The National Environment Service (NES), as the executing agency for the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP) in the Cook Islands, has engaged Ms Rima Moeka’a of Ma’anga Consultancy Limited to support the development of a National Action Plan to tackle plastic pollution in the Cook Islands.
Implemented by SPREP and funded by the Government of Australia, POLP supports Pacific Island countries to reduce marine litter and strengthen sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics through improved policy, behavior change, waste reduction initiatives, and practical environmental solutions.
The National Action Plan will provide a coordinated national framework to help reduce plastic pollution across the Cook Islands through practical, realistic, and achievable actions. The Action Plan aims to guide how government, businesses, communities, schools, and partner organisations work together to reduce plastic waste, strengthen sustainable waste management practices, and protect the health of our environment, lagoon, and ocean.
The objective of the Action Plan is not only to reduce the amount of plastic entering landfill and the marine environment, but also to strengthen long-term behavior change, improve recycling and recovery systems, encourage sustainable procurement and consumption practices, and promote practical alternatives to single-use plastics that are suitable and available within the Cook Islands market.
The Action Plan will help identify national priorities, practical actions, partnerships, and responsibilities across sectors. This includes improving public awareness and education, strengthening data collection and monitoring, supporting community-led initiatives, improving waste infrastructure, and exploring realistic circular economy opportunities that reduce waste at source while recognizing the challenges of import reliance and product availability in small island settings.
As part of the development process, one-on-one consultations will be conducted on Rarotonga with key stakeholders, businesses, government agencies, community groups, and partner organizations. Consultations in the Southern and Northern Group islands have already been supported through the Environment Bill consultations, Islands Environment Management Plan consultations, and ongoing POLP Education and Awareness initiatives. Information and feedback gathered through previous waste projects, workshops, awareness activities, and consultations will also help inform the development of the Action Plan to ensure it reflects existing experiences, challenges, and community priorities. While many important conversations around plastic pollution have already taken place across the Cook Islands, the development of this Action Plan is an opportunity to bring those discussions together into a coordinated and practical national framework for action.
Through this work, the Cook Islands hopes to build a stronger and more coordinated national response to plastic pollution, one that supports cleaner communities, healthier ecosystems, sustainable tourism, and more responsible everyday practices across the country.
The Cook Islands aims to join fellow Pacific nations Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu in progressing and completing its National Action Plan on Plastic Pollution. For more information on regional and global plastic pollution initiatives, visit:Â https://commonseas.com/new-policy-plans-five-small-island-states/
