Protecting, conserving and sustaining biodiversity in the Cook Islands is the aim of a $700,000 (US$454, 095) national plan being formed at a workshop on Rarotonga this week.
The National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP) two-day workshop was opened by Minister for the Environment Kiriau Turepu at the Pukapuka Hostel on Tuesday.
The project is part of the second generation of Biodiversity Enabling Activities under the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Cook Islands has been a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity since 1993.
The workshop is the first part of three GEF components conducting a “stocktaking exercise” on biodiversity planning in which national biodiversity targets are developed in response to global Aichi Targets.
These targets are made up of 20 strategic biodiversity goals aimed to be met by 2020.
The workshop has seen participants from different ministries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Aronga Mana, who all play an important role in the project.
Two staff from the United Nations Development Programme have also attended the workshop, as the organisation is contributing about $330,000 to the project over three years.
The rest of the project is being funded by in-kind contributions from the government and NGOs.
In his opening address Minister Turepu said it was important the National Environment Service, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Marine Resources came together on the project.
“These three departments need to really work together.”
In line with the goals, he said the country was moving towards using fewer chemicals to promote sustainable agriculture and organic farming.
Project coordinator Paul Allsworth said the plan would impact on other emerging areas in Cook Islands’ development such as seabed mining.
“It’s so important because it’s the environment, everything that surrounds us – plants, animals and habitat.”
Biodiversity is usually defined as the variety of different types of life found on Earth and a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems.
Allsworth said the workshop will approve a plan and budget and form a steering group committee made up of various stakeholders, who will be responsible for the governance of the project.