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Research and design proposals by Unitec Bachelor of Landscape Architecture studuents for the abandoned Sheraton site in Rarotonga.
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PB 1
Sustainable TourismA case study of Rarotonga and
suggestions for the abandoned Sheraton Hotel site.
© 2012 Unitec School of Landscape Architecture.All rights reserved.ISBN 1234567890
Sustainable TourismA case study of Rarotonga and suggestions
for the abandoned Sheraton Hotel site.
Edited by Renee Davies and Robert Riddell.
Content by students of the Unitec Bachelor of Landscape Architecture: Pacific Regional Study Tour 2012.
Contents
Contents
Introduction
Research Culture + Demographics Tourism Coastal Hydrology Vegetation Agriculture
Design Proposals
Site Introduction Agriscape Botanical Park Twin Waters New Vaimaanga Village
Acknowledgements
07
091315172129
3335394143
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Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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Introduction6
Introduction 7
Culture + Demographics
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Culture
Culture within the Cook Islands has various faces, most people being aware of their various arts of dance, song, chants, carving, painting, weaving, tattooing, oral tradition and written lan-guage. These forms of cultural expression portray their national indentity well.
With different influences, culture variation can be found on the outer Cook Islands. The people of Mangaia Island have a gentle and peaceful nature known as maru. The symbolic “adze of peace” is their unique quality and only found on this specific island. This symbol fashioned out of numerous encounters of tribal disputes, and brutal wars particularly with neighbouring foe from Atiu. In local scaled wars on Mangaia, the village facing enviable defeat would declare a truce but at a price of one youth as a sacrifice. The body of this youth would be taken apart by this special adze and shared between both tribes. The people of Mangaia agreed in sacrificing a single life, to benefit the majority of the tribe’s well being.
Mangaia and Aitutaki are each distinct in dialect and aspects of culture, despite Mangaia invation by Tonga. Tongareva (Pen-rhyn) is common to Manihiki and Rakahanga despite some dialect and customary differences, and are known to have a peaceful history.
Aitiu, Ma’uke and Miti’aro are known collectively as the Ngapu-toru group and have more in common culturally. Manuae has been uninhabited for most of its history, although belonging to the people of Aitutaki and Takutea belonging to the people of Aitiu.
Palmerston has the most remarkable culture incorporating elements from English, Tongarevan and Rarotongan with some extra adaptations from their unique social and physical environ-ment.
Reference: (Escape: Magazine of the Cook Islands, issue 15, January 2012),
89%
6% 5%
Ethnic Group
Cook Island Maori (Polynesian)
Part Cook Island Maori
Other
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3% 2%
1% 1%
1% .6%
3%
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Popula'on
Rarotonga (Capital)
Aituataki
Mangala
Atlu
Mauke
Mi=aro
Manihikl
Penrhyn
Rakahanga
Pukapuka
Nassu
Palmerston
Suwarrow
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500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Dec-‐07
Mar-‐08
Jun-‐08
Sep-‐08
Dec-‐08
Mar-‐09
Jun-‐09
Sep-‐09
Dec-‐09
Mar-‐10
Jun-‐10
Sep-‐10
Dec-‐10
Mar-‐11
Jun-‐11
Sep-‐11
Dec-‐11
Total Value of Exports
Series1
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000
Dec-‐07
Mar-‐08
Jun-‐08
Sep-‐08
Dec-‐08
Mar-‐09
Jun-‐09
Sep-‐09
Dec-‐09
Mar-‐10
Jun-‐10
Sep-‐10
Dec-‐10
Mar-‐11
Jun-‐11
Sep-‐11
Dec-‐11
Total Value of Imports
Series1
$Mill
ion
$Mill
ion
Date
Date
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85,000
90,000
95,000
100,000
105,000
110,000
115,000
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Visitor Arrivals
Series1
Visi
tor
Year
Demographics
8
Culture + Demographics
Beliefs
In the past, predominately all worshipping was idolised in three main gods – Tane, Rongo and Tangaroa this ceremony took place on the marae (sacred spaces). Every individual clan had its own marae to make sacrifices and singing of karakia. Many of these aspirations involved arable land for agriculture, efficiency towards fishing, success in battle as well as good fortune in day-to-day tasks. Although human sacrifice was not performed in Rarotonga due to confliction with reference to sacred chants and prayers, however killing of fish, fruits and animals, mainly
pigs, were often used as an offering for their worship.
Way of Life
The forefathers knew the land’s ability to provide the neces-sary resources for their survival, respectfully treating the land as a blessing. Resources were planted for fibres and wood to construct clothing, material arts and crafts, canoes and houses. Also utilising fruit trees to obtain fruit, oils, seeds and dyes. Root crops were heavily favoured for yams, kumara, taro and wild yam. The ancestors believed that their gods influenced
the forces of nature enhancing harvest. Agriculture can also send a message to community members with the quantities of crops and animals, especially pigs, translating into wealth and dominance.
The first settlers on Rarotonga carried the law of politics from their homeland, ‘Avaiki’, introducing the hierarchy system. The paramount chief is titled as ariki, whom assisted by the clan chief leader, mata’iapo, and the priest kau ta’unga. These elders passed down their wealth of knowledge and wisdom learned from long experiences of practical and spiritual living was never questioned.
9
Religious Influence
Missionaries destroyed everything native, considering the western ideal as superior. The natives needing salvation to entice them in giving up their idols and heathen obscenities. Before this influence of the west, Rarotongans lived in the protective valleys, deep inland, away from neighboring tribes. The missionaries’ found attempts of conversion to be difficult, as access to these settlements did not suit their domination. They then established stations along the coast to draw chiefs out the jungle, persuading them to build villages around these religious oppressions. The housing changed to suit a more nuclear family unit instead of the previous communal extended-family living arrangements.
Today the dominant religion of Cook Islands is Christianity over the other faiths such as Catholics, Seventh-day Adentists, Mor-mons, and Baha’I. Christian missionaries arriving in 1821 quickly uprooted the old animistic worship of tribal gods and idols, as the materials of this ‘new world’ intrigued the Cook Islanders curiosity they became quick and eager converts. This western authority is responsible for many negative aspects of life in Polynesia, however are also responsible in introducing schools and the written form of the Rarotongan language. The western infestation has had a drastic impact on the land, structure of society and people of Rarotonga.
Through the late 19th century less importance was put on authority figures being solely male, allowing some women to become more influential in the public sphere. Other crucial changes included governance, unifying under elected politi-cians gradually replaced the traditional tribal system of heredi-tary chiefs being in control. The introducing of calico cotton; be-ing cheap, plentiful and easily produced, replaced the traditional tapa as garments. Calico led to the skills of sewing clothing, bedding and house furnishings.
