**List of Contributors**

**Aashrita Mohess** is an Associate Consultant at Advisors Next Door Limited. Her research is focused on creating socio-economic solutions for the purpose of increasing overall sustainability and inclusivity. She is the holder of a bachelor's degree in (BSc) in Geography and Environmental and Natural Resources Management from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad. Her research interests lie in the fields of Urban Planning, Sustainability and Food Security and fostering public sector adaptation to Climate Change.

**Ameerah Ali** is an Associate Consultant at Advisors Next Door Limited. She holds a bachelor's degree (BSc) in Physics (Environmental and Medical Physics) from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad. She is a multiple award winner for best performance in her degree program for Quantum Mechanics, Bioengineering, Astrophysics and Medical Physics. Her research interests lie in the fields of Meteorology/Climatology, Astrobiology and Environmental Physics.

**Anand Mahabir** is the Lead Associate for the Permitting and Compliance Workstream of the Environmental Services Division at Advisors Next Door Limited, where he provides crucial research and technical support for organizations, allowing them to meet or exceed environmental benchmarks. Anand holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Sustainable Technology (Special) from the University of the West Indies and is currently pursuing an MPhil in Environmental Biology at the same institution. His professional contributions have resulted in the success of various projects throughout the Caribbean, valued at over 725,000.00 USD. Anand's passion resides in the areas of climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience, environmental and social governance, green banking and sustainable finance, public health, and sustainable development.

**Azad Mohammed (PhD)** is a senior lecturer in the department of life sciences. His areas of specialization include environmental toxicology and environmental chemistry. He has authored over 30 publications related to toxicology, metal contamination and traces of organic contaminants in the environment. He is currently involved in research on the effects of pesticides on local freshwater crabs and mercury contamination in consumable fish species. Much of his current research is focused on the impacts of these issues on environmental and human health. In 2004, the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) became legally binding, and this requires signatory countries to develop a national implementation policy on POPs. Some of these works are the first reports of POPs in Trinidad and Tobago.

**Bertha Simmons** of Bluefield's, Nicaragua, received her MSc in Natural Resource Management (specialization in Coastal and Marine Resource Management) from the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. Ms. Simmons is currently an independent consultant with applied research, academic publications, and presentations on fisherfolk organizations and collective action; gender equality under the international Small-scale Fisheries Guidelines; fisherfolk capacity development programmers and leadership; and contemporary issues in Caribbean gender and feminism. She is a member of the CERMES regional Gender in Fisheries Team (GIFT).

**Bongane Mzinyane** is a Social Work lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Applied Human Sciences, South Africa. He is serving as a mentor at MA'AT Institute, and a board member of a non-profit organization called UKZNCORE. Mr Mzinyane graduated with a Master of Social Sciences in Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Social Work, with a research focus on social work and restorative justice.

**Christian Casey-Lee Virgil (PhD)** is a certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, Senior Lecturer at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago, and an Industrial Engineering doctoral student at the University of the West Indies. His research activities and interests include climate change, occupational health and safety, and public health.

**Dure Najaf** is an academic researcher and a post-graduate scholar with 3+ years of experience in research writing. She has written various papers concerning sociology, literature, culture and history in the past. Through her research, she aims to highlight specific social and cultural dilemmas in front of the academic community and aspires to propose active solutions to address them.

**John Agard (PhD)** is the Executive Director of the University of the West Indies, Global Institute for Climate Smart and Resilient Development (GICSRD). He has also been appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Co-Chair of the United Nations Global Sustainability Development Report. His research interests include the field of sustainability science, especially as it relates to mainstreaming environmental considerations such as biodiversity and ecosystem service conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and blue and circular economy development into the core of policy and decision making. He is also the Coordinating Lead Author of the Intergovernmental (Science-Policy) Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), producing the first global assessment in Chapter 5, 'Pathways to a Sustainable Future.' He is currently the Review Editor for Small Islands in

the current 6th assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and has previously served as a Lead Author in IPCC's previous 4 and 5th Assessments.

**Katherine Blackman** is an independent consultant, a certified climate finance expert, and a certified development project manager with more than fifteen years of experience in sustainable development. Ms. Blackman holds an MSc in Natural Resource and Environmental Management specializing in Coastal and Marine Resource Management from the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. She has a background in fishery management and biodiversity conservation and has conducted research in socio-economic monitoring, prepared a publication guiding fisherfolk leadership, and worked within international institutions to integrate gender into projects and programs. She was a mentor for the Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organizations and is a member of the CERMES regional Gender in Fisheries Team (GIFT).

**Kerresha Khan (PhD)** is a climate change consultant at Advisors Next Door Ltd. She holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Management from the University of the West Indies, a master's degree in Environmental Studies from York University, and a Doctor in Philosophy in Environmental Biology specializing in climate change. Her current work centers on assessing the social and environmental impacts of development and climate on Small Island Development States. She has co-authored 19 publications to date in the areas of climate change, biodiversity conservation, and community resilience.

