Tiny Cook Islands Holds Big Pacific Islands Forum (REPORT)

(Video: AustraliaNetworkNews)

RAROTONGA - In the Cook Islands the 43rd annual Pacific Islands Forum  is about to get underway with climate change, trade and regional security expected to top the agenda as major powers vie for influence over a range of issues. The summit will run for a week.

FORUM

The Forum brings together 16 small island nations from across the South Pacific, and includes Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji  (which remains suspended after the latest military coup in 2006 left the military in charge, and later, court-ordered current President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau; the country then violated a promise to hold elections in 2009 to be dealt the suspension)  Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, The Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

A further 41 countries are sending delegations, including China, which has sought to expand its role in the region, where Taiwan has diplomatic recognition from a handful of countries.

(PHOTO: Aerial view of Rarotonga, part of the Cook Islands/Cook Islands Tourism)The Russians have also had mixed success here in winning support.  And in the past year, the United States has signaled a renewed emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region, deepening economic and security ties.

Highlighting the growing importance of the forum is the much anticipated arrival of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later in the week.

Clinton’s office has yet to confirm whether she will head the United States delegation but preparations are in place for what locals say would be the most important diplomatic visit since Britain’s Queen Elizabeth came to the Cook Islands in 1974.

CLIMATE CHANGE, BOUNDARY AGREEMENTS

Derek Fox, spokesman for the Forum, says two upcoming votes for non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council will add another layer to lobbying among delegates.

“Chinese have a big interest in the Pacific and that’s probably why the Americans are starting to show an interest again now.  And there are other agencies like the UN and the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and countries quite distant from here who are showing an interest," said Fox.  "There’s an Israeli group coming and there is a Taiwanese delegation here.”

Fox says other issues include climate change and management of the Pacific Ocean, with announcements expected on a new marine park, boundary agreements and foreign aid packages.

(PHOTO: Tuvalu life/Flickr) For countries like Tuvalu, where the highest point is just 4.6 meters above sea level, aid for coping with climate change is fundamental. Many here believe climate change has also contributed to shifts in tidal patterns that have resulted in erosion of the islands.

Kora Kora, is a local politician and former Mayor of Manahiki, one of the small Cook Islands that sits just four meters above sea level and lies about 1,000 kilometers north of Rarotonga.  He says climate change is the biggest single everyday issue for the people of the Cook Islands and has resulted in a significant shift in migration patterns.

“We’ve lost most of our little islands that is in our lagoon, there’s no longer any soil or gravel on the top, now it’s all submerged under water.  Since 1997 when we had a big cyclone now our population back then was round 580 and up to now it’s down to 260 people on the island, so yes indeed it’s a big issue to talk about climate change,” stated Kora.

Pacific Islanders have complained for years that their interests, particularly in regards to climate change, have been overlooked by much bigger regional powers.  But many believe that the future could be different, with the so-called US “pivot” towards the region, coupled with China’s growing ability to extend its diplomatic reach into the South Pacific.

 --This article first appeared on VOANews, written by Luke Hunt.

Pacific Islands Forum needs to reaffirm its relevance (PERSPECTIVE)

(MAP: Member states of the Pacific Islands Forum/Wikipedia)FACT:   Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 (census 2006), out of the country's total population of 19,569. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Because it is the most populous island, Cook Islanders may often be referred to as Rarotongan, but they may come from one of the other 14 islands in the group, such as Aitutaki or Mangaia. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. (WK)

The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Summit in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands that opens today will be a watershed. It will either forge a new path for the region's pre-eminent institution or give ground to the alternative architecture that has grown since Fiji's suspension from participation.

That the stakes are high is evidenced by the unprecedented attendance of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be joined by a large Chinese delegation, underscoring the point that the region is geopolitically important.

The summit provides an opportunity for Australia to influence how the region deals with outside powers and on what terms. In recent months Foreign Minister Bob Carr has injected a note of pragmatism into Australia's relations with Fiji and it remains to be seen what impact this will have.

The challenge for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is twofold.  First, its place at the centre of regional architecture needs to be cemented in light of the drift towards alternative forms of regional and sub-regional co-operation. Second, it needs an organizational renovation to face the challenges of globalization and development.

