Environment
Guides gather to 'save our planet'
Wednesday 22 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Girl Guides in the Cook Islands are today celebrating World Thinking Day to commemorate the organisation’s members across the globe and the friendship that exists between them in all corners of the world. Cook Islands Girl Guides groups are part of a global network that takes in 145 countries and about 10 million members worldwide. […]
Rubbish issues tackled on Mauke
Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Mauke’s Environment Officer Basilio Kaokao is pleased to finally see a dream coming true as Mayor George Samuela and Island Secretary Teariki Rongo support his efforts to take Mauke’s waste management to new levels. The clearly marked mesh bins designated for aluminium, glass, plastic, and general waste are being distributed around the villages, thus making […]
Marine park target is August
Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in Environment
To accommodate the prime minister’s desire to formally launch the marine park in August, the steering committee in charge of determining its scope and size is working double-time. The committee originally agreed to meet on a ‘need-to’ basis, but chair Liz Koteka says that’s turning out to be ‘quite often’. Comprising the steering committee are […]
Turtle team heads to Palmerston
Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in Environment
An eight-person team from Rarotonga is headed to Palmerston in April to research the island’s sea turtle population. The Cook Islands Turtle Project (CITP) – a subsidiary of Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative (PICI) – recently received a grant from the Rufford Small Grounds Foundation to conduct sea turtle research on Palmerston. The funding has been […]
Problem 'swept under carpet'
Friday 17 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Contractors who mined a property in Betela of its sand which was later filled with illegally dumped rubbish have been instructed to remove the waste and properly secure the edges of the pit. The National Environment Service (NES) has instructed G&S Contractors, the company that mined the Betela property, to cease operations on the site, […]
Clean Pacific training underway
Thursday 16 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Nooroa Rangi of Ruaau, who has been spearheading the community’s Taau Taku Tita project, is representing the Cook Islands at a ‘Clean Pacific Campaign’ training workshop in Fiji this week. ‘Every Action Counts’ is the theme of the workshop, which was organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), at the Tanoa […]
Blooming main road in Arorangi before patai 'butchered'
Monday 13 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Aitutaki’s botanical garden owner Bill Tschan sent in this beautiful photo taken about 30 years ago of the patai (flame tree) lined main road in Arorangi. Tschan wanted to share this photo to show the youth of today “how blooming beautiful their island was before some ‘genius’ minister at the time butchered the trees”.
Teariki talks tough on tita
Monday 13 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Teariki Heather, Minister of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP), didn’t mince his words when he voiced his opinions on the issues of waste management in the country. Speaking on Friday at the launch of the Taau Taku Tita 2012 campaign aimed at reducing and improving waste management, Heather pointed the finger at bad management of the […]
Ruaau praised for recycling
Saturday 11 February 2012 | Published in Environment
The small Ruaau Tapere in Puaikura was praised at the launch of the Taau Taku Tita campaign on Friday for the district’s proactive approach to minimising waste. The Ruaau community, with financial assistance from the Global Environment Fund and the National Environment Service, has purchased a number of recycle bins for residents in the village. […]
Govt backs Taau Taku Tita
Saturday 11 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Creating a cleaner and greener Cook Islands and putting the onus on the community at large to take responsibility for their rubbish was the main focus at the launch of the Taau Taku Tita campaign at the Rarotonga Waste Facility in Arorangi yesterday. The Taau Taku Tita campaign – loosely translated as ‘our rubbish’ – […]
Countries weigh cost benefits of climate adaptation
Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Environment
The third and final series of the ‘Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change – Cost Benefit Analysis Workshop’, focusing on coastal sector pilot projects, is currently underway in Apia. Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Cook Islands national coordinator Vaipo Mataora is representing the Cook Islands at the conference. The week-long training at the Secretariat of […]
Growers invited to 'soil school'
Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Environment
The Titikaveka Growers Association (TGA) is encouraging growers and people with an interest in agriculture to sign up for an introduction to ‘soil school’ course starting on March 5. TGA asks that people register their interest at their earliest convenience, so it can start confirming numbers. Space is limited – the course is only open […]
Growers showcase progress
Thursday 9 February 2012 | Published in Environment
New Zealand High Commissioner John Carter got down and dirty with the Titikaveka Growers Association (TGA) yesterday. Maybe that’s a stretch, but Carter did hop into the back of a ute to tour the nursery and newly-established compost centre – the fruits of both TGA’s labour and a bit of New Zealand Aid Programme funding. […]
Protect our precious wetlands
Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Wetlands are valuable ecosystems which need to be preserved. Wetlands are used for cultivation of taro and mauku as well as for traditional purposes such as colouring and hardening wooden artefacts. Wetlands are important natural filters for sediments and pollutants and help protect the lagoon. Wetlands protect us against natural disasters such as extreme rain […]
Tita campaign being revived
Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Taau Taku Tita (TTT) is Maori for “our rubbish.” It is also the name of a women’s project organised by the government to reduce household waste back in the early 1990s, and perhaps most relevant, it is the name given to the 2012 Year of Action Against Waste campaign for the Cook Islands. The campaign […]
Taau Taku Tita
Wednesday 8 February 2012 | Published in Environment
This year government is focusing on waste – innovative ways to minimise and manage it, so as to keep the Cook Islands clean and beautiful and achieve a ‘zero waste’ goal. The National Environment Service, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning and the Ministry of Health will launch the Taau Taku Tita (TTT) or ‘Cook […]
'Not passing buck'
Saturday 4 February 2012 | Published in Environment
The National Environment Service (NES) claims it is restricted by the Environment Act 2003 from taking action against Scott’s Farm. Some Muri residents believe that the act – of which they have copies – directs that NES take responsibility for air pollution and prosecute persons causing it. “They’re just passing the buck around,” Mann Short […]
Noni operation audited for organic certification
Thursday 2 February 2012 | Published in Environment
Two auditors are at the Cook Islands Noni Marketing Ltd premises in Titikaveka this week doing a routine inspection to ensure the factory is complying with its organic regulations. “We’re just here to make sure that the business complies with our requirements – it’s as simple as that,” senior qualifications assurance auditor Raymond Najm, who […]
$250m needed for renewable goal
Wednesday 1 February 2012 | Published in Environment
The Cook Islands conversion to renewable energies is expected to cost up to $250 million to realise, the roundtable meeting of donor and development groups was told yesterday. And while some of the less-costly projects in the outer islands have found their funding through various governments and groups, much of the bill is still needing […]
Illegal dumping the problem
Tuesday 31 January 2012 | Published in Environment
The rubbish collecting at a Betela sand mine underlines a persistent problem plaguing contractors at Rarotonga, says Robert Wichman of G&S Contractors. Wichman said that since the company excavated sand from a Betela property in Arorangi about five months ago, members of the public have been illegally dumping their rubbish at the site. Wichman said […]
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