Copenhagen
We need to be seen
Art before sport for Eruera Nia
American author here for ‘writing retreat’
Avarua gets new leaders
The WeekEnd Crossword

Tania Temata pictured at one of the sessions in Copenhagen. 09120901

So how relevant was the Copenhagen conference on climate change to the Cook Islands? The Cooks, it is said, are among the most vulnerable countries in the world to the negative effects of climate change. Copenhagen was to have served as a foundation for and springboard to a new legally binding global climate agreement. But after two weeks of hand-wrangling, the Copenhagen Accord emerged left many questions unresolved.

Island states must continue to lobby

The country’s primary climate change negotiators say despite the disappointing outcome from Copenhagen, the Cook Islands must continue to take part in UN negotiations for an agreement to follow the Kyoto Protocol.

Climate change negotiator and national environment service’s (NES) international manager, Tania Temata, NES climate change technical officer Pasha Carruthers, and climate change coordinator Mii Matamaki were part of the large country delegation to attend the Copenhagen meeting in December.

The United Nations 15th Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP15) aimed to create an agreement that would follow the Kyoto Protocol which comes to an end in 2012.

Carruthers says that deadline has now been extended to this December when the COP16 is held in Cancun, Mexico.

She says having a successor to the Protocol as early as possible is important because developed countries need to be aware of what kind of emissions and other commitments they have to meet beyond 2012.

“Some people may ask why go there, but if we are not there, we will get left out,” she says.

“We work together with other small island developing states as part of our responsibility is to negotiate the best deal for the future of the Cook Islands.”

Carruthers says the Copenhagen Accord was a big issue at the conference as it only contains voluntary pledges by some developed countries and was created away from the main meetings towards the end of the weeklong negotiations.

“There is nothing in the Accord to make countries comply.”

Temata, Carruthers and Matamaki acknowledge that there is criticism of the country’s participation in the COP meetings.

They say the country has to be part of these negotiations if it wants any sort of benefit at the end of the day.

“If we don’t engage in international negotiations we don’t have a chance to have a say on funding options. Mitigation finance will maybe go through the World Bank and so it will mainly be in the form of loans,” says Temata.

Carruthers says the country is of the view that it should not have to take loans – that the funding should be given to us because we are one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and have little to do with creating it.

“We can’t afford to take on more debt – especially for something we are not causing.”

Temata says the Cooks has limited capacity to access funding and this is why NES is now proposing that government create a dedicated unit to work on funding and project proposals.

Matamaki says the lack of funding commitments have meant many countries still cannot deal with the effects of climate change through adaptation and prevention measures.

She says the good thing about meetings like COP is that donors are there to talk about funding needs.

While in Copenhagen the trio attended different parts of the negotiations such as discussions on adaptation, mitigation and emissions reductions.

Temata says working through the nights is one of the hardest parts of attending such high level meetings.

Carruthers recalls bedding down on her coat for a couple of hours shuteye on the floor of one room and staying up into the early hours of the morning negotiating texts for future agreements.

Towards the end of COP15 the NES officers were among the delegates still holding out hope for a new international climate change agreement.

Carruthers says the final hours of the conference saw talks degenerate into acrimonious arguments and almost a complete loss of diplomacy.

“There was concern the Accord might lay a path for eliminating or replacing the Kyoto Protocol.”

She says a Kyoto successor may be another five year commitment. It is set to include a list of new greenhouse gases and enhanced action on climate change for the long term.

Carruthers says the biggest barrier to achieving a new climate change agreement is the split between the political will, the potential costs and the acknowledgement that something needs to be done to address the threat.

“The costs of not doing anything are potentially greater than the costs now,” she says.

Temata says while there were delays in the progress of forming an agreement last year, it is in the best interest of the small island developing states to continue to lobby hard for one.

“At the COP15 we moved to level higher and were targeting world leaders like Obama and the leaders of Britain, China and India – these are key economies we need to engage in the process. The small island developing states are very vocal on climate change as we are at the forefront of the risks.”

The NES officers say the public here can help address climate change on a national level. The agency promotes the move towards cheaper renewable energy use as one of the most meaningful ways people can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce pollution.

• Helen Greig

Former minister Ngamau Munokoa in Copenhagen. 09121708

If you are not being seen or heard, then you are nothing, says former environment minister Ngamau Munokoa who attended the Copenhagen meeting on climate change in December.

“It is important to go to these meetings -- you have to be seen and heard,” says Munokoa of the meeting. And she maintains that having a presence on the world stage is important, no matter what people might think.

She understands the concept of carbon emissions today being much higher than they were 10 or 20 years ago.

“But it [reductions] won’t happen overnight.”

Aunty Mau says we in the Cook Islands need to worry about doing our little bit to help.

Munokoa says the meeting was the biggest that she has attended in her life.

Thousands of delegates converged on the Danish capital for the meeting, which was attended by almost 120 heads of state and government.

“E tai uipa’anga ki ko, e tai uipa’anga ki ko [one meeting here, one meeting there] ... apinga tikai te tangata [there were lots of people].”

And Copenhagen put on the weather to go with the conference.

