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A Cook Islands' environmentalist says he has no doubt the director of the Marae Moana marine reserve was "sacked" by the government over her opposition to sea-bed mining...This week, the government said it chose not to renew Ms Evans' contract so it could replace her with someone more a

Despite uncertainty over the environmental impact, some Pacific countries are pushing ahead with plans to mine their seabeds for minerals - and New Zealand has offered a helping hand.

The Cook Islands will be ready to harvest precious metals from the ocean floor in just five years. Despite calls for a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining in the Pacific to allow time to conduct more environmental research, the Cooks are set to be the frontier of the new goldrush.

Jacqui Evans, who was this year recognised internationally for her work building Marae Moana, is being replaced as director of the marine park. It comes just six months after Evans was named a winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, described as the Green Nobel Prize.

Jacqui Evans has spoken out about why the Prime Minister dismissed her from her role as head of the Marae Moana marine reserve.

Original Article

As the Cook Islands Government continues with its plans for seabed mining it has controversially dumped the person most closely associated with its famed Marae Moana. Jacqui Evans was dumped as a director of the huge marine reserve, something she was instrumental in establishing.

Scientists have explored less than one per cent of the deep sea. We know neither the extent of the habitats targeted by mining nor how the ecosystems will respond to it.