Environment
Nappies reusable
Thursday 5 July 2012 | Published in Environment
New mothers are in for a boost after the CITC pharmacy donated 100 reusable nappies, brochures and cloth wipes to voluntary group Hospital Comforts. The voluntary organisation visits hospitals and creates baby packs for new mothers. The donation will ensure one cloth nappy, brochure and wipe in each new pack. Reusable nappies are made of […]
Economic ministers agree on sustainable development
Thursday 5 July 2012 | Published in Environment
The 16th Forum Economic Ministers’ Meeting (FEMM) concluded yesterday in Tarawa, Kiribati. At the conclusion of the meeting, the economic ministers present – including the Cook Islands’ own Mark Brown – released the Forum Economic Action Plan 2012. The 16th FEMM focused on key economic issues of importance to the region including the implementation of […]
Fish feeding can harm fish
Saturday 30 June 2012 | Published in Environment
This article was prepared as a Lagoon Day message by marine biologist Katherine Ross in response to a request for researched information on the effects of fish feeding on our marine environment. For a full copy of this report, including references, contact June Hosking at ajhos@oyster.net.ck or download from www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com For a number of years, […]
Mauke agriculture officers in China
Saturday 30 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Mauke agriculture officers and growers are having an eye opening experience at a training course for tropical fruits, vegetable and processing technology in China. Mauke agriculture officers Tereapii Vaine Keu and Archie Taripo along with local farmer Hugh Graham were nominated by the Ministry of Agriculture to attend the course – all paid for by […]
Edna's logo design gets the nod
Friday 29 June 2012 | Published in Environment
A reminder of the four pillars of society under the watchful eye of a Cook Islands wave has won the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum Logo Competition. Thirteen entries were received by the organising committee, who asked people to design their logo around the forum’s theme: Large Ocean Island States – the Pacific Challenge. The winning […]
Fines not enough for pig polluters
Friday 29 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Titikaveka Growers Association (TGA) chairman Teava Iro is adamant there is a better way to handle the issue of pig pollution than to simply slap fines on offenders. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning’s WATSAN group have implemented fines as a means of ensuring animals such as pigs are kept at least five metres away […]
Please leave petrel
Thursday 28 June 2012 | Published in Environment
A giant petrel is currently in Avatiu Harbour and the public is asked to leave it alone. Esther Honey Foundation clinic director Gregg Young says the ocean bird had most likely blown off course in high winds and run out of energy. ”People just need to leave it alone to regain its strength and it […]
Environmental focus for ministers meeting
Thursday 28 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mark Brown is looking to the Forum Economic Ministers’ Meeting (FEMM) in Tarawa, Kiribati, next week for ways to counter the issue of depopulation. The forum will run from July 2-4 with a focus on promoting sustainable economic development and growth throughout the Pacific. The FEMM is the key […]
Arorangi hosting Lagoon Day 2012
Thursday 28 June 2012 | Published in Environment
This year’s Lagoon Day will be held in Arorangi at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) office grounds, the Edgewater Resort & Spa beach and the Rarotonga Waste Facility. Lagoon Day 2012 will largely focus on waste management in support of this year’s environmental campaign, ‘TaauTaku Tita’. Acting secretary of MOIP Donye Numa said […]
'Green market' for Lagoon Day
Wednesday 27 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Lagoon Day markets will be green and a ‘no plastic’ zone. The night market on July 12, the start of the two-day Lagoon Day environmental awareness campaign, aims to raise the benchmark for local markets. ”It’s a benchmark in green economics,“ says Lagoon Day coodinator June Hosking. The market will be setting the wheels of […]
Fines for pig polluters
Wednesday 27 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Harsher guidelines on pigs are part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning’s campaign to combat pollution in Rarotonga’s waterways and lagoon. Focusing on the need to keep pigs a safe distance from streams and waterways, the WATSAN unit of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Planning (MOIP) is coordinating a campaign supported by the enforcement […]
US Endangered Species Act a crusade for coral restoration
Tuesday 26 June 2012 | Published in Environment
In the build-up to the establishment of a large marine park in the Cook Islands, it is timely for us to be aware of environmental issues in other parts of the Pacific that could affect us. Recent developments regarding the possibility of listing over 80 species of stony corals on the US Endangered Species list […]
Common challenges addressed at Small Island Forum
Monday 25 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Delegates attending the inaugural Australia Small Island Forum held on Lord Howe Island were able to meet and discuss their experiences in dealing with renewable energy, waste management, sustainable tourism development, cultural identity, transport and conservation on their respective islands. Their goal was to flesh out common issues with a view toward finding practical, financially […]
The origin of mynas in Tahiti?
Saturday 23 June 2012 | Published in Environment
The first mention of mynas in Tahiti is by Clement Wragge who arrived there from Rarotonga in 1904. He wrote that he saw the ”mina“, a thrush-like bird, strutting around Papeete and they had been ”imported from the Moluccas to kill those infernal big wasps and cattle ticks.“ Although the French name in Tahiti, Merle […]
The spread of the 'farmer's friend' – the myna bird
Saturday 23 June 2012 | Published in Environment
The myna is locally much loathed as a pest, yet it arrived in the early 1900s with such high hopes as the ”farmer’s friend“. We follow its triumphant march from India to many countries, including the Cook Islands. The Common Myna is indigenous to southern Asia, primarily India. It lives in open woodlands but is […]
Mauke turtle expedition successful
Friday 22 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Phil and Nerissa Bradshaw of the Cook Islands Turtle Project (CITP) have just returned from a successful research expedition to Mauke where they conducted the island’s first official assessment of sea turtle populations and nesting behaviours. They worked with Mauke’s environment officer Basilio Kaokao to identify beaches where turtles were known to have nested at […]
Three tonnes of shark fins allegedly found
Thursday 21 June 2012 | Published in Environment
A number of reports have come in of a large amount of shark fins being found on a foreign fishing vessel by a recent navy patrol. According to numerous reliable sources, three tonnes worth of shark fins – without the required number of shark carcasses – have allegedly been found by navy personnel onboard a […]
Vaka bound for Vanuatu
Wednesday 20 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Our arrival ceremony in Laucala Bay in Suva was really cool! It started the same way as in Levuka, with 3 members from each vaka chosen to chase and search through a group of Fijian ladies for the prized tabua (whale’s tooth) that they were concealing. However, the difference with this one was that we […]
Maureen Goodwin reports from Nauru
Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Maureen Goodwin is known to many in the Cook Islands, having worked since 1996 in various educational capacities in classrooms and the Ministry of Education. At present she is employed for one year as Literacy Advisor to the Nauru Department of Education. She says that Nauru, the smallest nation in the world, although still a […]
Plastic bags to be outlawed
Monday 18 June 2012 | Published in Environment
Cabinet has agreed to legislate against the importation of plastic bags into the Cook Islands. Prime Minister Henry Puna made the announcement when he stood to support the $1 million allocation for environment in this year’s Budget. ”In supporting the appropriation for environment, I want to say how pleased I am with the support that […]