“Aue tau e te anu ... it was cold but we were prepared for the weather. We slept in apartments, we did not stay in flash hotels and I travelled in a van.”

She says she was proud of the team which was in Copenhagen and everyone pulled together to help prime minister Jim Marurai deliver the country’s keynote address.

“He gave a good address – not too long.”

Aunty Mau believes that the money spent to send a delegation to Copenhagen was worth it and adds that the country will see some benefits come out of the meeting in the near future.

- Moana Moeka’a

As Cook Islands Master of Art and Design students prepare for their final thesis exhibition to be assessed on February 19 and 20, Cook Islands News is bringing you a series of profiles on each of the six local artists in the course. This week we bring you a profile of local artist ERUERA NIA from Taputapuatea.

Contemporary Maori artist Eruera Nia says the two-year Master of Art and Design course has served to ensure his art comes from a strong cultural base.

Now in his 60s, he says, “It’s an opportunity to challenge yourself – at my age, higher education at a higher level is a big deal!”

Nia describes his art as sculpture, drawing, photography, and cinematography.

“I’m interested in developing contemporary art but I’m also concerned about the security of our traditional arts.”

This concern has led to the focus of Nia’s thesis – the concept of the Are Korero – an ancient house of history and learning made up of the aronga mana (traditional leaders) of the tribe to support the knowledge of genealogies, history and tribal governance.

Nia’s particular interest lies in the art that adorns and surrounds the concept of the Are Korero.

“The Are Korero supports genealogies, fortifies cultural practices and is related to language and art.”

Nia feels that he has a role in re-establishing the Are Korero and so his thesis has intensified this feeling and provided him with a deeper understanding of local tradition.

“I’m interested in re-establishing the tupuna whare or are tupuna, which are houses that express the ancestry of our tribe and re-establish the carving of ancestors to remind children where they come from.”

“It’s important for our community and my tribe. We are facing the ill-effects of colonisation within the community and tribe, and the greatest effect is on education and culture.

“Rather than study an aspect of culture that fortifies it and gives it strength, we are choosing not to. Art and religion is also affected by colonisation.”

Nia says the lack of respect for traditional customs has also been a factor in his thesis.

“Colonists destroyed our first religions and the second thing they intended to do was to destroy the local power – the aronga mana – they intended to sideline these aspects of our culture and reinvent a new religion and a new political system.

“I’m looking at the re-establishment of our cultural links to our past and traditional tribal histories and traditions – tribal concepts of governance which we as Polynesians are used to.

The present systems of governance are falling apart – they are not working. The last 20 years describes how bad our existing system of governance is – it’s undemocratic, there’s misrepresentation, corruption and too much waste of public money.”

Nia says at present there is little national support for art ‘apart from a few expatriate art teachers in secondary schools’.

“Most of our art stems from our traditions. There are virtually no teachers in photography, sculpture, drawing and painting – there are no schools here for higher learning. We don’t have a cultural arts foundation to enable us to focus on our cultural art – yet we have a sports foundation.

“Cook Islanders are natural artists – just look at our performing artists.”

Nia believes government needs to switch its focus from sports to cultural arts.

“I like sports but it has been taking away from cultural practices like planting. I think there is an overemphasis on sport as a form of achievement and a lack of that in art. We should have our own arts academy with the same amount spent on that as on the new indoor stadium,” he says.

Nia says he’s sure this move would help improve tourism greatly.

Born in 1949 in Wellington, Nia was schooled at Wellesley Boy’s prep school and Mana College before taking up study at university in Christchurch in 1968.

In Rarotonga his Maori tribes are Te Au O Tonga and Takitumu link and in New Zealand the Taranaki tribe Te Atiawa. Last year he was invested as Rio Rangatira – a Makea title.

Nia describes himself as the ‘first of his tribe’ to graduate from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts. He studied fine arts at Canterbury before there was a degree programme and after taking time off from studies he graduated with a diploma in fine arts majoring in historical documentary after completing the four-year course in 1978.

The following year Nia was able to obtain New Zealand government funding to go to the Australian School of Film and Television where he was certified as an assistant cameraman.

For several years he also worked at the National Art Gallery in Wellington as the researcher of Maori art.

In 1980 he moved to Rarotonga and spent three years working for the prime minister’s department as a video operator. Nia says this was an experience he will always remember as he got to travel to most of the outer islands on filming expeditions.

By 1985 he had moved back to New Zealand to establish his own film company called Rangiatea Films which specialised in historical documentaries focused on the Maori.

“My films are all in the New Zealand film archive today,” says Nia.

The death of his mother, Makea Nui Inanui I te Rangi Nia Ariki, in 1996 prompted Nia’s return to Rarotonga where he has continued to reside with his father.

During the years since his return, he’s spent time planting, focused on setting up his own art gallery (Inanui Gallery) and is now a full-time artist.

- Helen Greig

Meeting of namesakes – American author John Woods (left) and Cook Islands News managing editor John Woods share more than just their names. They’re pictured holding books they’ve written. They met for lunch recently to swap stories and talk about their literary pursuits. 10020207

John Woods, a self-described serial entrepreneur, seems to have found his niche.