While early missionaries insisted on long dresses for the women and trousers for the men to be worn, contradictory they encour-aged their traditional singing. The traditional form of singing is
known as imene tuki, it is strongly harmonious and sung in parts with the interjection of the guttural male sound. Cook Islanders are classed in singing at a young age, lead by their elders. Many of these ‘imene’ hymns are reminiscent of the past their local vil-lage and songs of praise. The established churches still maintain a strong grip on the life of the average Cook Islander. Church membership is essential for those who wish to exercise power or to influence the community; any politician seeking popular votes is well advised to put in plenty of church time. Luncheons are served after the service as a form of gratitude, not particu-larly a universal practice but is becoming more popular on Rarotonga especially as the church people feel thankful for the money that outside visitors put into the collection basket.
Cultural Tourism
Tourism has immensely influenced upon the Cook Islands since its induction to Rarotonga post-World War II in 1974, after its full international airport was opened and as a result their economy to this day is extremely dependent on the Tourism industry.
In Rarotonga, two main components of traditional arts play a big role within the tourism market ‘performing arts’ involving music and dance and ‘craft arts’. The art of dancing has survived in the Cook Islands from immemorial time and many of these types of art forms have thrived to evolve. Aspects like karakia (chants) endured but their regularity has diminished in paral-lel with an oral tradition, to be replaced by written language. Performing arts once molded as an expression of faith, has now been readily adapted for the soul benefit of attracting tourists.
The arrival of Europeans and Christianity to the Cook Islands effected great changes in the forming of ‘craft arts’. In the past the skills were passed onto the younger generation by their predecessors; teaching them the finer details of their knowledge although today it is taught through designated institutions. The acceptability of decorating objects for ceremonial purposes survived, but the making of figurative gods, tattooing and tapa almost ceased completely. The elimination of these practices de-stroyed evidence of their artistic history and is one of the main
10
Reference:
contributing factors to the absence of certain designs, symbols and motifs etched in their art.
With the new influence of religion and tourists, the art produced now is perceived as a menial form of making a living. There is a debate over tourist art (aka. airport art); the sustainability and expression of their culture through their art as a condition, restrictions imposed by tourism. The contradictory natures of these art forms have wrought major changes in the qual-ity, standard and authenticity. Unfortunately what the market demands, limits the artistic quality produced. For decades, exoti-cism pervaded and dictated the type of art to be displayed and sold in the market.
This kind of art was intended to titillate the appetite of the naïve tourist fulfilling their expectations, but these actions have eroded the image and worth of cultural expression. Today, many artists feed their art into the tourist market although the danger is repetition being rarely considered. Authenticity has been compromised, creating a rift between valuable and non-valua-ble art as well as cultural and non-cultural expression. Essentially there is a need to encourage further learning and training to heighten the standard of work produced by local artists, there-
fore overcoming the often-used derogatory term of ‘tourist art’.
Reviving Culture
To some Cook Islanders, the essence of the Cook Island culture is their performing arts or dancing, but the nature of culture by the way of ‘Kiriti Morotahi’ starts within the home. Although, the regularity of ‘Manaia’ (ceremonies) has diminished, being only done on special occasions.
Cook Islands independence in 1964, is commemorated through the Te Maeva Nui Festival, a week of cultural performances, sporting events and food shows in capital of Rarotonga with each island showing the uniqueness. There is always a high standard of teams competing, focusing on a different theme and different area of their culture.
11
Tourism
The tourism industry in the Cook Islands mantains its economy and population. The Cook Islands greeting Kia Orana means “may you live long”. It is a unique first gesture of friendship from these Polynesian people, renown for their hospitality and warmth. (Bartley, 2012) (Smith, 2011)
As with most small island nations, the Cook Islands’ economy is fragile and vulnerable, although in recent years, it has become less so as diversification has occurred, particularly in tourism and banking. (Smith, 2011)
Today over 110,000 tourists (Statistics, 2012) visit the Cook Islands annually, a number which eclipses the small local popu-lation and brings approximately US$65 million (Smith, 2011) into their economy. As well as encouraging employment in the hotel, transport, entertainment and souvenir industry, tourism has boosted agriculture, as local growers now supply the resorts with fruit and vegetables. (Smith, 2011)
Accommodation Types
There is a wide range of accommodation available, from first class resort hotels to self catering motels and backpacker hostels. Rarotonga and Aitutaki also has a number of excellent restaurants. (Smith, 2011)
We visited and collected information of all the resorts in Table 1 which is a summary of our findings. We found that the locally owned and managed resorts such as The Little Polynesian, Club Raro and The Pacific Resort are nicer, had a better feel, higher standards for their price range. Most resorts catered to honey-mooners and adults only. There were only three resorts which had a good Kids Club program. Most resorts had different room types and prices to suit different sized families and budgets.
The majority of resorts are on the western side of Rarotonga, followed by some on the south-eastern side. The southern side of the island had mainly holiday homes and bungalows. There is
TourismReference:
Poolside room at Club Raro
View from the restaurant / bar at Aquarius Rarotonga backpackers
Garden room at Arerenga Motel
Dorm room at Aquarius Rarotonga backpackers
Swim up poolside bar at Club Raro
View from Garden room at Arerenga Motel
12
Tourism
a paucity of resorts on the northern side even though the main town centre is located here. The reason for this is the narrowest part of the atoll is found on the northern side of the island.
Statistics on Tourism in Rarotonga
During the peak seasons between June and November, most of the resorts have about 90% occupancy. The locally owned resorts such as The Little Polynesian and The Pacific Resort main-tain high occupancy rates above 50% even in off peak seasons between December to April. The foreign owned resorts such as The Edgewater, Rarotongan and Aquarius struggle to achieve 20% occupancy rates during off peak seasons.
Of all the visitors to Rarotonga between 2007 and 2011, 30% are children or elderly and 60% are in the working age group. In 2011, the majority of visitor are aged between 45 and 59 (25%), 10% are aged between 0 and 14 years old. (Statistics, 2012)
Recommendation for Sheraton Site
Based on our research, we think the Sheraton Site would be suit-able for a large resort which is locally owned and operated. It should have a fully integrated Kids Club, a range of facilities such as wifi internet, tennis courts, swimming pool, spa, restaurants, gym, business centre, bar, gift shops, laundry facilities, Sky TV and bridal packages. It should have a variety of room types and sizes to suit different family sizes and budgets.
Bibliography
Bartley, N. (2012, 01). The Cook Islands. (C. Beattie, Ed.) Escape: Magazine of the Cook Islands (16).
Smith, E. (2011). The Cook Islands. Rarotonga: Ewan Smith / Island Image.
Statistics, D. o. (2012, 03). Total Arrivals and Departures. Raro-tonga: Department of Statistics, Rarotonga.
Reference:
Wedding Reception at The Pacific Resort
Pool, restaurant and bar at The Rarotongan Resort
Beachfront villa at The Pacific Resort
Kids Club facilities at The Rarotongan Resort
Beachfront villa, The Crown Beach Resort
View of beach from villa and restaurant at The Crown Beach Resort.
13
CoastalReference:
Lagoons and reefs are slow growing environments. These eco-systems are negatively altered by human activity, and are almost impossible to restore to their original state. Coral damage and fish poisoning are two issues currently defining Rarotonga’s coast. Sewerage leakage and nutrients are causing this.1
95%2 of coral in Rarotonga is either dead or dying. Contaminants cover the coral, and algae begin to grow. This is changing the dynamic of the reef, bringing in more herbivorous fish. 3
8 out of 10 lagoon fish are toxic. ‘Dinoflagellate’ settles in algae, and releases spores when the ecosystem is stressed from events such as bad weather, rise in sea temperature, modification of the reef, construction and run-off. The fish become infected and the result is ‘Ciguatera,’ a type of food poisoning that can affect humans and cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pa-ralysis and sometimes death.4 66%5 of the Rarotongan popula-tion will not consume fish from the lagoon.
These issues stem from poor sewerage waste treatment and agricultural practices.6 Impervious services, construction, recla-mation and vegetation clearing also contribute to water runoff, worsening the ecological health of the lagoon.7
Dated septic tanks leak sewerage into the groundwater. Due to Rarotonga’s volcanic porousity, the pollutants are not naturally filtered from the soil and sand, entering the lagoon in full con-centration.8
Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate from fertilisers and animal waste also carry contaminants into the lagoon. These promote the growth of algae, leading to coral damage and fish poisoning.9 This harms biodiversity and weakens coastal ecosystems.
Reference: 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 Robinson, A: Marine Ecologist and Water Quality Manager. Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. 4, 5 Hajkowics, S. & Okotai, P. (April 2005). An Economic Valuation of Watershed Pollution in Rarotonga, the Cook Islands. CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems. 7 Brodie, J. & Wilkinson, C. (2008). Catchment Management and Coral Reef Conservation: A Practical Guide for Coastal Resource Managers to Reduce Damage from Catchment Areas based on Best Practice Case Studies. James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. 9 Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. (2010). Water Quality Report Card.
14
Coastald
Cyclones
Cyclones also have a big impact on Rarotonga’s coast, usually occurring every five years. They increase the water level, quickly eroding sand away from beaches, and can be harmful to coral. Hotels such as ‘The Edgewater’ commonly have to bring in more sand for their beach after a destructive cyclone. Cyclones also flush contaminants out of the lagoon, and increase biodiver-sity.10
Climate Change
Climate change is the cause of complex problems within the lagoon. The rise in sea temperature causes coral bleaching, and the coral dies. It displaces species, altering their distribution and migration. Sea level rise inundates areas, causing erosion, larger storm surges and changes in coastal habitat. Severe weather events destroy habitats and encourage sedimentation.11
Government Influence
Government influence is more relevant to the Exclusive Eco-nomic Zone (EEZ) surrounding the Cook Islands. Government laws on coastal protection are not successfully enforced.12 There is only one patrol boat to monitor the EEZ.13 Currently there are no efficient ways to manage fishing quotas. An improvement to this would be more effective policies and regulation.
Reference: Raumea, K. Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. 11, 12 Passfield, K. & Rongo, T. (n.d.). National Environmental Service: Tu’anga Taporoporo Cook Islands, Cook Islands 4th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. 13 Robinson, A: Marine Ecologist and Water Quality Manager. Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. 14 Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. (2010). Water Quality Report Card.
Sheraton Site
The shallow lagoon and outside the Sheraton site has a high concentration of nutrients, average water quality, and a low level of bacteria.14 Concentrated nutrients cause the lagoon to lack biodiversity. It contains little coral, suspended rock and some small fish. Coral bleaching is evident. However, the two reef passages by the site have diverse biodiversity.15
Papua Stream borders the right of the site. After heavy rainfall the stream brings sediments, flushing sand away from the coast. The area is prone to flooding. The site’s proximity to the reef and shallow waters allows wind to frequently flush contaminants from the lagoon.16
Recommendations for Sherton Site
Coral and marine species are dying and becoming infected at an alarming rate. The future of Rarotonga’s coast and surround-ing reef rely heavily on improved waste management systems, agricultural practices, and development techniques.
Our recommendations for the Sheraton site would be to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before any devel-opment, and Resource Surveys of fish, coral and algae.17 It is im-portant that the lagoon is continuously monitored for changes within the lagoon of the coral and marine life. A shared Govern-ment policy would help protect the lagoon from contaminants from farming, tourism and other community activities.18
Our next actions would be to control the sand bank, extend the riparian planting and filter Papua stream before it enters the lagoon, without changing its exit point. These strategies would protect the marine environment from erosion and contami-nants. A lower nutrient level and better water quality would result in a healthier lagoon and increased biodiversity.
Reference: 16 Raumea, K. Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. 17 Robinson, A: Marine Ecologist and Water Quality Manager. Ministry of Marine Resources, Government of the Cook Islands. 18 Ministry of Environmental Services, Govern-ment of the Cook Islands. (November, 2007). Cross Cutting Capacity Report: Cook Islands.
15
Hydrology
Water Supply
The Rarotongan water supply consists of 12 intakes, from fresh-water streams located in 12 catchments distributed around the island. These intakes capture water that is then gravity fed either into storage tanks or piped directly into the distribution system.
Water intakes are situated in upper catchment areas a consid-erable distance inland, away from residential, commercial or industrial activity. However, the cross-island walk (a well utilised tourist trek) passes through these catchments, sometimes very close to the intake areas. 1
In addition, farming is common in most catchment areas, with some farms diverting water from streams for irrigation purposes. Animals such as cows, goats, pigs etc roam throughout, and have easy access to the intake areas.
Currently, like in most Pacific island countries, Rarotonga has no chemical water treatment. Three of the intakes utilise off-stream rapid filtration systems; five have in-stream rapid filtration of which four have open intakes 1
Water Quality
The present water system is vulnerable to contamination; the water quality is of concern with high levels of faecal coliform counts recorded in some water intakes. There is limited manage-ment of activity within water catchments, land ownership by individual’s means that any management programme would require community and landowner cooperation.
Water Supply and Demand
Rarotonga’s water distribution system supplies water to a population of just over 10,000 people and is distributed mainly around the coastal settlements. The distribution system is en-tirely gravity fed and operates generally at high pressures.
Reference: 1 Parakoti, B SOPAC Water Safety Plan, Water Supply System Description - Cook Islands
Figure 2: Open Intake
16
HydrologyFigure 1: Map of Rarotonga showing catchments and Water Intakes 1
17
Water supply and demand dynamics have not been fully assessed. Leakage and wastage are major issues, free and unrestricted water usage for consumers (both private and com-mercial) encourages a wasteful attitude. At the community level little action is being taken to preserve water. 2
Estimates of leakage range from 30-50% of the water drawn from the intakes.
Table 1: Average Daily User Demands for Rarotonga
Water Systems
Rarotongas streams are mostly ephemeral with many freshwater swamps and bogs. These are important for pollution filtration and food production. There is pressure from landowners to fill in wetlands for residential and commercial purposes to increase income. Increased income leads to less need for wetlands, which are abandoned and invaded by weed species.
