| Kiribati | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Oceania, group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | ||||||||||||||||||
| National websites | None | ||||||||||||||||||
| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | No Embassy in the U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | Wildlife Conservation Unit | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Natural Resources | Kiribati has very few natural resources. Originally, the islands had phosphate deposits, but those were exhausted by the time the country gained it independence from Britain in 1979. The bulk of natural resources and national exports now are copra and fish. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Global warming is by far the single largest threat faced by Kiribati. The biggest threat from global warming is flooding of the islands, rendering them uninhabitable. However, freshwater salinization and erosion are also dangers. Exotic species are dangers on the biodiversity front. Most of the islands have been affected by this threat. For example, large feral cats have driven most of the species of birds to nesting only on isolated islets. Man's poaching, enhanced by access to new vehicles with whcih to reach bird colonies, has threatened other species of birds. Also, exotic plants have been introduced, causing harmul effects among some sea bird species. A final issue is the pollution of lagoons due to increased population and the ensuing dumping of waste products, leading to groundwater sources being at risk. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 717 (Sq. km) | CIA World Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 493.9 (Sq. km) | CIA World Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Population: | 83,976 | Density: | 117.1 ( /Sq. km) |
CIA World Factbook | |||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels: | 26,741 | Fraction of land area protected (%): | 37.3% | Protected Areas of the Pacific Islands | |||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas | Malden Island (Closed Area), Starbuck (Closed Area), Phoenix Island (Rawaki) | Protected Areas of the Pacific Islands | |||||||||||||||||
| Endemic Species |
|
Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
|
World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
|
World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | In
1980 the Government of Kiribati published a statement of
its policy concerning nature conservation in the Line and
Phoenix Islands. This recognised the need to integrate
conservation and development with respect to the islands'
natural resources. The role of conservation was defined
in terms of providing for the present and future social
and economic needs of the country (Garnett, 1983). The
legal basis for nature conservation is the Wildlife
Conservation Ordinance (1975), amended in 1979. Under the
new Ordinance, the 1938 Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony
Wild Birds Protection Ordinance was repealed and the
status of bird sanctuaries was changed to wildlife
sanctuaries. The 1975 Ordinance makes, inter alia, the
following provisions. First, all 31 regularly occurring
bird species, and their nests and eggs, are fully
protected throughout Kiribati. All turtles are fully
protected on land, although it is not clear from the
legislation whether protection extends to marine areas.
Secondly, under Section 8(1), wildlife sanctuaries may be
declared and closed areas may be declared within such
wildlife sanctuaries. Thirdly, Section 11 provides
wildlife wardens with powers of search and arrest. This current legislation is weak, because measures for the protection of vegetation, prohibiting the introduction of plants and animals, preventing fire, removal of soil, and dumping of refuse, and the control of vehicles are lacking. In particular, there is a lack of effective protection for wildlife sanctuaries, within which it is possible to clear vegetation without contravening the law. It would seem that under current legislation the only areas adequately protected are those additionally designated as closed areas. It should be noted that, although Article 14(1) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of movement, restrictions required in the interests of environmental conservation are deemed not to be in contravention of the Article. Prior to contact with Europeans, land owners in Kiribati held tenure of reefs and lagoons adjacent to their lands and had exclusive rights to fisheries and passage. Most land, particularly in the South Gilberts, was owned by groups of extended families (utu) who lived in small, scattered hamlets (kaainga), although in the northern atolls the ruling king had control of a large area of land, reefs and lagoons, and dispensed fishing rights to the various clans in the domain. In the late 19th century this system began to break down: under British colonial rule, sea tenure per se was not recognised, although there was an attempt to modify traditional fishing rights and the government did recognise tenure of fish weirs, reclaimed areas, fish ponds and other accretions (Zann, 1985). However, there are still a number of laws and customs regulating different aspects of fishing activities on many of the atolls. These are frequently formulated and applied by individual Island Councils. |
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| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | Under
Section 8(1), the Minister of the Line and Phoenix
Islands, after consultation with the Council of Ministers,
may declare any area to be a wildlife sanctuary. Under
Section 8(2), it is stipulated that "no person shall
in a wildlife sanctuary hunt, kill or capture any bird or
other animal (other than a fish) or search for, take or
wilfully destroy, break or damage the eggs or nest of any
bird or other animal, except under and in accordance with
the terms of a valid written licence granted to that
person by the Minister under this section". The Ordinance makes further provision by allowing closed areas to be declared within wildlife sanctuaries. With the exception of appropriate officials and licensed individuals, entry into a closed area is prohibited under Section 8(6). |
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| Signatory to CITES | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | Yes (16/8/94) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | party to: Climate Change, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection | ||||||||||||||||||
| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Forestry / deforestation | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | Heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk | Protected Areas of the Pacific Islands | |||||||||||||||||
| Development activities | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Introduced species | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Legislation addressing these issues | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | Not Available | Not Available | |||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by Gary Hoggatt (ghoggatt@uci.edu) as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA