Neu: 2001-12-28 Contents of this issue:
1. Weather Alert 2. Tourism Boost 3. Rising Tide Of Concern ======================================================================== December 28th, 2001 1. Weather Alert: A tropical depression located 1000kms north west of Niue and 270 kms NNE of Wallis Futuna has a high possibility of developing into a cyclone within the next 12 to 24 hours, according the weather office in Fiji. Sea temperatures in the are around 28-30C and the depression is slow moving WSW and growing in intensity. Models suggest the storm could pass between Niue and Tonga within the next 72 hours. Warning bulletins are being issued on Niue very six hours. 2. Tourism Boost: A new government backed tourism department has been set up in French Polynesia. It will be located at the former Territorial Tourism Department, in the Piha Toro'a Tereraa Ratere building, in the Papeete port. Mrs. Clarisse Tonnerre Godefroy, will head head the department. The Minister of Tourism, Nicole Bouteau announced the appointment this week and has already held a meeting with tourism staff. 3. Rising Tide Of Concern : Niue is named as one of nine South Pacific nations at risk by changing sea levels. National Geographic says other islands include Tuvalu, Kiritbati, Nauru, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. National Geographic says coastal and island dwellers risk losing their homes or even their lives as a consequence of rising ocean levels and estimates sea levels in the past century have already risen six inches - ten times the average over the past 2000 years. Rising sea levels would have a dramatic effect on Niue's underground water lense, the coral and the fringing reef which is a source of seafood. Rising temperatures are accelerating the process - in the last 100 years there has been a 1 deg F increase in global warming. __END__
