The Mayor of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, John Baxter, says he is pleased the government is taking the quality of lagoon water seriously.
A three year programme to improve lagoon water quality in Rarotonga and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands is now underway.
The programme funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme has been developed in consultation with Cook Islands Government agencies, businesses and civil society.
John Baxter says the quality of the water in Aitutaki lagoon has been a concern for a while.
He says he is pleased something is now being done to protect the lagoons.
"The government or the different departments have identified this it as very important and some things are on the move which is good and I'm sure the people of Aitutaki and Rarotonga will be happy to hear about this."
John Baxter says there are monitoring systems in place.
