New Ocean Voices Fellow: ‘Elisiva ‘Akau’ola

‘Elisiva (Siva) joined the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) as Legal Officer on 12 February 2024. She is a former Crown Counsel at the Attorney General’s Office in the Kingdom of Tonga, with years of experience in litigation. She was awarded a Master of Laws in International Maritime Law from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta in June 2023, and was engaged in the BBNJ negotiations in 2019, when she was a Fellow at the Permanent Mission of Tonga to the UN, on the Tonga Fellowship on the Environment and Ocean. Her appointment is timely provided that her position is centered on the mandate given by Forum Leaders to the OPOC as a coordinating entity with respect to ocean governance and integrated ocean management in the region under the Framework for a Pacific Oceanscape. Significantly, her role builds on OPOC’s coordinating role in terms of setting up plans to roll out the implementation of the new BBNJ Treaty at the regional and national levels. She hopes to support the Pacific Ocean Commissioner as best as she can in executing and delivering on his advocacy and coordination roles to the Pacific region on ocean related priorities.    

During the fellowship, Siva will have a research focus “How does the BBNJ Agreement fit into the context of sea level rise (and Pacific Island countries endeavour to protect their maritime boundaries once deposited) and statehood?”