A new climate change adaptation project for Tonga, likely to cost more than $40m in grant financing, is expected to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board for approval in June.
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Friday 3 February 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new photo has emerged from NASA Earth clearly showing the site of the underwater volcano eruption known as 'Submarine Volcano III' near Tongatapu. NASA Earth states the plume is emerging from a seamount located 33 km (20 miles) from Tongatapu.

Friday 9 December 2016
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Cancun, Mexico
Biodiversity conservation in Tonga and Fiji is vital for the development of its tourism sectors and must be managed properly to sustain the natural habitat, while providing a livelihood to communities. The importance of preserving biodiversity was made clear at this month’s High Level Roundtable discussions of the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) in Cancun, Mexico.

Monday 5 December 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
On a little stage in Nuku’alofa, a powerful resonating message has emerged from a small group of young performers who, in raising awareness of climate change, are urging everyone to take heed of the imminent danger.

Thursday 24 November 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Burning waste and particularly the burning of tyres is against the law, and creates a serious health hazard, warns Malakai Sika, CEO of the Waste Authority Ltd., which runs the Tapuhia Landfill site on Tongatapu.
Monday 14 November 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A supermoon is appearing in the sky tonight as the moon gets the closest it’s been to Earth since 1948. The next supermoon won’t occur again until 25 November 2034.

Tuesday 1 November 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s Crown Prince Tupouto’a 'Ulukālala was nearly "plastered" this morning when a long strip of plaster molding fell from a high ceiling at the Loumaile Lodge, hitting the floor right behind his chair.

Tuesday 18 October 2016
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Kigali, Rwanda
An important agreement to an amendment in the Montreal Protocol was signed by almost 200 countries last week in Kigali, Rwanda, to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) usage and production, which could stop a 0.5 °C rise in temperature by the end of the century.

Thursday 8 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Environment Management Regulation 2016 passed in May, will not be enforced until 2017, the Acting Director of Environment, Mafile’o Masi confirmed yesterday, 7 September. The Act aims to punish Tongans' habit of dumping and burning rubbish in private homes and public places, including beaches and roadsides.

Friday 2 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Litterers will be fined in a new regulation that came into effect in May this year aimed to keep our environment clean by changing the way people dispose of their rubbish and penalizing those who do not do the right thing.

Saturday 4 June 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga today marked World Environment Day, which falls on Sunday, 5 June, with programs that included a Go Green initiative that saw new rubbish bins on the Nuku’alofa waterfront and the start of a National Environment Awareness Week by government.

Saturday 28 May 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A project to remove invasive rats from two Tongan islands, Malinoa and Motutapu, is proving to be successful with signs that native plants are recovering along with bird life and marine animals. Other islands of Fangasito and Luahiapo in the Vava'u Island Group are now being included in the programme.

Tuesday 10 May 2016
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Noumea, New Caledonia
Raising awareness to protect Pacific whales in the face of emerging threats is part of a regional campaign ‘Protect Pacific Whales’ recently launched by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

Wednesday 6 April 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tongan Whistler, the endemic Hengahenga and other native bird species have increased in population on Mt Talau in Vava’u over the past year due to projects implemented to battle invasive species including rats.

Tuesday 26 January 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
An announcement by government yesterday, 25 January, that it would create a 10 acres Va’epopua National Park in a former Nuku’alofa rubbish dump is yet another controversial decision that government has made during the past weeks - the park excludes the 500-600 year old Va’epopua Sia Heulupe archaeological site, the objective of a conservationist petition last year.

Wednesday 30 December 2015
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Neiafu, Vava'u
Helping to restore the natural beauty of the Port of Refuge, Vava’u, by cleaning up the environment was a challenge for the Pangai Netball team yesterday, who removed truckloads of carelessly discarded rubbish.

Monday 7 December 2015
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Paris, France
During the final round of talks on climate change in Paris, France, Tonga is the latest country to submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), joining over 150 Parties who have submitted their INDCs.

Thursday 3 September 2015
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new Clean Green Tonga campaign was launched by Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala on Monday, 31 August in Nuku’alofa.

Tuesday 25 August 2015
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 'Clean & Green' Tonga campaign by the Rotary Club of Nuku'alofa successfully distributed over 1000 'Clean & Green' bags at the Tongatapu Royal Agriculture, Fisheries Show on August 21-22. Photos by Sonia Chirgwin.

Friday 26 June 2015
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Prince Ata commissioned a new Dolphin Fountain on the Nuku’alofa seafront on Thursday, 25 June.
