the Fiji Land Conservation Board and Fiji Ginger Council.

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, is a specialist in plant protection. His qualifications are supported by more than 20 years of relevant work experience in the research and development of appropriate pest management strategies in a wide range of Pacific Island farming systems. He has worked in 17 Pacific Island Countries and Territories, including all 8 Pacific ACP states. Mr. Liebregts is specialised in biological control, pest ecology and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in a wide range of cropping systems with food and plantation crops. 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 refereed journals and conference and workshop proceedings. Mr. Liebregts has extensive experience in the identification, formulation, management and evaluation of national and regional projects, and has conducted consultancies for UNDP, FAO, GTZ, Forum Secretariat, SPREP, CSIRO, SPC, Land Grant Program/ADAP, College of Micronesia and AusAID. His interests include biodiversity issues and the development of sustainable management techniques for land and shore-based farming- and ecosystems in the Pacific.

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 in the region. He is now the author of over 15 commissioned reports relating to income generation and food security for the Pacific region. In that capacity 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. 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 Centre for the Development of Enterprises (formerly known as CDI), Brussels. He has since conducted a large number of consultancies for the European Business Assistance Scheme (EBAS) in Fiji and Vanuatu.