Environment

July 30th 2010
Plastiki reminder of the poor health of the ocean
The Plastiki’s eight thousand nautical mile voyage from San Francisco to Sydney has now come to an end but its aim to raise awareness of the huge amount of plastic waste floating in the ocean will carry on.
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July 29th 2010
SPREP Launches study on regional financing for climate change
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has commenced a study with a view to establishing a regional Climate Change Fund or other mechanism. It will aim to help Pacific island countries improve access to and management of the various financial resources being committed globally to combat climate change.
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July 22nd 2010
Need to address global issues
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Adu Dhabi called for more effective integration among the world countries to address global issues including shortage in food, water scarcity and climate change.
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July 16th 2010
The way forward for Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation
The Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation calls upon Pacific Island countries to commit to investing in natural solutions to reduce the impacts of environmental and climate change as a matter of urgency.
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July 14th 2010
Samoa Voyaging Society Crew Share Pacific Journey
Crew of the Samoa Voyaging Society made a presentation to the Pacific Islands Roundtable for Nature Conservation this week, sharing their highlights and experiences as Environment Ambassadors while sailing through the Pacific Ocean.
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June 28th 2010
PNG underwater gas pipeline is recipe for disaster
PNG Post-Courier, on 21st June reports that an experienced Papua New Guinean geologist, in a study carried out by a geotechnical engineering company, stated the proposed offshore submarine LNG pipeline to Port Moresby is a "poorly thought out" proposition, has a potentially unstable geological condition and should be abandoned.
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June 28th 2010
Pacific Youth Plan for Climate Change

Reviving traditional knowledge on caring for the environment complemented by advances in modern science can help better prepare Pacific island communities for natural disasters and a changed environment due to climate change
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June 24th 2010
Vanuatu: URA Congratulates UNELCO on electricity price cuts
Following on from the release of the URA’s Final Decision as part of its Electricity Tariff review UNELCO had agreed to cut tariffs voluntarily for small households using less than 60 KWh a month. These customers will receive a 40% reduction in their electricity bills from the 1 July 2010.
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June 22nd 2010
Maori Ownership of Foreshore and Seabed
It has now been confirmed that under the new constitutional arrangements National and the Maori Party are planning to push through before Christmas, Maori will become the legal owners of large tracts of New Zealand’s foreshore and seabed.
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June 22nd 2010
Pacific Islanders warned of the dangers of mercury in fish
Delegates from several Pacific nations have been negotiating a global treaty to reduce or eliminate mercury from their food sources.
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June 18th 2010
Tainui plans raise alarm
Plans for a six-theatre cinema complex at the Base have prompted accusations from a Hamilton city councillor that Tainui is building a "mini-city" at Te Rapa.
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June 18th 2010
Whale poo fights climate change
Previously fingered as climate culprits because they breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2), the commonest greenhouse gas, Southern Ocean sperm whales are now seen as an unexpected ally in the fight against global warming, removing the equivalent carbon emissions from 40,000 cars each year thanks to their faeces.
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June 16th 2010
Protection status changes to Wildlife Act

Whale sharks, katipo spiders and all giant weta will now be absolutely protected under changes to the Wildlife Act, Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson announced today.
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June 10th 2010
Rare rats off the hook
The Kiore (Pacific Rat) was introduced from Polynesia by 13th century and pre-European Maori considered it a delicacy and its pelt good for making cloaks.
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June 9th 2010
Pacific photographer challenges ‘one dimensional’ view of climate change

