Work that reaches the water.

The challenge. The Climate Science for Ensuring Pacific Tuna Access (CSEPTA) project is building a tuna-climate dashboard to help Pacific countries plan for shifting tuna stocks. SPC needed to make sure the project's work did not leave women, youth and marginalised groups out.

What we did. A desktop GEDSI analysis using the Pacific Handbook for human rights, gender equity and social inclusion in tuna industries and SPC's Social and Environmental Responsibility Policy, worked through review rounds with SPC and MFAT.

The result. A prioritised set of practical actions, from collecting data by gender, age and disability to holding meetings at times women can attend and linking every activity to the project's monitoring framework.

The challenge. FishTech builds fish passes into irrigation and hydropower schemes so river fish, and the people who rely on them for food and income, can recover. ACIAR needed an independent mid-term review, including how well the project was serving women, people with disabilities and other groups.

What we did. Victoria was evaluator and GEDSI specialist on a three-person review team, assessing fishway design, capacity building, and governance and policy, with in-country work in all three countries and a GEDSI scoping visit to the Sleng Weir fish pass in Siem Reap.

The result. A final review report with recommendations for the project team and ACIAR, including dedicated GEDSI recommendations. Victoria gave the keynote at the 2nd Lower Mekong Fish Passage Conference in 2025.

The challenge. Marine protected areas are expanding fast toward protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. Without local voices, or fair sharing of benefits and costs, they can deepen inequality. The Cook Islands' Marae Moana covers its entire exclusive economic zone, alongside the traditional ra'ui system.

What we did. As lead researcher for the Pacific Islands case study, Victoria ran Ocean Equity Index surveys with key informants and residents on three islands, looking at women's roles, community knowledge, livelihoods, decision-making and who carries the benefits and risks.

The result. Preliminary survey results for the EqualSea team, with joint papers on Marae Moana in development.

The challenge. The Regional Environmental Management Plan (REMP) sets the ecosystem-based rules for any future seabed minerals activity. Public trust depends on people understanding the plan and seeing their views reflected in it.

What we did. As stakeholder engagement advisor, ORCA helped design the consultation, wrote public-facing briefing material and the facilitator brief, facilitated the stakeholder workshop and drew together what stakeholders said.

The result. The consultation showed high public endorsement of the assessment work and keen community interest in helping design and carry out management measures. The SBMA has since released the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the REMP.

The challenge. Water policy, fisheries and gender equality are usually handled separately, so the links between them get missed, especially women's roles in freshwater fisheries.

What we did. ORCA led the research and writing on the water security, fisheries and gender equality nexus, including a Myanmar case study, literature analysis and a synthesis of Southeast Asian case studies.

The result. Water, Food, and Gender Equality Synergies (Syddall and Grant, 2023), launched by the Australian Water Partnership in September 2023.

"Victoria led the research and writing of a complex and nuanced report for us… I'm sure it is a resource that will be widely referred to and used by our sector." Melita Grant, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS

The challenge. Aquaculture projects rarely have good ways to measure whether they are changing things for women. Counting participants says little about real shifts in power, income or decision-making.

What we did. For the Gender in Nature-based Climate Solutions in Aquaculture (GeNA) project, funded through IDRC's AQUADAPT initiative, ORCA carried out a desk review of gender monitoring and evaluation in aquaculture and was lead author of a gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation framework.

The result. The work fed into a peer-reviewed paper: Kusakabe et al. (2025), Gender monitoring schema for aquaculture projects: Capturing the process of change, Aquaculture 609, 742776.