The author, who recently penned a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, is on the island finishing his next two novels.

Woods said he’s always had a passion for writing, but it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he decided to follow his dream.

Before he got into writing novels 15 years ago, he was busy establishing a string of companies: an aircraft manufacturing business in California, a printing brokerage in the Philippines, a newspaper and a series of film production companies in California.

He spent some time writing scripts for the film industry, but quickly realised that he wasn’t comfortable with the way that film companies distorted the stories he wanted to tell, so he sold his company and started to write his own stories.

“I risked everything to write,” Woods said. “But it’s something I wanted to do for the second half of my life and every day I’m thankful I did.”

Re-reading Treasure Island in 2003 triggered a flood of memories for Woods.

“I remembered how much I loved the book and I was actually very sad when it ended,” he joked. “I knew I wouldn’t get to meet the characters again.”

He resolved to write a sequel, and spent two and a half years writing Return to Treasure Island.

“The first question I always get when I speak is, ‘What were you thinking?” Woods remembered. “Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the greatest writers on Earth. And you think you can live up to that? It was a daunting challenge – one that forced me to push myself every day.”

But he said that attempting to follow in a classic writer’s footsteps forced him to push himself.

“I couldn’t be lazy, and I certainly couldn’t be arrogant. I simply wanted to honour Stevenson with a sequel that would hopefully be as entertaining as his original.

He created a lexicon of the pirate words used in the original tale, as well as a map of the islands in the book, today’s British Virgin Islands, and created a sequel that received good reviews.

“That’s the joy of writing,” he said. “People wrote reviews saying that reading my book made them feel like a kid again. That sort of thing is very rewarding.”

Woods, who uses the pen name John O’Melveny Woods, is currently finishing a work titled Jesse James’ Secret, which recounts the true story of how the notorious American outlaw faked his own death. The unpublished novel was recently adapted into a two-hour television special called ‘Jesse James’ Hidden Treasure,’ and was rated as one of the History Channel’s most-viewed shows. The book will be released in June.

Woods is also researching and writing The Seekers, a series of fiction novels reminiscent of Indiana Jones’ adventure to discover the messages buried in archaeological ruins.

He said that researching Return to Treasure Island exposed him to photos of blue lagoons and white beaches, and led him to develop a love for the sea. He decided after writing it that he “had to be around water”.

A seasoned New Zealand visitor, he’d heard of the Cook Islands but had never visited until now. Woods is enjoying his time on Rarotonga, dividing his day between writing and walking on the beach, he said.

“I’m dedicated to immersing myself here – writing, exploring, meeting people. I’ve only been here a week and I think it’s wonderful. I like being places where people are happy.”

Woods is also interested in getting to know local writers, as he is the co-founder of a non-profit organisation in California called Read Local, which seeks to introduce local authors to local readers.

He feels strongly about people following their passions, and knows firsthand that nothing good can come of selling your dreams.

“That’s the tipping factor for success,” Woods shares. “I’ve talked to many authors who said they failed because they wrote about what they thought would make money, rather than what they were interested in or passionate about. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote books and stories for years before success caught up with him.”

If you are interested in learning more about Woods, the link to his first novel is treasureislandbook.com and the link to his non-profit is sandiego.readlocal.org/john-omelveny-woods/.

• Rachel Reeves

Best friends Tu-Te-Maeva Puaru (left) and Tekeu Toru were decked in ei by their proud families. The two girls are part of the group of 25 new Avarua School prefects who were inducted yesterday morning at the National Auditorium. 10020514

Now that Avarua Primary School has inducted 25 young leaders, the school looks forward to another bright year.

Twelve boys and thirteen girls were made school prefects in a special induction ceremony at the National Auditorium yesterday morning where parents filled with pride adorned their children with ei and hugs.

School principal Gelling Jack spoke of what makes a leader and that the students chosen to lead the school in 2010 have made significant contributions to the school through culture, sports, special services to the school such as being librarians and being ready to take on any task of responsibility assigned to them by the teachers.

Jack was confident that the 25 new prefects would lead the school with pride throughout the 2010 school year.

And for the first time, no head boy or girl was chosen from the group as all 25 students are all equal in their leadership skills.

After the presentation of prefects badges, some of the new prefects were back to their duties of dancing and drumming in the schools cultural group.

The newly inducted Avarua Primary School prefects are (boys) Aitukura Nebigging, Arthur Foster, Chrismagne Elikana, Dylan Apera, Jayson Vavia, Matthew Thompson, Peniamina Numanga, Roimata Moetaua, Samuel Maurangi, Tino Oti, Tua Tutai, Tyrone Marurai, (girls) Agnes Daniel, Callia Newnham, Czaria Hoff, Debora Mataio, Eteta Strickland, Geena Napa, Ioana Turia, Kristiana Iro, Tekeu Toru, Teiti Tupuna, Tetini Tararo, Tu-Te-Maeva Poaru and Teremataora John.

Congratulations to all of Avarua school’s young leaders.

- Matariki Wilson