Cook Islands announces protection zone for migrating Oceania humpback whales

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown arrives at Tuurangawaewae Marae Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown has announced the creation of a zone to protect the migratory corridors of the endangered Oceania...

Peters rejects claim Aotearoa funding freeze to Cook Islands is ‘patronising’

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo composite: Newsroom/25070713 New Zealand Foreign Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters rejects suggestions that pausing of development funding to the...

The Pacific’s united front on climate action is splintering over deep-sea mining

In recent years, Pacific island nations have earned global credibility as champions of climate action. Pacific leaders view sea level rise as an existential threat. But this united front is now under strain as some Pacific nations pursue a...

Cook Islands engages at global platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 in Geneva

Emergency Management Cook Islands Director John Strickland (far right) emphasised that “greater access to technology to support national-level efforts to strengthen resilience can help overcome some of our remoteness and connectivity challenges....

Cook Islands creates Pacific’s first ocean protection zone for whales

Prime Minister Mark Brown with Sandrina Thondoo, director of Treaties, Multilaterals and Oceans Division at the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM/25060904 Cook Islands is creating the Pacific’s first...

The Cook Islands’ Dilemma: To Mine or Not to Mine

This article is part of our series on responsible mining solutions. The push for clean energy is fueled by a growing demand for minerals, but conventional mining has a track record of harmful social and environmental impacts. Deep-sea mining is...

Te Ipukarea Society speaks out at regional United Nations environment meeting

Alanna Smith, middle, director of Te Ipukarea Society, attended the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Major Groups and Stakeholders Meeting held in Fiji. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Fiji/25082925 This past week Alanna Smith,...

Pacific activists protest deep sea mining as U.S exploration vessel enters port

Greenpeace Australia Pacific RAROTONGA, Wednesday 22 October 2025 — Cook Islanders holding a banner reading “Don’t Mine the Moana” have confronted an exploration vessel as it returned to Rarotonga port today, protesting the emerging threat of...

SBMA briefs stakeholders on Regional Environmental Management Plan

The Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority briefing on its Regional Environmental Management Plan (REMP) yesterday brought together stakeholders, experts, and community representatives at the Are Pua Church Hall in Takuvaine. 25082750/25082751 The...

Cook Islands under scrutiny as deep-sea mining debate shifts from green transition to militarisation

This week, the Cook Islands came under scrutiny for excluding environmentalist groups from deep-sea mining consultations in Queensland, Australia. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to Pacific nations, but an escalating military buildup...

Cook Islands youth demand transparency in seabed mining talks

Cook Islander Helena Keenan-Williams is calling for greater transparency and genuine consultation over the government’s controversial seabed mining plans. Speaking from Sydney following a last-minute public meeting with Prime Minister Mark Brown,...

Climate change director welcomes ICJ ruling

Climate Change Cook Islands (CCCI) director Wayne King. OPM / 24102519 The recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on climate change could mean that the Cook Islands' interactions with all states can be ‘prefaced by the ICJ,’ says...

Pacific Islands focus: health, environmental, security and geopolitical updates

Calls to tackle violence against women in the Pacific region, efforts to alleviate the impacts of extreme heat, new guidelines to assist in protection of whales, and concerns about deep sea mining are among the topics covered in the latest edition...

The Tree of Life: Honouring the Coconut Tree's Sacred Place in the Cook Islands Culture

You’ve seen it in nearly every photo of our little paradise — the iconic coconut tree. It’s the unmistakable symbol of tropical life, a mark that you’ve arrived somewhere truly special. But in the Cook Islands, the coconut is more than just a...

Pacific must manage expectations on ICJ climate ruling, says experts

The landmark advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on climate change has set a new global momentum in place, but Pacific SIDS who led the journey must also manage expectations. Key experts in the Pacific Climate...

Letter: Cook Islands sovereignty debate

Dear Editor, Joe T Public’s (JoeTP) (bully-boy tactics letter 20 June) was the clever work of a sophist (a person who peddles a fallacious argument to support a false conclusion) and reads very much like it is Government’s position and coming from...

Cook Islands PM hails strong ties with Australia after Sydney talks

Cook Islands Prime Minister this week met with Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy in Sydney to strengthen bilateral ties and push forward shared regional priorities. “Our meeting was productive,...

Team Cook Islands in high spirit

The Cook Islands swim team. KIERAN CHAN/ CISNOC-25062710 The young swimming team from the Cook Islands is in Palau, filled with high spirits and ready for the 2025 Pacific Mini Games. Chef de Mission Mark Short says, “We have a very young team in...

Cook Islands supports Australia’s proposal to host Pacific COP

Prime Minister Mark Brown with Australia’s Minister for International Development and Pacific Island Affairs, Pat Conroy MP. OPM/25052921 Prime Minister Mark Brown signalled the Cook Islands’ full support for Australia’s proposal to host a future...

Cook Islands seabed minerals consultations under fire for excluding environment groups…

Environmental groups are again raising red flags as the second round of overseas public consultations on seabed mining gets underway in Queensland, Australia, citing the Cook Islands government’s refusal to allow independent environmental experts...