Construction of freshwater intakes for human consumption has altered stream flow rates, many streams no longer flow to the sea. Poorly developed stream diversions have been created resulting in further degradation to surrounding areas.(Cook Islands 4th National Report to the convention on biodiversity)Because Rarotongas water supply is reliant on rain, streams are known to dry up during periods of severe drought causing wa-ter shortages in some areas. The current capacity of Rarotongas water storage is insufficient over long periods of time.
Reference:: 2 National Environment Service Cook Islands Cross Cutting Capacity Assessment Report November 2007
Figure 3: Off Stream Rapid FiltrationFigure 4: In Stream Rapid Filtration
18
Reference: 3 National Environment Service Cook Islands Cross Cutting Capacity Assessment Report November 2007, 4 Brodie, J & Wilkinson, C Catchment Management and Coral Reef Conservation 2011
Water Quality - Streams
Water pollution due to agricultural nutrient runoff from catch-ment areas especially after heavy rain is a concern. (Cross Cut-ting Capacity Report P30)
These nutrients are usually filtered by wetlands, which have been removed during agricultural development. Testing of streams reveals consistently poor water quality impacting not only the drinking water of the islands population but also caus-ing significant damage to the coral reef. Further environmental pressures affecting coastal resources via streams include land degradation such as soil erosion and stream sedimentation, and pollution. 3
Waste and Sanitation
Currently management of waste is piecemeal, anecdotal evi-dence suggests poor management of sewerage with many of the islands septic tanks old and leaking. High tourism density in coastal areas may be exacerbating the problem. It is crucial for waste disposal to be effectively managed to avoid further pollution of nearby lands and waterways. Adhoc dumping and burning of garbage is common.
Conclusion
Effective care and management of water resources including marine, surface and ground water is critical for the economic and social wellbeing of the Cook Islands. 3. The current water supply system is inadequate and unsustainable into the future due to increasing pressure from industries such as tourism. There is sufficient water in Rarotonga however the quality is lacking due to poor land management practices within the catchment areas causing extensive damage at sea level within the lagoon and to the coral reef ecosystem.
Recommendations
Activity within the catchment area needs to be managed to reduce damage.
- Reduce erosion (due to increased sediment) throughout the catchment particularly in steeper areas through good farming/logging practice. Forest Industries such as clear felling result in large amounts of sediment and nutrients into streams and rivers. Land clearing should be carried out in the dry season and be selec-tive retaining smaller trees shrubs and grasses. 4
- Managing fertiliser usage
- Trapping of sediment in riparian areas through planting of ap-propriate species and weed management.
- Control of residential and tourism development with good land management practices including Environmental Assess-ment before project approval. Urban Development often involves vegetation removal to bare soil, coupled with heavy rainfall and steep slope can cause erosion. Road construction can be a major source of sediment pollution.
(Catchment Management and coral reef conservation)
- Management of industrial and domestic waste including upgrade of sewerage systems.
- Raise awareness of problems and solutions within the com-munity.
- Promote the use of rainwater tanks in drought susceptible areas.
Figure 5: Dry Stream Bed
1919
A
A
B
BVegetation Zones
Wetlands
Plantations
Vegetaion
Vegetation20
VegetationReference:
ForestLowland ForestResidentialResort
ForestLowland ForestResidentialResort
A A
B B
Vegetation Transects through Rarotonga
Change of vegetation type across island east-west
Change of vegetation type across island north-south
21
Flora and Fauna Tables*No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest
1 Albizia saman rain tree e x 2 Alocasia macrorrhizos giant taro p x x 3 Alpinia sp. ginger e x x x 4 Ananas comosus pineapple e x 5 Artocarpus sp. breadfruit e x 6 Asplenium sp. bird’s nest fern n x x 7 Averrhoa carambola carambola, star fruit e x x 8 Barringtonia asiatica utu n x x x 9 Bougainvillea sp. bougainvillea e x x
10 Carica papaya pawpaw e x x x x 11 Casuarina sp. she oak n x x x 12 Citrus sp. lemon, lime, orange etc e x x 13 Cocos nucifera coconut palm n p x x x x 14 Colocasia sp. taro p x x 15 Cordyline sp. Cordyline p x x x x
No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest 16 Crinum xanthophyllum golden leaf Crinum lily e x x 17 Cycas revoluta sago palm e x 18 Cyperus involucratus umbrella plant e x 19 Delonix regia flamboyant e x x x 20 Eleocharis geniculate spike rush n x 21 Ficus sp. fig n x x x 22 Fitchia speciosa neinei n x 23 Gardenia taitensis tiare maori p x x 24 Hedychium coronarium white ginger lily x x 25 Heleconia sp. e x x 26 Hibiscus sp. hibiscus e x x 27 Hibiscus tiliaceus tree hibiscus n x x x 28 Iponema sp. morning glory n x x 29 Lycopersicon esculentum tomato e x 30 Manihot esculenta arrowroot e x
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
* Status: n= species native to Rarotonga; p=Polynesian introduced species ; e=European introduced species
22
No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest 1 Albizia saman rain tree e x 2 Alocasia macrorrhizos giant taro p x x 3 Alpinia sp. ginger e x x x 4 Ananas comosus pineapple e x 5 Artocarpus sp. breadfruit e x 6 Asplenium sp. bird’s nest fern n x x 7 Averrhoa carambola carambola, star fruit e x x 8 Barringtonia asiatica utu n x x x 9 Bougainvillea sp. bougainvillea e x x
10 Carica papaya pawpaw e x x x x 11 Casuarina sp. she oak n x x x 12 Citrus sp. lemon, lime, orange etc e x x 13 Cocos nucifera coconut palm n p x x x x 14 Colocasia sp. taro p x x 15 Cordyline sp. Cordyline p x x x x
No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest 16 Crinum xanthophyllum golden leaf Crinum lily e x x 17 Cycas revoluta sago palm e x 18 Cyperus involucratus umbrella plant e x 19 Delonix regia flamboyant e x x x 20 Eleocharis geniculate spike rush n x 21 Ficus sp. fig n x x x 22 Fitchia speciosa neinei n x 23 Gardenia taitensis tiare maori p x x 24 Hedychium coronarium white ginger lily x x 25 Heleconia sp. e x x 26 Hibiscus sp. hibiscus e x x 27 Hibiscus tiliaceus tree hibiscus n x x x 28 Iponema sp. morning glory n x x 29 Lycopersicon esculentum tomato e x 30 Manihot esculenta arrowroot e x
16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
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No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest 31 Marattia salicina potato fern, king fern n x x 32 Melastoma denticulatum Pacific Malastoma n x x x 33 Metrosideros sp. rata n x x 34 Morinda citrifolia nono, noni n x x x x 35 Musa sp. banana p x x x 36 Mussaenda raiatennsis Pacific flag tree n x x 37 Pachira aquatic water chestnut e x x 38 Pandanus tectorius ara, screw pine p x x 39 Passiflora edulis passionfruit e x x x 40 Platycerium bifurcatum staghorn fern e x x 41 Plumeria rubra frangipani e x x x 42 Psidium cattleianum red strawberry-guava e x x x 43 Ravenala madagascariensis traveller’s palm e x 44 Rhoeo dicolor mosses in the cradle e x x 45 Sansevieria trifasciata mother in law’s tongue e x x
No. Latin Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest A Aedes polynesiensis Polynesian mosquito p x x x x x B Anaciaeschna jaspidea dragonfly n x x x x C Bos taurus cow e x D Capra hircus goat e x x E Carnis familiarus domestic dog p x x x F Felix catus house cat e x G Gallus gallus chicken e x x H Hemidactylus frenatus house gecko e x x x x x I Periplaneta australasiae Australian cockroach e x x J Phaethon lepturus white-tailed tropicbird n x K Polistes jokahamae paper wasp e x x x L Ptilinopus rarotongensis Cook Island fruit dove n M Rattus exulans Pacific rat p x x x x N Sus scrofa pig p x x O Trigoniulus corallines purple millipede e x x
