Traditional leaders, Island Councils, communities and government have all contributed to the establishment and management of PAs. Most Cook Islands PAs are not covered by legislation, and the few that are legislated vary in their levels of protection. Only three of the 14 terrestrial PAs are covered by formal government-based legislations and regulations, which include the Suwarrow National Park Declaration, Takutea Island Regulations and Takuvaine Water Catchment Regulations.
Cook Island’s National Invasive Species Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2020 DRAFT 2016
The Strandings of Oceania database is a collaborative project between SPREP, WildMe and the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium to record stranding and beachcast data for whales, dolphins and dugongs throughout the Pacific. We use a platform called Flukebook. An account is needed to view or use data within Flukebook but the data is available for download here. You can submit data direct into Flukebook (preferably while logged in) or send a completed data form to SPREP for upload. Guidance on using the database is available :
There are 14 terrestrial PAs, which total at least 1407.2 hectares (five PAs are uncalculated), or about six per cent of the Cook Islands’ total 240 km2 land mass. Terrestrial PA are concentrated in a few locations. Three of the 15 islands in Cook Islands are wildlife reserves (Suwarrow, Takutea and Manuae), almost 40% of the terrestrial PAs are represented by four motu on Pukapuka, and three of Rarotonga’s four PAs make up 36% of total terrestrial PAs.
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management.
Dataset includes various regional-scale spatial data layers in geojson format.
State of Environment (SoE) reports provide in-country partners with a process to gather data on current environmental indicators, document their status, and formulate a plan for keeping these indicators on track or developing policies and programs as needed. This SoE Toolkit dataset contains resources that serve as guides to help create up-to-date State of Environment reports.
Resources for the SPREP Inform workshop in Samoa
This is a dataset provided by NES in 2014
Report on Invasive Plant Species in Cook Islands
Data on the Kakerori or the Rarotonga Flycatcher in Cook Islands
Kakerori Fact Sheet 2016. The Rarotonga Flycatcher or Kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) is a small (19-23g) forest-dwelling bird endemic to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, where it is found mainly in the moister south-eastern section of that island, particularly in what is now the 155haTakitumu Conservation Area (TCA). Recently, it has been translocated also to the Ship Rat-free island of Atiu close by, to form an insurance population
This dataset contains mapped point locations for protected areas within the Cook Islands. This dataset should be viewed in combination with the World Database on Protected Areas polygon locations to get a comprehensive view of all protected areas within the Cook Islands.
This dataset contains mapped polygon locations for protected areas within the Cook Islands. This dataset should be viewed in combination with the World Database on Protected Areas point locations to get a comprehensive view of all protected areas within the Cook Islands.
Map of the protected areas for Cook Islands with country-level summary statistics on the amount of area under protection, count for each type of protected area (terrestrial or marine), and the count of their designation.
Map of the protected areas for Northern Islands, Cook Islands with country-level summary statistics on the amount of area under protection, count for each type of protected area (terrestrial or marine), and the count of their designation.
Map of the protected areas for Southern Islands, Cook Islands with country-level summary statistics on the amount of area under protection, count for each type of protected area (terrestrial or marine), and the count of their designation.
Pacific islands region land area