Environment
Faster access to climate finance
Saturday 12 August 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Economy, Environment, Fiji, National, Pacific Islands, Regional
Prime Minister Mark Brown highlighted the implementation of the redesigned Pacific Resilience Facility, which will help to ease climate financing for Pacific Island countries.
Te Ipukarea Society: Helping connect our mapu to their surroundings
Saturday 12 August 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Environment, National
Living in an island paradise doesn’t always mean there is a strong connection between the individual and their environment.
Cook Islands’ seabed mining ambitions unaffected by ISA failure to adopt rules
Thursday 10 August 2023 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Environment, Features, In Depth, National
Cook Islands’ ambition to mine its seabed in the future is ‘unaffected’ by the failure to adopt rules on deep sea mining at a recent international meeting. However, an environment group warns the country against jumping ahead of the work that is still to be concluded.
Cook Islands aims to become knowledge hub for seabed minerals
Thursday 10 August 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Environment, National
Prime Minister Mark Brown this week spoke about the progress of Cook Islands seabed minerals exploration, data collection and being a knowledge-based economy to combat the impacts of climate change.
PM Brown asks partners to get serious about debt and climate financing
Thursday 10 August 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Environment, Fiji, National, Regional
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says if the region’s donor partners are serious about helping Pacific economies grow and recover, they “have to be serious about looking at changing the rules around financing, and debt management”.
‘Pick up your mess’: Rubbish dumped behind Parliament
Thursday 10 August 2023 | Written by Joanne Holden | Published in Environment, National
The environmental arm of the Cook Islands Government will be reaching out to Parliament Services after photographs emerged of rubbish dumped near the building where Parliament sits in Rarotonga.
Te Ipukarea Society: Extraction or protection? The dual mandate dilemma of the International Seabed Authority
Saturday 5 August 2023 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Environment, National
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has the dual mandate of regulating mining of the seabed and also protecting that same seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction (also known as international waters, high seas, or simply the area).
Sedimentation concern: Local marine biologist sounds alarm over dredging in Aitutaki harbour
Thursday 3 August 2023 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Environment, National
A recent dredging operation in Aitutaki’s Arutanga Harbour has had a devastating impact on the surrounding reefs, says a local marine biologist.
Book inspired by ‘miracle turtle’ to be launched today
Wednesday 2 August 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Education, Environment, National
The journey of Ponu, the miracle turtle, to Rarotonga has been such an inspiring story that Discover Marine and Wildlife Eco Centre boss Stephenie Jansen felt she had to write a book about it.
Te Ipukarea Society : Update on the bio-control of the Grand Balloon vine on Rarotonga
Saturday 29 July 2023 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Environment, National
Te Ipukarea Society recently guided some visiting scientists from New Zealand up to Tereora Hill to observe any unexpected impacts of an introduced bio-control agent. This article is written by one of those scientists, Alana den-Breeyen.
‘Rare’ sighting of New Zealand fur seal in Rarotonga’s lagoon
Thursday 27 July 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Editor's Pick, Environment, National
A juvenile New Zealand fur seal was sighted swimming in Rarotonga’s lagoon this week, says Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR).
Cook Islands flagged cargo ship ‘barred’
Thursday 27 July 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Environment, Local, National
Maritime Cook Islands has given a “cancellation notice” to a Cook Islands-flagged general cargo ship which has been barred from European ports for failing to turn up at a repair yard after a safety inspection.
Browne receives international award for Deep-Sea Research Excellence
Wednesday 26 July 2023 | Written by Supplied | Published in Environment, National
Cook Islands Seabed Mineral Authority (SBMA) senior knowledge management officer Rima Browne is this year’s recipient of the International Seabed Authority Secretary General’s award for excellence in deep-sea research.
Te Ipukarea Society : ‘We can’t go back, but we can look back and learn’
Saturday 22 July 2023 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Environment, National
This week’s environmental column was written by Te Ipukarea Society executive member June Hosking. Te Ipukarea Society is a non-government environmental group established in 1996.
Vaka Paikea stops over in Suwarrow
Wednesday 19 July 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Art, Environment, Features, Local, National, Outer Islands
Vaka Paikea has stopped over in Suwarrow for two nights before making its return to Rarotonga after a significant voyage from Samoa.
Researchers to survey forests in Rarotonga amid ongoing concern over African tulip tree
Monday 17 July 2023 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Environment, National
Researchers from the Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (MWLR) in New Zealand will be in Rarotonga next week to survey the forests for any damage caused by the African tulip tree’s natural enemies, the gall-forming mite (Colomerus spathodeae) and leaf-mining flea-beetle (Paradibolia coerulea).
Te Ipukarea Society: Looking deeper into the International Seabed Authority
Saturday 15 July 2023 | Written by Te Ipukarea Society | Published in Environment, National
Currently, governments from around the world are meeting at the 28th Session of the International Seabed Authority from 10-28 July in Kingston, Jamaica.
Sludge solution canvassed
Friday 14 July 2023 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Environment, National
To Tatou Vai (TTV) – the agency responsible for Rarotonga’s water supply, is in the final stages of finding a solution to dry the sludge that’s a by-product of filtering the island’s water supply.
Driving towards a more accessible environment for individuals with various disabilities in Cooks
Wednesday 12 July 2023 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Environment, National
Paving the way for inclusion and equality for people with disabilities, the Disability Inclusive Programme is driving awareness and empowering private sectors, government agencies and organisations to create accessible workplaces.
Cook Islands and other Pacific nations call for support in transforming agrifood
Wednesday 12 July 2023 | Written by Joanne Holden | Published in Environment, National
The Cook Islands has joined in a call for global action to make agrifood systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
