Cook Islands Biodiversity
The Cook Islands Biodiversity website is a database with a collection of information on the plants and animals, native and non-native, found in the Cook Islands. The collection of data and the development of the database on MS Access took more than a dozen years. The Bishop Museum (Honolulu), with support from PBIN, facilitated the programming of the database for the web and hosts the website. It was launched on 8 March 2003, reprogrammed and radically redesigned on 1 May 2005, and further developed 1 October 2005. In 2011 the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust enlisted expert computer specialists to redesign its extensive online biodiversity database. This was an allocation over and above the Trust's basic budget, as outlined in its 2008–09 annual report, which was tabled in parliament by Prime Minister Henry Puna (also minister of National Environment Services). The multimedia database is designed to integrate scientific and traditional information on all the plants and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species. Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, but will be likely to slow in the future as a primary result of deforestation. It encompasses the evolutionary, ecological, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic ( Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawaiʻi and has the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiian cultural material, the museum's total holding of natural history specimens exceeds 24 million, of which the entomological collection alone represents more than 13.5 million specimens (making it the third-largest insect collection in the United States). The ''Index Herbariorum'' code assigned to Herbarium Pacificum of this museum is BISH and this abbreviation is used when citing housed herbarium specimens. The museum complex is home to the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center. History Establishment Charles Reed Bishop (1822–1915), a businessman and philant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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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Prime Minister Of The Cook Islands
The prime minister of the Cook Islands is the head of government of the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands. Originally, the title "Premier" was used, but this was replaced by the title of "Prime Minister" in 1981. List of officeholders ;Key Living former prime ministers As of , there are two former living Cook Island prime ministers, as seen below. File: Coat of arms of the Cook Islands.svg, Robert Woontonserved 2002-2004Born 1949 (age ) File: Henry Puna 2015.jpg, Henry Puna Henry Tuakeu Puna (born 29 July 1949) is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of t ...served 2010-2020Born 1949 (age ) The most recent former prime minister to die w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henry Puna
Henry Tuakeu Puna (born 29 July 1949) is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of the Cook Islands Party. Puna was elected to the Parliament of the Cook Islands at the 2005 Manihiki by-election. He lost his seat at the 2006 election, but regained it in the CIP victory at the 2010 election which saw him elected prime minister. During his time as prime minister, he held various ministerial portfolios, including Foreign affairs, Marine Resources, and Energy. In June 2020 Puna announced his intention to stand down as prime minister in September to compete for the role of secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He stepped down from office on 1 October 2020. On 4 February 2021 he was elected as secretary-general, replacing Meg Taylor. Early life Puna grew up in Aitutaki. He was educated on Aitutaki and Rarotonga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cook Islands Māori
Cook Islands Māori is an Eastern Polynesian language that is the official language of the Cook Islands. Cook Islands Māori is closely related to New Zealand Māori, but is a distinct language in its own right. Cook Islands Māori is simply called Māori when there is no need to disambiguate it from New Zealand Māori, but it is also known as Māori Kūki Āirani (or Maori Kuki Airani) or controversially Rarotongan. Many Cook Islanders also call it ''Te reo Ipukarea'', literally "the language of the Ancestral Homeland". Official status Cook Islands Māori became an official language of the Cook Islands in 2003; from 1915 until then, English had been the only official language of the Cook Islands. Te Reo Maori Act definition The Te Reo Maori Act 2003 states that Māori: Pukapukan is considered by scholars and speakers alike to be a distinct language more closely related to Sāmoan and Tokelauan than Cook Islands Māori. It belongs to the Samoic subgroup of the Polyne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Natural Heritage Trust
The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), or National Heritage Trust Account was set up in 1997 by means of the ''Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997'', with the main objective of conserving the "natural capital infrastructure" of Australia. Money from the NHT Account must be spent on the environment, sustainable agriculture and natural resources management (NRM). Since its establishment, a considerable number of community groups and organisations have received funding for environmental and natural resource management projects, delivered via a number of different initiatives since 1997. , the NHT account is funding a program known as Phase Two of the National Landcare Program. The original National Landcare Program was launched in 1992, but in 2014 merged with the Caring for our Country program (established 2008, and funded through NHT). The Natural Heritage Ministerial Board was established under the Act, to provide a mechanism for liaison between the Environment and Agricult ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Politics Of The Cook Islands
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. The Queen of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the Queen's Representative, was the Head of State (most assume the constitution will now be amended to recognise King Charles III); the prime minister is the head of government of a multi-party system. The nation is self-governing and are fully responsible for internal and foreign affairs. Since 2001, the Cook Islands has run its own foreign and defence policy. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and the islands' parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislatures. Constitution The Constitution of the Cook Islands took effect on August 4, 1965, when the Cook Islands became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The anniversary of these events in 1965 is commemora ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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:Category:Flora Of The Cook Islands ...
{{Commons category, Flora of the Cook Islands Biota of the Cook Islands Cook Islands Cook Islands Cook Islands Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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:Category:Fauna Of The Cook Islands
Biota of the Cook Islands Cook Cook Cook Islands Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ... Cook Islands fauna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Biodiversity Databases
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species. Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, but will be likely to slow in the future as a primary result of deforestation. It encompasses the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural pr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |