The National Environment Service (NES) bids farewell to its Senior Environmental Officer in Aitutaki, Tiraa Arere, as he takes on his new role as the new President of the Cook Islands Football Association.
As NES is strengthening its strategic focus in Aitutaki, Avele Simona, a Senior Environmental Compliance Officer in Rarotonga but of Aitutakian descent, will be transferred to Aitutaki to take over the role of Senior Environmental Officer.
Avele is one of the most experienced officers in environmental enforcement and monitoring, hence his move to Aitutaki will facilitate NES’s goal to strengthen its permitting and applications process.
NES has done improvements to its office in Aitutaki by embedding a meeting room to hold the Aitutaki Environment Authority meetings. This enables NES to provide technical support via virtual platforms to Avele in areas such as coastal development, biodiversity conservation and the assessment of various environmental approvals, consents and permits.
Halatoa Fua, Director of NES says – “Avele currently holds a similar position in Rarotonga. His skills and institutional knowledge will benefit NES’s work in Aitutaki as environmental compliance and monitoring issues in Aitutaki require immediate attention.
“NES is aligning its processes to the appropriate technical advice on various areas in environment, hence Avele’s appointment will support this strategy through his skills and knowledge in environmental compliance and monitoring. May I also take this opportunity to wish Tiraa all the best in his next exciting venture.”
