Takitumu Conservation Area Management Plan 2020–2030.

The Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) Management Plan lays down measures for 155-ha area of forested lowland hills of southern Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The timeframe of the policy is 10 years covering the period from 2020 to 2030. The objectives of this Plan are to: (i) maintain and then expand current management effort; (ii) manage other threats; (iii) protect the small endemic forest bird Rarotonga flycatcher population; (iv) promote the involvement of local community to monitor the numbers of Rarotonga flycatcher on Ātiu, and ongoing biosecurity awareness to ensure the island stays free of ship rats; (v) conserve, protect and enhance other valuable biodiversity in the TCA; (vi) increase the attractiveness of TCA to engage the Cook Islands community for visiting; and (vii) ensure sustainability of the TCA.
The current rat control and feral cat poisoning program (including secondary poisoning) will continue, with opportunities to refine the approach—reducing labor and poison costs, exploring the use of self-resetting traps, expanding the protected area, and ultimately assessing the feasibility of making and keeping the Cook Islands free of rodents. Ongoing monitoring of the Rarotonga flycatcher population will be maintained by capturing and marking individuals with distinct colored leg bands and new founders will be added periodically to maintain genetic diversity. A census will be conducted every 2 to 3 years by identifying banded birds and mapping their territories. Environmental threats in the TCA, including infrastructure developments, feral animal intrusions, biosecurity risks, cyclones, and the spread of invasive weeds, will be addressed rapidly. The educational resources about the TCA will be improved by updating brochures, booklets, posters and displaying panels at a renovated TCA office and/or TCA shelter. The governance of the TCA will be secured through the landowners forming a trust as a legal entity to seek and manage funds from environmental donors. Urgent succession planning will be carried out to ensure continuity in staffing and in volunteer support for managing the TCA, doing the rat poisoning, doing the banding and census work, and running ecotours and school visits. A high-quality natural history experience will be provided to Cook Islanders, especially to school groups.
Current pest control efforts will be maintained and then expanded by changing pest control frequencies, using different pest control methods, extending predator control, developing and testing rodent eradication tools and developing follow-up biosecurity practices to keep inhabited islands free of pests. Development activities will be monitored to manage the risks, such as direct reduction of habitat from development and the incursion of other pests. Biosecurity measures will be strengthened to protect wildlife, prevent animal diseases, and protect the species from extinction. Disaster risk management will be strengthened to protect bird populations against cyclones. The native forest environment in Rarotonga will be protected against exotic weeds. Research will be conducted to better understand the ecology of Rarotonga flycatcher and other threatened species in the TCA.