Australia and other donors have long identified the PIF as the key institution for implementing development policies in the Pacific. This is the orthodox function of the PIF and one Australia and New Zealand have largely bankrolled for more than 40 years. More recently, the PIF has taken on a diplomatic role. This political role was compounded by the response to the 2006 coup in Fiji as the PIF became the central vehicle for legitimizing the Australian-led sanctions regime.

(MAP: Dive the World) Six years of sanctions have not achieved their stated aims, in so far as Fiji has not returned to democracy. That said, Australia has reaffirmed its leadership to the other members of the PIF and to external powers and organizations such as the US, China, UN and the European Union. However, come 2014 when elections are held in Fiji the rationale for sanctions will end. Fiji will presumably be welcomed back into the PIF and as such Australia and its supporters will be faced with much more challenging diplomacy.

The rise of alternative forms of regionalism is a direct result of Fiji's suspension and poses the largest challenge to Australia. The Melanesian Spearhead Group, engaging with the Pacific meetings and the Pacific Small Island Developing States grouping at the UN have much in common, not the least that Australia is excluded from membership. They are largely driven by Fiji's "Look north plus" policy.

Fiji has made new friends and opened up new avenues of co-operation and as Australia chooses to re-engage it will be operating in a vastly different Pacific seascape. In this climate the continuing relevance of the PIF will need to be demonstrated rather than simply asserted. Fiji is not likely to accept the status quo and may need to be encouraged to resume its engagement with PIF.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group, etc, lack the institutional capacity of the PIF but are growing fast. As such, organizational renovation of the PIF is also a necessity.

The Pacific Islands Forum has greater capacity than other nascent forms of regional co-operation and the potential to remain the clearinghouse for aid. However, its central role is under challenge while its effectiveness is also being questioned. A recent internal review of the PIF Secretariat's operations found much to criticize and sparked a spirited defense from the Secretariat itself. The challenge will be to respond constructively to meet the diverse expectations of its members and the challenge from The Melanesian Group, etc.

Renovation must also focus on the role of the metropolitan powers (Australia and New Zealand). Their dominance of the political agenda highlights the importance of getting the balance between the interests of Pacific Small Islands Developing States and larger powers right. This dominance is relatively new as it arose in the context of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard's Pacific "arc of instability".

It is evident in current Prime Minister Julia Gillard's focus on using the PIF to renew the "Pacific Solution" (the name given to the Australian government policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centers on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland).

(Video: Al Jazeera)

However, tension in the political agenda is evident in the stalemate over Fiji and is underscored by the growing regional interests of other powers, such as China, Russia and the US.

Australian policymakers have attempted to limit the influence of outside powers in their backyard. However, a failure to closely engage with Pacific interests could also make Australia appear like an outsider to some in the PIF. From this perspective it is no coincidence that sub-regionalism has grown during recent years.

The metropolitan powers have a central role to play, not least in regard to funding, but also in respect to middle-power leadership in relation to the 21st-century challenges facing the Pacific, such as those posed by climate change or illegal fishing in their extended economic zones.

It may be that the Rarotonga summit will be a turning point in the development of Pacific architecture for co-operation. Australia has major strategic interests in the region and it is an opportune time to refocus efforts and to reinforce the enduring nature of Australian support and friendship. Carr's recent leadership towards normalizing relations with Fiji is a positive development, but after six years the switch can't just be turned on. It may be that a possibility for enhanced regional co-operation exists within the PIF itself.

The Polynesian sub-group within the Pacific looks set to expand as the region's main representative body prepares to welcome Hillary Clinton as a VIP visitor.

(DRAWING: The Russian "Rurik" sets anchor near Easter Island on its way through the Pacific Ocean in 1816. Drawing by Louis Choris in early 1816./Wikipedia)Leaders of Polynesian countries are looking favorably at giving full membership to representatives of the indigenous people of New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island.

Cook Islands' Prime Minister Henry Puna and his Samoan counterpart Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi said the sub-group would address the issue of expansion in their final communiqué on Friday.

The Polynesian leaders will also discuss ways of improving their countries' access to the latest communications technology.

Two proposals to lay marine cables past the island nations have collapsed. Mrs. Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, is the forum's top-level visitor this year.

