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Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society
The Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) is an environmental non-government organisation based in the Cook Islands of Polynesia in the south-western Pacific Ocean. The original name was Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society, but was shortened a number of years ago to make it easier to pronounce. An approximate translation of the name from Cook Islands Māori is "looking after our heritage".Wiser Earth. It is the BirdLife International partner organisation for the Cook Islands, and also a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. History Following a restructure of the government-funded Environmental Service, TIS was set up in 1996 both as an environmental watchdog, and to promote harmony between Cook Islanders and their environment through the raising of awareness, initiation of projects, and liaison with the government and other NGOs. Activities that TIS has been involved in include: * A recovery program for the endangered Rarotonga monarch (''Pomarea dimidiata''), a bird e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-governmental Organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum. NGOs are distinguished from international and intergovernmental organizations (''IOs'') in that the latter are more directly involved with sovereign states and their governments. The term as it is used today was first introduced in Article 71 of the newly-formed United Nations' Charter in 1945. While there is no fixed or formal definition for what NGOs are, they are genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tahitian Pearl
The Tahitian pearl (or black pearl) is an organic gem formed from the black lip oyster ('' Pinctada margaritifera'').Newman, Renee. ''Pearl Buying Guide''. "Black Pearls." Los Angeles: International Jewelry Publications, c2005, p. 73 These pearls derive their name from the fact that they are primarily cultivated around the islands of French Polynesia, around Tahiti. Description Tahitian pearls come in a range of colors from white to black. They can contain various undertones and overtones of green, pink, blue, silver and yellow. The most valuable of these are of the darker variety, as the naturally dark tones of the Tahitian pearls is a unique quality among pearls. A true black Tahitian pearl is extremely rare, and largely considered one of the most beautiful kinds of pearls in the world. Most Tahitian pearls that are identified as “black” are actually charcoal grey, silver, or dark green. An advantage of the Tahitian pearl is that the oyster inside of which they grow is quite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia Kingfisher
The mewing kingfisher or Mangaia kingfisher (''Todiramphus ruficollaris''), known locally as the tanga‘eo, is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae, or kingfisher family. It is endemic to Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations. Description The mewing kingfisher is 22 cm in length, with a large head and large black bill. Similar to some other ''Todiramphus'' kingfishers, it has blue-green upper-parts, with a yellow-orange collar and head-band, and a blue-green cap. The under-parts are white. Conservation It is threatened by habitat loss and by disturbance by introduced common mynas at its nesting hollows. The Taporoporo'anga Ipukarea Society, BirdLife International's partner organisation in the Cook Islands, has proposed a program to eradicate the mynas from Mangaia. References Cook Islands Biodiversity: Mangaia Kingfisher.Accessed 13 May 2009. External links mewing kingfisher Birds of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangaia
Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means ''terraced'') is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily populated, Mangaia's population has dropped by 75% in the last 50 years. Geography Originally known as ''A'ua'u'' or ''A'ua'u Enua'' ("terraced"), the island was named Mangaia (or ''Mangaianui-Neneva'', "Mangaia monstrously-great") by Tamaeu, who came to the island from Aitutaki in 1775. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old. It rises 4750 m (15,600 ft) above the ocean floor and has a land area of 51.8 km2. Surrounded by a fringing coral reef, like many of the southern Cook Islands, it is surrounded by a high ring of cliffs of fossil coral 60 m (200 ft) high, known as the makatea. The inner rim of the ''makatea'' forms a steep cliff, surrounding swamps and a central volcanic plateau. The interi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasive Species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native species that become harmful to their native environment after human alterations to its food webfor example the purple sea urchin (''Strongylocentrotus purpuratus'') which has decimated kelp forests along the northern California coast due to overharvesting of its natural predator, the California sea otter (''Enhydra lutris''). Since the 20th century, invasive species have become a serious economic, social, and environmental threat. Invasion of long-established ecosystems by organisms is a natural phenomenon, but human-facilitated introductions have greatly increased the rate, scale, and geographic range of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. The United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (in what is now Trinidad and Tobago; established in 1776), and the area surrounding Bogd Khan Mountain, Bogd Khan Uul Mountain (Mongolia, 1778), wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabird Colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony. Colonial nesting birds include seabirds such as auks and albatrosses; wetland species such as herons; and a few passerines such as weaverbirds, certain blackbirds, and some swallows. A group of birds congregating for rest is called a communal roost. Evidence of colonial nesting has been found in non- neornithine birds ( Enantiornithes), in sediments from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania. Variations on colonial nesting in birds Approximately 13% of all bird species nest colonially. Nesting colonies are very common among seabirds on cliffs and islands. Nearly 95% of seabirds are colonial, leading to the usage, seabird colony, sometimes called a rookery. Many species of terns nest in colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can grow. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence and antecedent karst models, have been used to explain the development of atolls.Droxler, A.W. and Jorry, S.J., 2021. ''The Origin of Modern Atolls: Challenging Darwin's Deeply Ingrained Theory.'' ''Annual Review of Marine Science'', 13, pp.537-573. According to Charles Darwin's ''subsidence model'', the formation of an atoll is explained by the subsidence of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic island becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. As the volcanic island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suwarrow
200px, Map of Cook Islands with Suwarrow near the middle Suwarrow (also called Suvorov, Suvarou, or Suvarov) is an island in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. It is about south of the equator and north-northwest of the capital island of Rarotonga. Geography 200px, Anchorage Island Suwarrow is a roughly quadrilateral-shaped coral atoll, in circumference, with over 20 small islets (motu) surrounding a central lagoon . Cyclones have often created storm surges which sweep over the atoll since its small component of land is extremely low-lying. Table of Islets History Although Suwarrow was inhabited by Polynesians during prehistory it was uninhabited when discovered by the Russian-American Company ship ''Suvorov'', which reportedly followed clouds of birds to the atoll on September 17, 1814. (The ship was named after Russian general Alexander Suvorov, who appears as "Suwarrow" in Lord Byron's epic poem ''Don Juan'' and also in Alaric Alex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinctada Margaritifera
''Pinctada margaritifera'', commonly known as the black-lip pearl oyster, is a species of pearl oyster, a saltwater mollusk, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Pteriidae. This species is common in the Indo-Pacific within tropical coral reefs. The ability of ''P. margaritifera'' to produce pearls means that the species is a valuable resource to humans. The oysters are harvested wild from coral reefs and are also commonly grown in aquaculture, both primarily taking place in the Indo-Pacific region. Description The common name of this species refers to the black coloring along the margins of the interior of the shell. Externally the shell is dark grayish brown or green, though white spots are common across the shell. Adults usually reach between in height. A distinctive feature of the species is that the hinge has no teeth. (The genera ''Pinctada'' and '' Pteria'' are often confused. In ''Pinctada'', the hinge is long and straight, the long end of the shell forms a right an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Islands
) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , languages_type = Spoken languages , languages = , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = 2016 census , demonym = Cook Islander , government_type = , leader_title1 = Monarch , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = 's Representative , leader_name2 = Sir Tom Marsters , leader_title3 = Prime Minister , leader_name3 = Mark Brown , leader_title4 = President of the House of Ariki , leader_name4 = Tou Travel Ariki , legislature = Parliament , sovereignty_type = Associated state of New Zealand , established_event1 = Self-governance , established_date1 = 4 August 1965 , establi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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