31 32 33 34 35
36 37 3938 40
41 42 43 44 45
* Status: n= species native to Rarotonga; p=Polynesian introduced species ; e=European introduced species
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No. Botanical Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest 31 Marattia salicina potato fern, king fern n x x 32 Melastoma denticulatum Pacific Malastoma n x x x 33 Metrosideros sp. rata n x x 34 Morinda citrifolia nono, noni n x x x x 35 Musa sp. banana p x x x 36 Mussaenda raiatennsis Pacific flag tree n x x 37 Pachira aquatic water chestnut e x x 38 Pandanus tectorius ara, screw pine p x x 39 Passiflora edulis passionfruit e x x x 40 Platycerium bifurcatum staghorn fern e x x 41 Plumeria rubra frangipani e x x x 42 Psidium cattleianum red strawberry-guava e x x x 43 Ravenala madagascariensis traveller’s palm e x 44 Rhoeo dicolor mosses in the cradle e x x 45 Sansevieria trifasciata mother in law’s tongue e x x
No. Latin Name Common Name Status Wetland Resort Residential Lowland Forest Forest A Aedes polynesiensis Polynesian mosquito p x x x x x B Anaciaeschna jaspidea dragonfly n x x x x C Bos taurus cow e x D Capra hircus goat e x x E Carnis familiarus domestic dog p x x x F Felix catus house cat e x G Gallus gallus chicken e x x H Hemidactylus frenatus house gecko e x x x x x I Periplaneta australasiae Australian cockroach e x x J Phaethon lepturus white-tailed tropicbird n x K Polistes jokahamae paper wasp e x x x L Ptilinopus rarotongensis Cook Island fruit dove n M Rattus exulans Pacific rat p x x x x N Sus scrofa pig p x x O Trigoniulus corallines purple millipede e x x
Reference: All photos retrieved from: http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/search.asp
A
F
K
B
G
L
C
H
M
D
I
N
E
J
O
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Existing Biodiversity
During our time in Rarotonga we discovered dramatic differences in vegetation diversity and density from the resorts to the forest. These produced distinct flora and fauna categories that can be seen in our transects and palettes.
The wetlands were very sparse on the island and hard to find, but we located one in Muri that was of small scale. We found that both flora and fauna in this area lacked in diversification.
Resorts varied from European amenity plantings to native vegetation. These plantings were more for visual purposes. A majority of these plants were sourced from local employees who had grown them from cuttings out of their own gardens. We noted that for visual impact maintenance within the resorts occurred frequently to maintain a high standard. The plant variety in these areas were diverse but were predominantly European introduced species to create the ideal ‘westerner paradise’.
The residential gardens were very similar to the resorts but also included edible crops. Road frontages and residential areas contained the ‘westerner paradise’ plantings but there was a distinct change into a mixture of crops and lowland forest species the further inland we explored.
There was a subtle change from the residential into the lowland forest areas. We found that the residents of these properties were less affected by the ‘westerner paradise’; they seemed to be more involved with crop production and agriculture. It was here we first sighted animal farming, just below the forest edge.
Our cross-island walk alerted us to the density of the native vegetation and absence of western influence in the forest. We define this area as the true ‘Rarotongan paradise’ although western influences have caused a reduction in populations of native fauna and flora in the forest with the introduction of pests and invasive plant species.
Reference: Photos taken by Erin hodges on Cora’s camera
1&2. Wetland near Muri beach
3. Typical resort planting
4. Residential planting
1
2
3
4
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Traditional and Modern Plant Uses
Traditional Rarotongan culture was primarily influenced by the resources available on the island, in particular the plants. They were used for a variety of customs including medicine, clothing, weaving, eating etc. The introduction of western culture modernized plant uses. For example ‘traditional health concepts were to deeply ingrained to be entirely replaced, and the current “Maori medicine” developed from the synthesis of traditional
Maori concepts and western medicines’. (Whistler 1992)
Relation to Sheraton Site
The Sheraton site is located in the residential zone but boarders the resort zone of our transect. From our site visits we concluded that the Sheraton site was overgrown with invasive and native plant species and there was a lack of maintenance due to the abandonment of the site. Our time on site was very limited and we were unable to identify any wildlife, but bird song was subtly evident.
The site offers an opportunity establish a connection or corridor between the coastline and forest that could showcase the endemic flora and fauna of the island.
Reference: Whistler, W. Polynesian Herbal Medicine. China: Everbest Printing Co Ltd, 1992.
5. Residential house in lowland forest
6. Lowland horticultural area
7&8. Forest
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6
7
8
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Agricultural History
Agriculture functioned at a family level pre-European influence where plots of land held by each household group would farm a range of native crops for self -sustenance (figure 1). Such crops that were traditional to the island were coconut, breadfruit, and taro. Crop production was not intensive, as the food was not grown for mass production or export. Following early Euro-pean involvement with the island new crops such as citrus and pineapple were introduced and larger plantations began to be formed on the interior of the island. During the 1960s and 1970s there was a large production of citrus crops. Although 70%1 of all households in the Cook Islands are engaged in some form of agricultural activity, the industry has became less important as an export earner with the increase of tourism and resort development along the coast of the island. Smaller plots of land are farmed on the interior ring (figure 2) of the island and the produce is mainly used locally and not intended for export.
Large Production Crops
The largest export of the island was citrus, pineapple and pawpaw crops (figures 2 & 3), but since the intensification of the tourism industry the production of vegetables has become the main source of income for growers, who sell to the restaurants and resorts on the island. This exemplifies the shift from crop production for export over to producing for the tourism industry on the island as the amount of land used for agriculture has drastically reduced.
Livestock
The livestock industry in the Cook Islands is limited by suitable grazing land available. Most people in Rarotonga keep animals around their houses for family consumption or feasts on special occasions, especially chickens and pigs (graph 1). Beef and lamb are imported almost entirely from New Zealand and Australia (graph 2), and while the country is self-sufficient in producing pork for local consumption, processed products such as bacon
Agriculture
Figure 3: Pineapple was a major export crop in the 1960s, but production is now mostly limited to the local market
Figure 4: Commercial growers on Rarotonga with plantations of single crops to supply the tourist resorts directly
Figure 1: Diagram of typical domestic fruit and vegetable garden arrangement. Specimen fruit trees are dotted around the house , planted on top of the placenta of family descendants.
