222 the contemporary pacifi c • 20:1 (2008) joined other island countries in a plea bird, which was once plentiful on the for a reduction of greenhouse gas island of Atiu. Before it became almost emissions to larger countries that con- extinct, its feathers were used for the tribute most to global warming. Island cloaks and headdresses of high chiefs. nations have been described as “the In a joint effort in April, naturalists conscience” on climate change (CIN, and Atiuans brought in twenty-seven 21 Dec 2006, 5). The Cook Islands birds from Rimatara Island in French is already being impacted by climatic Polynesia (CIN, 28 April 2007, 1). changes, particularly with regard to As part of its Unit Titles Bill initia- its tourism and pearl industries (CIN, tive the Tepaki group purchased the 16 April 2007, 3). twelve-unit Castaway property for As part of the government’s plan nz$2.3 million, adding to their recent to reduce dependency on fossil oil, purchases of Manea Beach for nz$1.8 a wind energy farm project was million, and Lagoon Lodges for nz$4 proposed at Kiikii on the island of million, with expected settlements for Rarotonga (CIN, 24 Jan 2007, 1). the Aquarius and the Manuia Beach Preliminary testing for persistent properties (CIN, 2 May 2007, 1). The organic pollutants (pops) in Raro- Tepaki group also maintains a keen tonga lagoons indicated concentra- interest in building a high-rise apart- tions of chlorinated pesticide (ddt ment block on the Cook Islands High and methoxychlor), polycyclice Commission offi ce location in New aromatic hydrocarbons (pah) and Zealand. The New Zealand High phthalates (dehp) above the detec- Court had ruled against Tepaki’s so- tion limit. Environmentalist Imogen called “diplomatic project,” which Ingram pointed out that the govern- planned to turn the Cook Islands High ment needed to take positive action Commission chancery in Wellington to remedy the environmental chal- into a high-rise offi ce and apartment lenge because it was a signatory to the complex. Originally approved by the Stockholm Convention that agreed to Cook Islands government, the deal a total eradication of pops (CIN, 15 was canceled when certain conditions Nov 2006, 7). were not met and when the govern- Another problem that emerged ment changed (CIN, 18 Oct 2006, 1). during the year took the form of the jon tikivanotau m jonassen glassy-winged “sharpshooter” bug. Discovered in Rarotonga, and sus- pected to have arrived on plants smug- References gled in from Tahiti, the insect feeds on more than three hundred host plants CIN, Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. Daily. including trees, crops, and plants such as hibiscus, gardenia, and papaya. It is also known to transmit Pierce’s French Polynesia disease, which affects grapevines (CIN, 4 April 2007, 1, 7). In more positive Political instability continued in environmental news, the year marked French Polynesia during the year the return of the kura or lorikeet under review. The barely two-year- pol i t ical reviews • polynesia 223 old pro-independence government ground testing and communicated the of Oscar Temaru lost power to a results of his study in an open letter to pro-French coalition when assembly President Temaru, who read it in front members switched their allegiances. of the Assembly of French Polynesia However, the new government stood (TP, 4 Aug 2007). on very unstable foundations from On 4 August the French State the beginning, and its internal divi- Council removed Representative sions became more and more apparent Nicole Bouteau from the assembly and toward the end of the review period. declared her ineligible for one year. July 2006 started with the highly This was after the electoral audit offi ce publicized inauguration of a monu- detected a procedural mistake during ment for the victims of nuclear testing the election campaign in 2005, when by President Temaru on the fortieth Bouteau’s party No Oe E Te Nunaa anniversary of the fi rst Fren