Environment
French president to meet Pacific leaders
Friday 4 May 2018 | Published in Environment
Pacific Islands leaders will meet with French president Emmanuel Macron this week to discuss climate change and biodiversity.
Rarotonga hosts fisheries meeting
Thursday 3 May 2018 | Published in Environment
Delegates from the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and its 17 member states are in Rarotonga this week in the lead up to the 106th Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC106) officials meeting, to be held at the Edgewater Resort & Spa from May 7-11.
Drollet applauds preparedness package
Tuesday 1 May 2018 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Environment
The Cook Islands Country Preparedness Package (CPP) clearly portraits the national structures and disaster management arrangements, says Chief of Staff, Prime Minister’s office, Bredina Drollet.
Do your bit to help save our fish
Monday 30 April 2018 | Published in Environment
SCREENED NOSE: This weekly column is supplied by Te Ipukarea Society. It deals with conservation and environmental concerns of interest to the Cook Islands.
Global beach litter problem also an issue in our country
Monday 30 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Beach litter is an increasing problem worldwide, including here in our beautiful Cook Islands.
Islands predicted to be “uninhabitable” by 2060
Monday 30 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Most low-lying atolls in the Cook Islands and around the world will be uninhabitable by 2060, according to a report recently released by scientific journal Science Advances.
Rain delivers 'a rough two weeks'
Thursday 26 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Staff at the Water, Waste and Sanitation (WATSAN) division of Infrastructure Cook Islands have had “a rough last two weeks”, since heavy rain a fortnight ago caused major issues around Rarotonga.
MMR defends paua harvest
Tuesday 24 April 2018 | Published in Environment
The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) says the people of Manihiki should be proud they have used their initiative to protect and conserve their stocks of paua in the Manihiki lagoon.
NES shuts down Akaoa rubbish tip
Monday 23 April 2018 | Published in Environment
The National Environment Service has ordered the owner of an Akaoa property to stop dumping and stockpiling waste on the site.
Runners work on rubbish issue
Wednesday 18 April 2018 | Published in Environment
To combat the increase in rubbish left lying around the island, WATSAN is promoting “plogging”, a new online community on Instagram for a large group of people around the world who combine running with picking up rubbish. Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI) waste programme coordinator Hilary Boyes says a number of people have been posting on social media about the recurring rubbish problem that is affecting beaches around Rarotonga. “Air New Zealand staff did a clean-up at Social Centre beach in Nikao and by the next weekend, bags of rubbish were found at the beach again,” says Boyes. “As you can imagine, this is pretty disappointing for the staff who worked so hard out of their own hearts to pick up all the rubbish.” She said that there was a high likelihood that rubbish left on the beach or in parks would find its way to the ocean, becoming dangerous to marine animals and impacting the health of our oceans and planet. The issue of rubbish, especially the build-up of plastic in our oceans, is a huge global problem that we can’t keep ignoring, says Boyes Plastic is a physical danger to sea creatures and is now part of the food chain through animals ingesting plastic particles and eventually onto our own dinner plates, she adds. “We can all act at an individual level with our everyday choices and practices to prevent further plastic contamination of the ocean and our health.” Boyes, who has worked in Kiribati and Australia on waste management, says that while litter management on Rarotonga is generally good compared to other Pacific islands where she has lived or visited, there is still much room for improvement. “If you open your eyes to it, there is lots of litter lying around. In particular, after all the rain we have had recently, there is a lot of litter on the beach and in streams. It’s sad.” Boyes says the amount of rubbish around the island prompted the “plogging” idea. The concept involves bringing a bag while going on a walk or run, and when rubbish is spotted to perform an exercise while picking it up. “Squatting and carrying the extra weight of the rubbish adds to the fitness benefits and obviously picking up rubbish before it goes into the ocean or waterways is a good thing,” Boyes says. “If you want, you can then post a picture of your bag of rubbish on Instagram to share with the rest of the global community and support each other.” Boyes has collected over 650 pieces of rubbish since she decided to count it in the last few weeks, and hopes to collect 5000 pieces during her time in Rarotonga. “But I hope I don’t get to that. I hope I no longer find rubbish when I run so my bag comes home empty. Or at least I hope I have to change my running route. “I love the ocean and I love Rarotonga. It’s my way of saying thanks for allowing me to be here and to swim in our gorgeous lagoon.” ICI is working on a number of waste initiatives, such as a cost benefit for glass crushing and mechanisms for operating a sustainable financing scheme for waste management. “The sustainable financing scheme involves adding a small additional cost on the price of products, like 15c on plastic bottles and cans, which we then get a portion back once we have returned the container for recycling,” ICI secretary Ngametua Pokino said, “This scheme works well in almost 50 countries around the world. It just gives containers a small monetary value so we take the time to return it for recycling instead of littering or having it end up in the landfill.” You can also join the online plogging company and link with Hilary on Instagram at Kiwi_hb
Nature-based solutions for septic waste
Monday 16 April 2018 | Published in Environment
This weekly column is supplied by Te Ipukarea Society. It deals with environmental and conservation matters of concern to the Cook Islands.
Investigation focuses on MMR head's conduct
Thursday 12 April 2018 | Published in Environment
The investigation into Ministry of Marine Resources secretary Ben Ponia is about his conduct and has nothing to do with stealing, dishonesty or corruption, says Public Service Commissioner Russell Thomas.
Te Mato Vai project to cost more
Thursday 12 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Finance minister Mark Brown has admitted that the Te Mato Vai project will cost more than the $60 million that was first indicated.
Cook Islands represented in Nepal
Monday 9 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Te Ipukarea Society is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and is currently the only member in the Cook Islands.
New tool for environmental reporting
Saturday 7 April 2018 | Published in Environment
To better manage environmental information, the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES) has introduced a new portal that can store and share datasets, reports, images and other files that examine current environmental conditions.
New tool measures disaster losses
Saturday 7 April 2018 | Published in Environment
An online tool has been launched by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Mangaia pupils learn from TIS visit
Saturday 7 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Te Ipukarea Society’s project officer Alanna Smith has worked on two projects with school students on Mangaia recently as well as starting a sea bird survey project on the island.
Pupils get serious about climate change
Saturday 7 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Since the start of the 2018 school year, Avarua Primary School pupils have been engaged in a flurry of activity studying the topic of climate change.
Sediment removal gets the green light
Friday 6 April 2018 | Published in Environment
The Rarotonga Environment Authority has given the go-ahead to a sediment removal project at the Vaiterenga Stream, near the Pacific Resort in Ngatangiia.
Strong opinions on deep-sea mining
Friday 6 April 2018 | Published in Environment
Cook Islanders have been quick to air their opinions about deep-sea mining, following the recent visit to this country of Ocean Minerals Ltd. (OML)