**Kit Fai Pun (PhD)** is presently the president of the CAS Trinidad and Tobago Chapter, and Professor of Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, Trinidad, and Tobago. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, and The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. His research interests and activities include industrial engineering, engineering management, quality systems, and performance measurement.

**Laura Herrmann** is a senior water quality analyst in the Chesterfield County Environmental Engineering Department, where she has worked for 18 years to balance the needs of community development with environmental protection and regulation. She is also a Ph.D. student in public policy and administration at the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research interests broadly include environmental justice, environmental regulations, and local government.

**Maria Pena** is currently a Project Officer at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. With nearly 20 years of experience implementing and managing externally funded resource management projects in the wider Caribbean, Maria has conducted project research in several areas, including socioeconomic monitoring at coastal and marine sites, fishery management planning, stewardship, leadership in fisherfolk organizations, and marine resource governance. More recently, her interests have broadened to include gender in Caribbean small-scale fisheries. She is co-lead of the CERMES regional Gender in Fisheries Team (GIFT).

**Mary Strawderman** is a Senior Grant and Contract Administrator in the Division of Sponsored Programs in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a third-year Ph.D. student in public policy and administration at the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research interests broadly include environmental justice and social equity.

**Nolwazi Ngcobo (PhD)** is currently a Lecturer at the School of Applied Human Sciences in the discipline of the Social Work Department, University of KwaZulu-Natal. She currently coordinates community engagement within the discipline with over 19 years of social work experience and is a board member for an NPO - UKZN Community Outreach and Research (UKZNCORE). Her teaching and research focus mainly on gender, health, sexuality, and agency. She is a Mellon Grant recipient, currently investigating ways in which married African women negotiate sexual agency, specifically within the Zulu ethnic group.

**Patrick McConney (PhD)** is a Senior Lecturer in Marine Resource Management Planning at the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES), The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. He is a former fishery manager and has an interdisciplinary PhD in resource management from the University of British Columbia, Canada. His current applied research focuses mainly on social-ecological systems, adaptive capacity, resilience, institutions, and governance related to small-scale fisheries in the Wider Caribbean. He is co-lead of the CERMES regional Gender in Fisheries Team (GIFT).

**Ryan Assiu** is the principal environmental consultant at Advisors Next Door Limited, where he leads teams of multi-disciplinary experts to address climate change throughout the Caribbean Region. He holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental and Natural Resources Management from the University of the West Indies and dual master's degrees from Antioch University New England in Sustainable Development and Climate Change. Over his 9-year career, he has contributed to the success of climate and sustainability projects with a combined value of over USD 17 million. Ryan is passionate about supporting island nations in the areas of climate change mitigation, resilience, and finance, and developing science-based policy for a just energy transition.

**Shafia Azam (PhD)** is an Assistant Professor at the department of Anthropology, Fatima Jinnah Women's University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She secured her PhD from Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia. Her research interests include the areas of food, religion, media discourses, politics, and their impact on the broader social system, particularly identity formation. She performed ethnographic fieldwork for her PhD thesis research top explore how immigrants living in Slovakia adjust to new cultural settings regarding their food and identity.

**Sibonsile Zibane (PhD)** is a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Social Work in the School of Applied Human Sciences. She is also one of the founding members a Project Specialist at Ma'at Institute. This is an Institute that specializes in the provision of African-centered psychosocial interventions to communities.

**Uzma Imtiaz (PhD)** is an Assistant Professor of English Literature at Fatima Jinnah Women's University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She has completed her PhD at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad. Her PhD study was focused on post-9/11 trends in contemporary literature and how writers from different religions and regions have responded to this event by portraying the impact it has had on people all over the world, as well as how the different characters learn to deal with the personal tragedy of death, loss, trauma, mourning and violence. She teaches Ecocriticism and Young Adult Literature at a PhD level and American Literature at the bachelor's Level.

**Vrijesh Tripathi (PhD)** is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. He has published 50 papers in peer-reviewed reputable journals such as *BMJ, BMJ Open, PlosOne, PeerJ, Clinical Nuclear Medicine, Pediatric Research and European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery*. His research interests are in the field of demography, epidemiology, climate change, clinical trials and cancer computational genomics. The specific areas include global health (particularly reproductive epidemiology, non-communicable and communicable diseases, mother and child healthcare, large-scale sample surveys, and biological and computational statistics) with a geographical focus on the Caribbean, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

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Climate change and urban development threaten health, undermine coping and deepen existing social and environmental inequities. A changing global environment requires transformative social responses: new partnerships, deep engagement with local communities, and innovation to strengthen individual and collective assets.

The chapters of this edited volume have mainly been contributed by established and emerging scholars representing social work, sociology, development studies, law, government, social anthropology, urbanism, public policy, and other social sciences.

This book is to be used for academics, policy makers, social work students, lecturers and other stakeholders to promote advocacy for vulnerable client groups affected by climate change. It gives some measure of hope and makes the invisible visible, allowing for change.

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