-- This article first appeared in the Australian, written by Michael O'Keefe.

THE HUM - WORLD HEADLINES - JANUARY 13/14, 2012

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GLOBAL: Branch campus growth has moved to Asia

Container and Bulk Freight Handling Company Sees a Century Milestone

(PHOTO: Sizing up exoplanets: this chart compares artists' concepts of the smallest known exoplanets, or planets orbiting outside the solar system, to our own planets Mars & Earth/NASA/JPL-Caltech)Brics look nothing like a solid investment (Perspective)

Destabilizing the world (Perspective)

Space

Space station avoids orbiting junk

Astronomers discover three alien planets smaller than Earth

(PHOTO: Youth Olympic Rings, Innsbruck, Austria/EPA)SPECIAL FOCUS:

Winter Youth Olympics open at Innsbruck, Austria for the first time ever Friday, 1/13/12.  

Innsbruck ready to host record third Olympic event

Olympics: Youth Olympics get winter world premiere in Innsbruck

Youth Olympic Games get underway

Heavy snowfall will not stop us hosting great Games, says Innsbruck 2012 chief

There will be no gigantism at our Opening Ceremony, reveals Innsbruck 2012

Youth Olympics: Great rehearsal for Sochi 2014

Asian, Kuwaiti Olympic chief heads to Innsbruck for Winter Youth Games

Doha, Baku, Promote 2020 Summer Games Bids

Innsbruck 2012 will prove truly inspirational just as Singapore 2010 did, says IOC President (Perspective)  

Curlers gear up for Winter Youth Olympics

Taekwondo kicks in for youth at Team Trials

Athletes:

Austria hockey goalkeeper dedicates Winter Youth Olympic Games to his friend

Highly touted forward to play in inaugural Winter Games in Austria, Kemptville hockey player skates to Youth Olympics

Nicholson set to take on world at Winter Youth Olympic Games

(PHOTO: Thomas Scoffin from Whitehorse, Canada will head to Austria to compete in the Winter Youth Olympic Games. He is the skip for the Canadian Youth Olympic Curling team/CBC)Whitehorse teen to compete in winter youth Olympics  

Local skier headed to Youth Olympics

Cayman’s teen skier to make Olympic youth debut

Travers injury may halt Olympic quest

Kim Yu Na encourages young athletes to enjoy first-ever winter YOG

Youth Olympics bring ancestry into focus for Eritrean Alpine Skier

Iranian teenage girl competes in Winter Youth Olympics

Ireland’s Florence Bell at Youth Winter Olympics

Winter Youth Olympics: Woodward leads Team GB in Innsbruck

(PHOTO: Skiier Sive Speelman flying the South African flag at the Winter Youth Olympics/Gap 2011)McNeill sets her sights on Olympic success

Small to carry flag at Winter Youth Games

Menzies targeting Olympic glory after schools success

Summerhayes to Carry Flag for Team GB at Youth Winter Olympics

Brakeman Sawyers ready to go full throttle for bobsleigh medal

South Africa teen off to Winter Youth Olympics

Gordon honoured by refereeing role at first Youth Winter Olympics

Sackville woman to represent Canada at 1st Youth Olympic Winter Games

Jake Peterson chosen as Team USA flag bearer for inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck

(PHOTO: Skiier Katie Summerhayes for Great Britain) NZ flag bearer for Winter Youth Olympic Games named

Russian Youth Olympics Team leaves for Innsbruck

Holy Ghost’s Kerr to Play in Winter Youth Olympics

Park City snowboarder excited about Youth Olympics invite

Three locals ready for Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck

Edwin Minney of Wind Gap to play in Winter Youth Olympic Games

Willowbrook speed skater competing at inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games

Eau Claire teen soars to Youth Olympics (updated)

Tsunami Warning Cancelled For All Countries (News Brief)

Waves of between 20 to 70 centimetres were expected on islands such as Nauru, Kiribati's Tarawa, Fiji and Vanuatu. (NOAA)(HN, March 12, 2011) A tsunami warning for all countries has been cancelled for all countries, bringing relief to many low-lying Pacific nations that were devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami six years ago.