A claim by a scientist that some Pacific islands and atolls are growing in size rather than being eroded by climate change has been criticised by an Auckland-based Pacific photographer.
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Thursday, 3 June, 2010 / Aso Tofi , tolu, luni, 2010
Islands in the Pacific are growing
When speaking of global warming much is made of fears that rising sea levels will swallow island nations.
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Wednesday, 2 June, 2010 / Aso Lulu, lua, luni, 2010
Vanuatu ash cloud threatens planes
A giant plume of volcanic ash over the South Pacific prompted warnings to tourists and airlines early this week but caused only minor disruption to flights compared with recent chaos in Europe.
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Tuesday, 1 June , 2010 / Aso Lua , tasi, luni, 2010
Fallen statues reveal secrets of Easter Island’s pathways
According to Polynesian legend, the stone monoliths of Easter Island were put into place by a king who invoked divine power to command the statues to walk.
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Monday, 31 May, 2010 / Aso Gafua , tolu sefulu tasi, Me, 2010
Plastic bottle boat has a green message
Samoa was not an original stopover point for a 60-foot catamaran on its journey from San Francisco to Sydney, but it is an unusual and interesting sight.
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Monday, 31 May, 2010 / Aso Gafua , tolu sefulu tasi, Me, 2010
Lady of the lake
Lake Hauroko, 35 kilometres northwest of Tuatapere in Fiordland National Park, demands respect from those venturing out on it - for its history as well as its mood swings.
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May 24th 2010
Climate change videos used as a voice for indigenous people
Indigenous people in Samoa are producing their own videos to voice the impacts of climate change on their habitat.
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May 19th 2010
Plight of people on Kanton Island
Mr Alex Bond from Penryn, Cornwall was delivering the 10-metre yacht Mary Powell from Hawaii and docked at Kanton Island – an atoll between Hawaii and Fiji. He was met by extraordinary scenes when he found the island's 14 adults and 10 children had been given no supplies for several months.
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May 14th 2010
Clean Me, Green Me, Fiji Me
Building on its 'Clean Me, Green Me, Fiji Me' national low carbon travel and tourism sector initiative, Tourism Fiji has now thrown is full weight behind a Fiji government scheme to plant one million trees across the destination by 2011.
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May 13th 2010
No space- Hang your garden.
A survey carried out by the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises N Development or FRIEND found that squatter residents in Lautoka faced one common problem - the lack of land space for gardening.
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May 13th 2010
Tahiti expects thousands of visitors for eclipse
.
Members from the French High Commissioner's office and from the French Polynesian government met in May in Papeete to talk about the July 11 total solar eclipse in the eastern Tuamotu atolls, the only places in French Polynesia where a total solar eclipse can be viewed.
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April 29th 2010
Community involvement essential to limit impact of disasters.
The Pacific has had more than its fair share of earthquakes, cyclones, tsunami's and volcanic eruptions. A recently-released study, funded by the Australian government's development agency, AusAid, looks at how to minimise the impact of these events on communities. The study uses Samoa and Fiji as case studies, and the first of a series of workshops to present the findings has taken place in Suva.
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April 28th 2010
Fiji’s comic-book heroes of conservation
Children attending schools around Fiji's Mount Nabukelevu IBA are to become the conservationists of the future, with help of a BirdLife project backed by the local and national government, and supported by the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund.
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April 23rd 2010
Statement on Treaty Negotiations with Ngai Tuhoe
Statement by Christopher Finlayson on Treaty negotiations with Nga Tuhoe on the 19th April
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April 20th 2010
Report Focuses on Natural Disaster Risks in Pacific
Cyclones, tsunami, earthquakes, volcanic activity and climate change all pose major potential risks to Pacific Island nations and development projects aimed at reducing those risks need to be much better integrated with each other and with local agencies, according to a new report.
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April 14th 2010
Forestry alarm as infestation spreads

REPORTS filtering in on the termite infestation has revealed that the number of affected homes could be much higher than initial figures.
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April 14th 2010
Shipping back recyclables
Cook Islands General Transport (GT) wants to send recyclables back to where they came from.
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April 14th 2010
Resorts possible with customary title
Maori customary title to the foreshore and seabed could confer similar rights to freehold title, such as negotiating with foreign parties for large-scale coastal developments, the Government says.
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April 14th 2010
Moa bones and adze head unearthed
A highly significant archaeological find including Moa bones and a Maori adze head has been discovered on an historic building site on Auckland's North Shore.
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April 13th 2010
Samoa rat eradication project
Six months after a rat eradication project began for the Aleipata Islands group in Samoa, a follow up visit after the operation reports no sign of the Pacific rat on Nu'utele Island.
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April 13th 2010
New website for all Pacific marine information
It now takes as much effort as pushing a button for you to have access to a wealth of quality marine and fisheries information from the Pacific. Gone are the days of having to trawl through different websites and constant library visits as you search for information on Pacific marine fisheries and environment.
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April 12th 2010
French Polynesia
3 Pacific bird species in danger
The three bird species are part of the 2009 Red List compiled by the Birdlife International and the International Conservation Union.
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April 7th 2010
Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar on Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change & Rural Poverty

Charles Chauvel MP, Member, New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) Speech at the Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar on “Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change and Rural Poverty: Promoting Innovative Approaches and Solutions"
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April 6th 2010
Iwi eye minerals for treaty talks

Coromandel Peninsula iwi want to put the rights to mineral wealth on the table as they head into Treaty negotiations and the Government talks about mining on conservation land.
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April 1st 2010
CLIMATE CHANGE
Changes to seashore.
Kenson Jayrick grew up as a young village boy living by the seashore during his teen years.
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March 29th 2010
Whangateau Harbour cockle and pipi fishery closing

A three-year closure of Whangateau Harbour to the harvest of cockles and pipi takes effect from Thursday 25 March.
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March 26th 2010
Mining proposals target 7000ha of protected land
The proposals target land in the Coromandel Peninsula and the Inangahua sector of the Paparoa National Park, and on Great Barrier Island.
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March 17th 2010
Reef and lagoon Cleanup For Tsunami Affected Villages in Samoa.
Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Australian High Commission are joining forces to clean up the reefs and lagoons damaged by last year’s tsunami, for the village of Poutasi.
March 2nd 2010
Heavy rain hits Fiji

There have been heavy rains across parts of Fiji, with flooding reported in eastern and northern Viti Levu.

March 1st 2010
Employees to plant more than 7,500 native Hawaiian foliage
Bank in Hawaii decide to do something for the environment through their employees and customers.