The Cook Islands joined regional and international partners at FOCUS IN 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand, from 27–30 July 2026, to strengthen collaboration and share practical approaches to building resilience against emerging non-traditional security threats. Hosted by the United States Indo-Pacific Command’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM), in partnership with the Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force, the forum brought together military, government, and regional leaders from 38 Indo-Pacific countries. Discussions explored disaster management, environmental resilience, climate change adaptation, energy security, and the importance of regional partnerships in responding to increasingly interconnected challenges.
Representing the Cook Islands were:
- Stephano Rampling Tou, (Office of the Prime Minister – OPM);
- Mata Takioa, (Office of the Prime Minister – OPM);
- Vavia Tangatataia, (National Environment Service – NES); and
- Lydia Sijp, (National Environment Service – NES).
The four-day programme featured keynote presentations, expert panel discussions, scenario-based exercises and technical workshops focusing on strengthening resilience, enhancing disaster preparedness, improving critical infrastructure planning, and fostering whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to addressing non-traditional security threats.
The participation of officers from multiple government agencies reflects the Cook Islands’ continued commitment to collaborative governance and integrated approaches to disaster risk reduction, environmental management and national resilience. The workshop also provided an important opportunity to exchange experiences, strengthen professional networks, and identify innovative solutions that can be adapted to the Cook Islands context.
For the National Environment Service, the workshop reinforced that environmental stewardship is a fundamental component of national resilience. Healthy ecosystems provide essential natural infrastructure that reduces disaster risk by protecting coastlines from storm surge and erosion, regulating floodwaters, stabilising soils and supporting biodiversity that underpins ecosystem recovery after extreme events. Effective environmental management ensures that development is planned and undertaken in ways that minimise environmental degradation, reduce hazard exposure and strengthen the adaptive capacity of communities. These ecosystem-based approaches complement engineered infrastructure, such as seawalls, drainage systems and coastal protection works, providing more sustainable and cost-effective solutions for reducing disaster risk and adapting to climate change.
Director of the National Environment Service, Halatoa Fua, welcomed the delegation’s participation, noting that strengthening regional partnerships is essential to building a more resilient Cook Islands.
“Participation in FOCUS IN 2026 demonstrates our commitment to learning from regional and international best practice while sharing the Cook Islands’ own experiences in environmental management and resilience. As climate change and natural hazards continue to challenge our Pacific region, it is essential that we strengthen partnerships across government agencies, regional organisations and international partners. The knowledge and relationships developed through this forum will directly contribute to improving our national preparedness, environmental stewardship and long-term resilience.”
The knowledge gained during the workshop will help inform ongoing work across government, agencies, and Volunteer EOC’s in the PUNA’s and PA Enua to strengthen disaster preparedness, integrate environmental considerations into national planning, improve inter-agency coordination, and support evidence-based decision-making for sustainable development.
The National Environment Service and the Office of the Prime Minister acknowledges the organizer of the event – CFE-DM, the United States Indo-Pacific Command, the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Defence Force for convening this important regional forum and for their continued commitment to building resilience and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.
