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In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the 10 rarest birds in the world with a declining population of just 29 individuals living in forested hill country in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of south-eastern Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Following 12 years of rat poisoning, the population had increased to 255 birds in August 2001. The programme then shifted from ‘species recovery’ to ‘sustainable management’ of the Rarotonga population at 250 to 300 birds. The rat poisoning effort was reduced, and an ‘insurance’ population was established on Atiu. By August 2004, following the reduction of poisoning from weekly to fortnightly, and the transfer of 30 youngsters to Atiu in 2001–03, there were 281 birds on Rarotonga and 25 on Atiu. The southern Cook Islands were hit by five tropical cyclones in a four-week period in February–March 2005, and forests on Rarotonga were severely damaged. Kakerori survived the storms remarkably well, but the main effect was observed in the following breeding season (2005/06), when nesting success on Rarotonga was exceptionally poor. Reduced canopy cover caused nests to be exposed to abnormally wet conditions, and lack of fruit meant that rats were exceptionally hungry. Only 31 yearlings were known to be alive in August 2006—about half the expected number—and annual mortality of banded birds (25%) was the highest since management began. The kakerori population on Rarotonga fell 8% from 275 birds in August 2005 to a minimum of 254 birds in August 2006. The situation was better on Atiu, with the population growing from about 32 adult birds in 2005/06 to a minimum of 37 adult birds in 2006/07, and an Atiu-bred pair nested successfully for the first time. The 2006/07 breeding season on Rarotonga was moderately successful, with a minimum of 51 fledglings found. Because the ‘sustainable management’ regime of fortnightly rat poisoning in the TCA was only just adequate in giving protection to adult kakerori, the annual poisoning programme was modified by adding rounds of ‘interim’ poisoning in April and July 2007 aimed at reducing rat and cat numbers before the breeding season.

Pacific governments and communities are increasingly realising there is a need to strengthen and improve their systems for managing and using land. Since 2004 Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have been developing major programs to reform land policy. Papua New Guinea has already begun implementing its own program—a long-term and sweeping initiative that aims to underpin the nation’s economic development agenda.

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For Pacific SIDS, the need for adaptation to climate change has become increasingly urgent. Long-term climate changes, including the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events such as high rainfall, droughts, tropical cyclones, and storm surges are affecting the lives and livelihoods of people in PICs. Coupled with non-climate drivers, such as inappropriate land use, overexploitation of resources, increasing urbanization and population increase, development in the region is increasingly undermined. For the low lying atolls, the likely economic disruption from climate change pressures could be catastrophic, even to the extent of requiring population relocation to other islands or adding numbers to the Pacific diaspora, with the subsequent social and cultural disruption having unknown proportions. Failure to reduce vulnerability could also result in loss of opportunities to manage risks in the future when the impacts may be greater and time to consider options limited.

Increasing recognition of the changes in the natural environment as a result of human interference has lead to the international community agreeing on a number of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" – meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. Three key agreements from the Summit are the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. These three are known as the Rio Conventions.

Increasing recognition of the changes in the natural environment as a result of human interference has lead to the international community agreeing on a number of multi-lateral environmental agreements (MEAs). At the 1992 Earth Summit, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for "sustainable development" - meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. Three key agreements from the Summit are the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. These three are known as the Rio Conventions.

The likelihood (i.e., probability) components of climate-related risks in the Cook Islands are evaluated, for both present-day and future conditions. Changes into the future reflect the influence of global warming. The risk events for which current and future likelihoods are evaluated are extreme rainfall events (both hourly and daily), drought, high sea levels, strong winds, and extreme high air temperatures. Tropical cyclone frequencies over the past century are also examined. Some climate-related human health and infrastructure risks are also investigated.

Few studies1 have been published on school-based environmental education (EE) in the Pacific islands, and there is little available information on effective initiatives in schools. The key purpose of this study is to review and assess the extent to which EE is being carried out in Pacific Island schools to support ongoing dialogue about environment and sustainable development education at the national, regional and international levels.

In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the ten rarest bird species in the world, with a declining population of just 29 birds in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of southeastern Rarotonga. As a result of conservation management, the kakerori population rebounded, with up to 300 birds being recorded on Rarotonga and Atiu in 2004/05. The southern Cook Islands was, however, hit by five tropical cyclones over a 4-week period in February–March 2005, and much of the forest on exposed faces, spurs and ridges (traditional kakerori habitat) was severely damaged. The population survived remarkably well, with a minimum of 274 adults known to be alive in the TCA in August 2005. An additional 17 adults were found on Atiu between August 2005 and March 2006. The main\ casualties of the cyclones on Rarotonga appeared to be young birds (1–3 years old) and very old birds (> 20 years old). Because the population on Rarotonga remained well within the management target of 250–300 individuals, rat poisoning was again done fortnightly, as in the previous 2 years. Breeding productivity was exceptionally poor in 2005/06, mainly because of nesting failures or early fledgling deaths caused by abnormally wet conditions during the main fledging periods. Nests were more exposed to the elements because the cyclones had extensively defoliated the canopy. Furthermore, rats were often seen foraging during the day, apparently struggling to find food (few trees were fruiting). Only 22 fledglings were definitely seen in 2005/06; however, some territories were not checked or poorly checked during the breeding season, and some fledglings may have dispersed to better vegetated sites. We recommend that rat control should return to the weekly poisoning regime used during the 1989–2001 recovery phase of the kakerori management programme if the August 2006 census reveals that the population has fallen below 220 birds (a 20% decline from pre-cyclone levels). Otherwise the regime of the sustainable management phase (fortnightly poisoning) should continue.