1: Country Pasture Resource Profiles, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. Authour Eroarome Martin Aregheore retrievde from http//faostat.fao.org/default.aspx
Figure 2: Agriculture predominantly takes place on the slopes around the central core of jungle at the centre of Rarotonga.
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Agriculture
are imported. Another limiting factor for animal farming is the reliance on imported grains and feed due to lack of adequate grazing, which makes it unviable economically as it is difficult to compete with cheap imported meat.
Tourism Influences
Tourism is an important market outlet for locally grown produce. Local growers will approach restaurants and resorts offering their daily supply and delivery of fresh produce. Despite climatic difficulties for some crops, growers produce lettuce (figure 5), tomatoes, bananas and pawpaw. Locally, these crops are in high demand and often attract a competitive price. The Saturday markets held in the town centre are one of Rarotonga’s most eminent tourist attractions, with local growers offering the sale of their ‘exotic’ produce to curious tourists. Without the tourist market, local growers would have little or no income. Only rarely are they able to supply supermarkets and local stores, as crop production is such a common and competitive practice within Rarotonga. To ensure quality, large quantities of fresh produce are imported from Australia and New Zealand to supply the Rarotongan tourist demand.
Growing Methods
Growing methods in Rarotonga are very standard. Typically, fruit trees such as pawpaw, banana, and coconut are grown on plantations, the size of these depend on production purposes. Crops such as cucumber and lettuce are grown on manually ploughed land with fitted irrigation (figure 6). Although some growers claim to produce only organic crops, many have taken on western methods. An overwhelming amount of growers are using pesticides and fertilizers to produce immaculate looking produce with little consideration into the quality. The Ministry of Agriculture imports agrichemicals from New Zealand for direct supply to growers to boost commercial crops. Climate change is also having effect on growing methods. Weather patterns are changing, resulting in more rainfall and longer and hotter dry seasons. Growers are slowly converting to biological meth-ods to enhance crop production and protect them from the
Figure 5: Although they require more pesticide and fertilizer, fast turnover cash crops such as lettuce and tomatoes are grown for the higher income they attract from supplying the tourist demand
Graph 1: Types of livestock in the Cook Islands (2001)
(data source www.agriculture.gov.ck/index.php/livestock/62-livestock-in-the-cook-islands)
1997
2002
2007
(Mt = metric tonnes ) . Over the same period 1996 to 2005 chicken meat imports ranged from 320 mt (1996) to 914 mt (2005)
Source: Country Pasture Resource Profiles, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN. Authour Eroarome Martin Aregheore retrievde from http//faostat.fao.org/default.aspx
Graph 2: Cook Islands statistics comparing livestock numbers, beef production and meat and milk imports for the period of 1997-2007.
Figure 6: Water for irrigation is taken from the main Rarotonga water supply.
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increased temperature and rainfall. These methods are costly to set up but require less maintenance in the long run, producing better quality produce.
Current Issues
Current agricultural and horticultural issues that Rarotonga faces are primarily due to social, environmental and economic problems. Social sustainability of agriculture is uncertain be-cause of the aging workforce and lack of youth engagement in the industry. In some instances, land tenure disputes complicate the passing of agricultural practice through generations. Tribe members may have differing opinions of the land is best used for, choosing the ‘easy way’ and building tourist rental accom-modation instead of continuing farming. Because land tenure disputes are common, there is a reluctance to invest heavily in machinery or planting large areas with crops, in the event of the appearance of a distant family member claiming the land in the future. Consequently, fast turnover cash crops are preferred such as tomatoes and papaya, which in turn has contributed to soil depletion.
To ensure produce is consistently up to standard for supply to the tourist service market, pesticide use is widespread across Rarotonga, as pests and diseases such as grand balloon vine (Cardiospermum grandiflorum), and whitefly spread easily around the island. This issue also prevents export, particularly to New Zealand due to strict biosecurity standards. Quality of sup-ply is also a barrier to export, as strict regulations and stringent standards, combined with high tariffs that make export of fresh produce unfeasible at present. Access to technology and ma-chinery that improves agricultural efficiency of the agricultural sector also limits increased productivity, with farmers sharing equipment across the island.
Future Plans
There are several government initiatives to address these issues from different approaches. At a regional scale, Pacific island nations are being encouraged by international aid agencies to
become more financially responsible and transparent. Aid is be-ing given as trade relief in a ‘Trade for Aid’ programme with the aim of creating long-term economic benefits and social gains. Funding for specific projects is more commonplace. For exam-ple, the export of high value niche crops, such as vanilla, coffee and coconut oil, are key projects already under development in Rarotonga. High-level trade discussions are also taking place to assist export restrictions. Tariffs on imported produce have been put in place to deter hotel and restaurant suppliers in the off-peak growing season (November to April) to encourage reliance on locally sourced seasonal crops under an Import Replacement Programme. This has limited effect as the power and value of tourist demand far outweighs the price of higher import duties.
Potential of Sheraton Site
Further education of farmers is required to curb excessive chemical use and to encourage alternatives. Programmes to use volunteer overseas backpacker workers have been discussed to make up for the loss of labour force. This scheme provides a good opportunity to use the Sheraton site as an opportunity to develop an educational, agricultural, environmental and social sustainability centre. The site could become a place where traditional crops are grown organically, then used to supply an on-site restaurant that specialises in Rarotongan cuisine. Accom-modation for volunteer workers could be provided, as well as guests on specialised ‘cuisine retreats’, coming to Rarotonga for a cultural experience by being immersed in a cooking school, learning to prepare traditional island food. The facility could also serve as a hospitality school for locals, training people for the hospitality industry and encourage the preparation of dishes using locally grown organic crops grown on site. It could also serve as a base for a crop research programme with a focus on finding new varieties of fruit and vegetables that will grow in the Cook Islands without the need for excessive resource use.
Figure 7: (left)) Vanilla orchids, seen here growing on host trees, are a high-return niche crop currently on trial
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References:
Verbal interviews in Rarotonga with:
Ministry Ms. Maria Tuoro - Director, Policy and Projects, Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Patu Katu - Senior research officer, Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Tera Mataroa - Field officer, Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr. Tomas Taritametu - Field officer, Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture.
Mr Teariki Vakalalabure - Foreign Investment Monitoring and compliance officer, Business Trade & Investment Board.
Mr. Jospeh Brider - Senior Environment officer, Biodiversity unit, Cook Islands National Environ-ment Service.
Website resources:
Business Trade & Investment Board. www.btib.gov.ck/
Cook Islands Government. http://www.cook-islands.gov.ck/cook-islands.php#agriculture
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/southpacific/cook
Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture. http://www.agriculture.gov.ck/index.php/policy
Print resources:
McCormack, G. (2002) Cook Island Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Cook Islands Govern-ment.