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is expected to exceed 1300, with most people appeared to have drowned. So far, 413 people are confirmed dead, 784 missing, and 1128 people injured so far. All the deaths are in Japan, however one man is reported to have been swept out to sea when a tsunami wave hit the California coastline yesterday.

The tsunami generated by the quake rolled across the Pacific at 800 kilometres an hour, as fast as a jetliner, hitting the US west coast this morning.

A series of four tsunami waves hit the Hawaiian island of Oahu, but no injuries or property damage were reported.

Many residents in Tonga fled to higher ground ahead of the expected 5:00am arrival of the wave, however Radio Tonga journalists say the waters have remained calm.

In Papua New Guinea, authorities say there has been no sign of a tsunami, nor has Marshall Islands been affected.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reports waves of between 20 to 70 centimetres were expected on islands such as Nauru, Kiribati's Tarawa, Fiji and Vanuatu.

The alert has since been lifted in most parts, including the Philippines, Australia and China, however New Zealand has upgraded its tsunami warning this morning.

in Fiji, the Department of Mineral Resources confirmed that tide gauge readings show that at least five irregular wave activities were recorded along its coasts.

The tsunami warning for Fiji was cancelled at 5:10 this morning local time and seismologists confirmed that the first wave of about 33 centimeters or 1.1 feet was recorded early Saturday.

Meanwhile, more than 300 aftershocks continue to rattle Japan - some as high as 7.8M. The latest one was 6.1M and hit at 1153GMT, according to the USGS.

- HUMNEWS staff, wires

UNESCO Names New Heritage Sites in Marshall Islands, Tajikistan and Kiribati

The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO ended yesterday in Brazil. A total of 39 sites were considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

It inscribed sites in Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, Islamic Republic of Iran and, for the first time, a site in the Marshall Islands to the UNESCO World Heritage List. A cultural site was added in Tajikistan, and a new natural site was added in Kiribati.

Bikini Atoll (Marshall Islands)© UNESCO/Eric Hanauer, Bikini Atoll

In the wake of World War II, in a move closely related to the beginnings of the Cold War, the United States of America decided to resume nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall archipelago. After the displacement of the local inhabitants, 67 nuclear tests were carried out from 1946 to 1958, including the explosion of the first H-bomb (1952). Bikini Atoll has conserved direct tangible evidence that is highly significant in conveying the power of the nuclear tests, i.e. the sunken ships sent to the bottom of the lagoon by the tests in 1946 and the gigantic Bravo crater. Equivalent to 7,000 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb, the tests had major consequences on the geology and natural environment of Bikini Atoll and on the health of those who were exposed to radiation. Through its history, the atoll symbolises the dawn of the nuclear age, despite its paradoxical image of peace and of earthly paradise. This is the first site from the Marshall Islands to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Sarazm (Tajikistan)© UNESCO/Ainura Tentieva, Sarazm

Sarazm, which means “where the land begins”, is an archaeological site bearing testimony to the development of human settlements in Central Asia, from the 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The ruins demonstrate the early development of proto-urbanization in this region. This centre of settlement, one of the oldest in Central Asia, is situated between a mountainous region suitable for cattle rearing by nomadic pastoralists, and a large valley conducive to the development of agriculture and irrigation by the first settled populations in the region. Sarazm also demonstrates the existence of commercial and cultural exchanges and trade relations with peoples over an extensive geographical area, extending from the steppes of Central Asia and Turkmenistan, to the Iranian plateau, the Indus valley and as far as the Indian Ocean.

Phoenix Islands Protected Area (Kiribati)© UNESCO/Gregory Stone, The Phoenix islands

The Phoenix Island Protected Area (PIPA) is a 408,250 sq.km expanse of marine and terrestrial habitats in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The property encompasses the Phoenix Island Group, one of three island groups in Kiribati, and is the largest designated Marine Protected Area in the world. PIPA conserves one of the world’s largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, together with 14 known underwater sea mounts (presumed to be extinct volcanoes)  and other deep-sea habitats. The area contains approximately 800 known species of fauna, including about 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammals and 44 bird species. The structure and functioning of PIPA’s ecosystems illustrates its pristine nature and importance as a migration route and reservoir. This is the first site in Kiribati to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.

- Staff, UNESCO