Tekau Frere

Tekau Frere is an advisor at the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, supporting regional countries and organizations that are preparing to engage in the United Nations ocean processes. For six years, Tekau worked with UN Permanent Missions to help developing states across small islands of the Pacific on various ocean-related processes, including securing a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal on oceans, making sustainable commitments via the SAMOA Pathway, and navigating Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiations. Prior to this work, she previously served as an advisor to the Minister of Environment and Mining, in addition to the Minister of Land-Use Planning and Public Works in French Polynesia, where she worked on climate change, marine, and land-use planning policies. Her passion is rooted in fostering cross-sector collaboration on environmental policy related to the ocean and climate.