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Rarotonga the capital of the Cook Islands is rapidly developing with tourism as one of the major income earners for the country. The health of the lagoon and reef is important for the welfare of the people. It is vital that the health of the lagoon is monitored and action is taken to protect the health of the lagoon, coral reef and the people that use it. Human activities contribute to the decreased water quality, for example farming of pigs, deforestation and farming crops close to streams. The water quality monitoring programme gives an evaluation of the state of the streams and lagoon, and can be used to identify issues that need to be addressed.

This document provides a plan to protect and enhance the cloud forests of Rarotonga so that their indigenous ecosystems, habitats for endemic species, and water supply functions are preserved in perpetuity.

In the past two years the local communities on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, have tried to stop islanders from fishing in some coral reefs areas by creating traditional no-fishing zones, known to the locals as Ra’ui. The Ra’ui primarily protects the reef from many people walking and collecting shellfish, octopus, and other organisms, and therefore helps restock the lagoon fish. Locals want to maintain the restricted areas for conservation purposes.

Aplonis cinerascens, or I’oi, an endemic Starling found on the island of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, was studied through field observations, literature review, questionnaire surveys and communication with knowledgeable individuals and research institutions. The Rarotongan species represents the most southerly and easterly extent in the range of the extant Aplonis genus. Previous research on the species has been ad hoc in manner. This study is the first attempt in dedicating research on I’oi, and aims to consolidate all currently available information in to one report, together with results of an investigation of the distribution, abundance, and ecology of the bird.

This report lias been prepared on behalf of the Environment Service, Cook Islands as part of an ongoing monitoring programme of reef health of the fringing reef of Rarotonga. The initial work was earned out in 2000 and this is the first subsequent sampling and report since that baseline study.

In 1998, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), organised a training workshop in Community-based Ecotourism for Conservation Areas. The workshop was held at Lonnoc Resort (Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu). The 1998 workshop was attended mainly by representatives from the Conservation Area projects supported by the South Pacific Biodiversity Conservation Programme (SPBCP), plus six Melanesian focal points for marine and coral reef conservation.