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The importance of coastal and marine environments to every aspect of the lives of Pacific Islanders cannot be overstated. Pacific Island Countries (PICs) maintain resource rights and management responsibilities for over 30million square kilometres of ocean, equivalent to the total land area of Canada, China and the USA. The total population of coastal pacific islanders is only 2.6 million. There are 11 square kilometres of ocean for each Pacific Islander. Jurisdictionally, the ocean is 200 times more significant to the average Pacific Islander than it is to the average global citizen.  

The Cook Islands consists of 15 small islands scattered over 2 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. They lie in the centre of the Polynesian Triangle, flanked by Fiji 2,300 km to the west, Tahiti 1,140 km to the east, Hawaii 4,730 km north and New Zealand 3,010 km southwest. The climate of the Cook Islands is sub-tropical and tropical oceanic moderated by trade winds. The islands form two groups: the Northern Cooks and the Southern Cooks. The Northern Group consists of five atolls (Pukapuka, Rakahanga, Manihiki, Suwarrow and Penrhyn), and a sand cay (Nassau). The Southern Group consists of four makateai islands (Mangaia, Atiu, Mauke and Mitiaro), two atolls (Palmerston and Manuae), one almost-atoll (Aitutaki), one sand cay (Takutea) and one high island.