Category: News Articles

  • Maʻuke welcomes Tumu the octopus and raises awareness for ocean protection

    Ma’uke community welcomed a unique visitor, Tumu, a large inflatable pink octopus with a powerful environmental message.

  • The Cook Islands’ journey towards protecting biodiversity in the High Seas

    Last week, Morocco ratified the “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty”. That is quite a mouthful, so it is commonly referred to…

  • The dark truth about the deep sea. Why we need a mining moratorium

    The deep sea is sometimes viewed as a barren wasteland. However, a recent discovery, the production of ‘dark oxygen’, is challenging this outdated idea and raising critical questions about the…

  • Reusable hygiene products for a healthier environment and future

    Te Ipukarea Society has kick started again, a holistic women’s health and environmental educational programme, with its most recent outreach taking place at Mangaia School. The focus of the programme…

  • Seabed mining in the Cook Islands: Playing with the big boys

    The Cook Islands has an enormous amount of valuable minerals, contained in what are known as polymetallic nodules, on its deep-sea floor. These nodules are rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel,…

  • Te Ipukarea Society speaks out at regional United Nations environment meeting

    This past week Alanna Smith, director of Te Ipukarea Society, attended the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Major Groups and Stakeholders Meeting held in Fiji. While there she joined as…

  • Empowering communities: Sharing seabird monitoring techniques

    A new seabird monitoring initiative, Manu Tai o te Kūki ʻĀirani, launched earlier this year to better understand the presence of elusive seabirds—petrels and shearwaters—on Rarotonga, Mangaia, and Atiu. These seabirds,…

  • Mana Tiaki: Our heritage, our stand, our future

    The Cook Islands’ recent agreements with China and the United States to conduct deep-sea mining research are not a pathway to prosperity, but a dangerous gamble with our most precious…

  • Turtle Trackers in training: GROW Aitutaki youth dive into conservation

    This article is written by a GROW Aitutaki representative on the group’s recent turtle monitoring experience with Te Ipukarea Society and Ocean Toa. GROW Aitutaki is an active youth group…

  • Plastic-Free July: Are We Doing Enough? Lessons from an eco-conscious visitor

    Photo: Angela Pennington and family walk in the sea near their accommodation in Muri. Looking after the beauty of our environment was important to them. We need to do what…