Passefield, K and Rongo, T. (2011) Cook Islands 4th National Report to the Convention on Bio-loigical Diversity. National Environment Service, Cook Islands.
Syed, S. and Mataio, N. (1993) Agriculture in the Cook Islands: New Directions. University of the South Pacific, Institute of Pacific Studies and Cook Islands Centre, Ministry of Agriculture, The Cook Islands.
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Design Proposals32
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Design Proposals 33
Sustainable Tourism: Sheraton Redesign
Through our research gathered in Rarotonga, the class was able to collaborate and come up with possible solutions for the abandoned Sherarton site in Vaimaanga, on the southwest of the island.
The site has been abandoned for approximately 20 years, despite being almost 90% complete when construction came to a stop due to financial issues. Presently, structures that remain on the site are deteriorating, with the forest encroaching from the hills, wildlife inhabiting some buildings and vandalism by tourists and locals. There has been multiple attempts to restore the site physically and financially, however given ownership disputes, the site has remained undeveloped.
The objective of these designs is to explore how this vacant site could contribute to the social, cultural, economic and environmental development of Rarotonga. In addition, solutions took into consideration sustainable installation and low-impact design principles.
Four design outcomes were produced:
Botanical Park - Educational Facility
Agriscape Centre - Educational Botanical Exhibition
Twin Waters - Sustainable Resort and Eco-Cultural Campus
Re-habitation Vaimaanga: Regain, Regenerate, Restore - A New Vaimaanga Village
Details of each proposal are included in the following pages.
Agriscape Centre
Educational Facility
Group Members: Cora Lawton, Hailey Gill, Catherine Duncan
Proposal
Poor land management practices have led to a loss of biodiversity in Rarotonga. Waste, nutrients and sediments are degrading water quality throughout the catchments that feed the waterways. Infiltration of the groundwater and the consequential degradation of lagoon water quality has led to adverse effects on marine ecosystems including death of the coral reef.
Through ecosystem and catchment management we aim to develop an interactive model that offers alternative solutions to land based management. We feel this can be achieved by addressing the environmental and water management issues of the Sheraton site whilst providing an educational facility focused on land management practices.
Rationale
The process of Land tenure in the Cook Islands means that many people may be involved in varying farming practices within a catchment. A public education programme for existing landowners is vital to promote best practice for land management. An integrated approach by the landowners with knowledge of pest weed management, riparian planting of buffer zones and good farming practice through appropriate animal and fertilizer control will lead to positive outcomes such as cost effective good quality drinking water and the eventual restoration of the coral reef, including its ability to provide additional food source through fishing.
We envisage that the education centre could offer secondary students an opportunity to further their studies in Agriculture/Horticulture/Environmental Sciences without having to leave Rarotonga. The retention of youth in Rarotonga is important for the continuation of the Cool Island way of life and a positive future awareness of appropriate land management. Continued improvements to the ecology of Rarotonga is vital for it’s
economic wellbeing future as tourist dollars become harder to get competition Support from Universities in the Asia Pacific region could lead to funding of experimental programmes aimed at improvements to Pacific Island sustainability measures.
The location of the Sheraton site near the end of the cross island walkway offers an opportunity to educate tourists on the water management and environmental problems experienced by Pacific Island nations.
Description
We envisage utilising the existing infrastructure of the site for our proposal:
• The Hotel reception area would become the entrance and administration area for the development including a reception area and booking centre for Rarotonga’s eco-tourism ventures.
• The pavilions at the southern end of the campus would be transformed into a retail store available for the use of students and tourists to purchase items such as books. Produce from the campus plantations would also be available.
• Planting throughout the campus would be of educational value, through the use of appropriate species for river margins and wetland planting.
• Plantations on the northern side of the campus are indicative of the types of farming in the Cool Islands and will be utilised as part of the educational facility through trials of specialised crops and sustainable farming practices.
Site Analysis Diagram
Agriscape Walkway Transect
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Agriscape CentreNScale 1: 2500
Proposed Waterways
Tourist Facilities
Educational Facilities
Commercial/Retail
LEGEND:
Natural Wetland
River Margin Planting
Crops
Open Space/Native Planting
Carpark
Proposed Walkway Link/Road
Agriscape Walkway Transect
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Agriscape Walkway Transect
Start Distance: 0m Elevation: 75m
Waterfall ForestAgriculture
Cross Island Walkway Extension Through Agriscape Centre
Group Members: Cora Lawton, Hailey Gill, Catherine Duncan
Agriscape Centre36
Finish Distance: 1400mElevation: 0m
Agriscape ReceptionWetland Coast
Agriscape Centre 37
Botanical Park
Educational Botanical Exhibition
Group Members: Erin Hodges, Helena Downey, Ryan Aldrich.
Proposal
An exhibition of flora of the Cook Islands and the Pacific. A showcase on the Sheraton site of both ornamental and productive vegetation, connecting to the cross-island walk and providing a vegetation link from mountain to sea.
Incorporating the uses of local productive crops for cooking, medicinal and other uses both traditional and western. It explores the idea of education for both the locals and tourists, which is open to the public as a park.
Rationale
This design fills a niche that the island was lacking and we saw an opportunity to provide the first educational botanical exhibition of the Cook Islands. This will provide a base for locals and tourists to engage with the local and exotic vegetation of the Pacific.
Description
Visitors centre: An opportunity to create an arrival experience for all Garden visitors. This will offer a meeting place for the cross island walk either before or after to add to their experience.
Botanical garden cafe: Located just next to the visitors centre the cafe offers fabulous views over the Gardens. A selection of food is available and carefully selected for the gardens with regular culinary classes available to immerse you in traditional and western methods of plant uses.
Museum: A diverse collection of plants to be used in research and teaching and for public information to promote knowledge of the conservation of plants. A show case of the research work that has been produced by on site and visiting researchers.
Medicinal & Edible garden: Situated near the museum, this offers best way to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables of the pacific and provide them with a sense of ownership and understanding of where their food comes from as well as alternative methods of plant use that are still used today.
Sea
Visito
r Centre
Exotic
Vegetation
Edible and medici
nal
vegetation
Wetlands
Cross Island Walk
Section A-A
Section B-B
Exotic
Vegetation
Edible and medici
nal
vegetation Muse
um
Conservato
ry
RoadRoad
Nursery: Here you can find information on the large range of plants grown at the Botanic Park, general gardening advice and be able to purchase plants and seeds. This will be a opportunity to invite visiting researches to come share the experience of the Pacific’s flora and offer new discoveries.
Conservatory: To educate and entertain people with the various species of exotic plants. Creating an adjustable climate to offer a showcase of plants from around the world.
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Botanical Park
A
A
B
B
Edible and Medicinal Vegetation
Pond
Wetlands
Road
Visitor Centre
Museum
Conservatory
Exotic Vegetation
LEGEND:
NScale 1: 2500
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Twin Waters
Sustainable Resort and Eco-Cultural Campus
Group Members: Denise Wong, Josephine Clarke, Raewyn Beavis
Proposal
Redirect the ring road around Rarotonga to cut through the middle of the site.
