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This report assesses the feasibility of eradicating rats from Palmerston Atoll – a small inhabited Atoll located in the Southern Cook Island group. The project was originally requested by the community so has social acceptance and political support. The project is being funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Managing Invasive Species for Climate Change Adaptation in the Pacific project. The Department of Conservation are leading the operational planning and delivery of the project, in collaboration with multiple Cook Island partner agencies and the Palmerston Island community. The feasibility study reviews why the eradication is being done; whether it is achievable; sustainable and acceptable; and identifies what the key issues and dependencies are; and proposes the next steps if the project is to proceed.

This document covers the operational planning for the eradication of ship rats and kiore from Palmerston Atoll. Kiore are present on two motu (islands) on Palmerston Atoll – Home Island, and Cooks motu; while ship rats are present on Home Island only; thus, the scope of the eradication includes only these two islands for the hand broadcast application of toxic baits. Ensuring rats do not establish on other motus in the Atoll is also critical to the project’s success.

This document reports on the operational activities carried out over the field work delivery period of the Palmerston Atoll rat eradication. The purpose of doing this is to retain and build institutional knowledge and learnings for future operations; as well as report on the operational proceedings in the event they need to be referred to in the future.

The Cook Islands is a small country in the central South Pacific which French Polynesia to the east and Samoa to the west.

The Cook Islands signed the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Earth Summit in 1992. As a Party to the Convention, the Cook Islands Government committed itself and its people to conserve its biodiversity, to use it in a sustainable manner, and to share its benefits in an equitable manner. It also committed itself to control invasive species (the weeds and pest animals in natural ecosystems and agricultural systems), and to reduce the likelihood of future invasions.