Rationale
A locally owned resort which caters to the needs of young families and competitively priced will further boost the tourist industry for Rarotonga. The orchards on the northern cultural side of this road will provide for most of the fruits needed for the guests in the resort. As the local culture is important for the local identity of its local community and provides a point of difference for the tourists who visit this country, this cultural and education centre can be used by locals to perform, meet and re-inforce their values, customs and costumes to younger genera-tions of Rarotongans. Being the main island of the Cook Islands, a centre here will showcase the diversity of its local culture for all the islands.
Description
The seaward part of the site is utilised for the development of a family oriented luxury resort, like The Little Polynesian and The Pacific Resort. The northern half of the site adjacent to the mountains, native vegetation and plantations is developed as a cultural and educational centre.
C
B
A
D
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Twin WatersNScale 1: 2500
Cultural centre
Freshwater (river and pools)
Wetlands
Road / carparks
LEGEND:
Staff residence
Open space / lawn
Resort facilities
Education centre
Saltwater reefs
Native vegetation
A
A
B
BC
C
D
D
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New Vaimaanga Village
Re-habitation Vaimaanga: Regain, Regenerate, Restore
Group Members: Jordan Draffin, Sumeet Prasad, John Lee
Environmental Education in Rarotonga
Something that is needed in Rarotonga is a new idea for the Sheraton Site and the tourism industry on Rarotonga. We have created our design on a philosophy based around Passive Environmental Education through Design (PEED) and incorporating Agriculture, 5-star Accommodations and a Water treatment facility. Heres how we plan to do it.
A New Vaimaanga Village
The Rarotongan economy relies heavily on the tourism industry. We realize after visiting the island, talking with local people and communities in order to maintain and expand this major source of income, there needs to be more entrepreneurial opportuni-ties, thoughts and ideas explored on the island. We have identified a site of approximately 200,000m2 (20Ha) that has been a drain on the Cook Island economy and has been abandoned for the past 20 years located in the Vaimaanga village. Our approach towards the site is to utilize the existing infrastructural elements to create multifunctional facilities in order to accommodate a range of different requirements by lo-cal and regional communities. Our focus is to design a space that contributes towards the wider context of the site i.e. the island of Rarotonga. The chosen facilities for the site are designed according to site potentials, limitations and its requirements for the people/communities of Rarotonga. These will include:
•MarketArea•PassiveEnvironmentalEducationthroughDesign•WatertreatmentUtilities–offsite•AgriculturalArea•RecreationalArea
Ultimately these chosen facilities are to generate a sustainable and reliable income for Rarotonga and a model of environmen-tal aware design which can be universally implemented.
Fig. 1: Original plan of Sheraton Hotel
Fig. 2: Artists impression of original design in 1989
Fig. 4-7: Existing Sheraton Buildings.
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New Vaimaanga Village
Vaimaanga Village Plan
As you can see from our design, we have divided the site into three distinct areas.
1. Local accommodation to provide staffing requirements for the hotel and a local connection to the hotel
2. Public Building providing shops, information centre, business centre & hotel foyer
3. 5 star, locally owned hotel accommodations.
Design outcome
We feel that the combination of these elements as part of our Passive Environmental Educational Design (PEED) philosophy could be used as an example for other parts of Rarotonga as providing sustainable communities on the island. The Recreational link as a pathway through our site means that all aspects of our site are accessible and provide an enjoyable experience for the holiday makers who stay at our unique eco-educational resort.
Fig. 8 Proposed Plan of Vaimaanga Village Resort
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New Vaimaanga VillageFig. 9: Diagram for proposed Water Treatment Facility of site but visible
Recreation
A 3 hour trek across the island begins/ends approximately 1km behind our site. As this is a great opportunity for tourists to explore the island, we want to provide a better link to this track and make people more aware of it. As part of our Passive Envi-ronmental Educational Design (PEED) philosophy this linkage will begin at the hotel Markets and connects up all the agricul-tural elements of our design. As you can see in our visualiza-tion’s, the productive gardens are brought forward and across the road to provide a direct link with the agriculture. This could be an opportunity to display some edible plants or aromatics that are found on Rarotonga.
Water Treatment
As we have discovered on the island, water treatment is minimal, with only a few reservoirs and a lack of understand-ing between the connection of island run-off and the decay of the islands coral reef. As you can see, we propose a series of ponds to be created on the tourist side to collect and mitigate the catchments agricultural run-off. With these ponds aestheti-cally planted along the riparian edges and shaped to reflect the existing organic shaped pools, tourists can enjoy this amenity as well as learn through PEED of how water treatment is achieved on the island.
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New Vaimaanga VillageFig. 10: Proposed Agricultural connection of Vaimaanga Village Resort and market place
Agriculture
Through our research of agriculture on the Rarotonga, we have found that unsustainable practices with pesticides and fertiliz-ers are used to grow produce for the island. We have identified an area behind the Sheraton site as an existing agricultural area which could be managed implementing more ecological and organic principles. This would not just make the area healthier around our site, but could provide an educational opportunity for the island as a show piece for sustainable agriculture. This space would connect to the Sheraton site by a walkway from the foyer of the main building and across the turning circle area, making it easily accessible to the locals and tourist alike.
Market
As we discovered while researching on the island, there is one designated market area on the island located in Avarua. This market area is used only on Sundays and when passenger cruise ships arrive on the island. Because there is no deep wharf for passenger ships to dock on the island, in bad weather the ships pass the cook island by which means the islands economy misses out on that valuable tourist dollar. As there is a proposed deep sea dock with consent to be built near the site, we thought it advantages to create a market area right on our site to provide access direct to the freshly imported produce from some of the out islands. These markets would be a series of Are and would be open most days of the week. This would also be educational for the tourist staying in the hotel portion of the site, as they can see the produce displayed and how these are prepared. In this area there is also some agricultural area to display the entire process involved in producing some of things for sale at the market (i.e. a taro plantation or a grove of bananas).
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2012 Pacific Regional Studies class (from left)
Raewyn Beavis
Renee Davies
Jordan Draffin
John Lee
Josephine Clarke
Sumeet Prasad
Catherine Duncan
Heather Docherty
Denise Wong
Andrea Legere
Helena Downey
Cora Lawton
Hailey Gill
Erin Hodges
Ryan Aldrich
Jihoon Park
Acknowledgements46
Image: Denise Wong
The 2012 Pacific Regional Studies class wish to thank the fol-lowing people for their assistance with this project:
Tamatoa Taruia and his family
Renee Davies
Robert Riddell
Cook Islands Ministry of Agriculture staff
Cook Islands National Environment Service staff
Cook Island Business Trade Investment Board
All of the friends we made in Rarotonga
Front cover image:
Back cover image: Catherine Duncan, abandoned Sheraton hotel site, Vaimaanga.
All other images supplied by group members or as referenced.
Image: Denise Wong
Acknowledgements 47
