Kiribati

Kiribati

This page is part of the Small Island Developing States Project
Capital	Tarawa Atoll
Population	112,900
Land Area	811 sq km
GDP (US$)	$0.36 B
GDP Per Capita	$3,200
CO2 Emissions	0.03 megatons
CO2 Per Capita	0.3 tons
NAPA†	January 2007
Natl. Comm. to the UNFCCC	October 1999
† = National Adaptation Program of Action Megaton = 1 million tons (1 billion kg / 2.205 billion lb)

The Republic of Kiribati is a small island developing state (SIDS) made up of 33 atolls in the middle Pacific that straddle the equator.¹ Though the islands have a total island area of only 811 square km (313 sq miles), they occupy a vast area of nearly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) from east to west and more than 2,000 km (1,243 miles) from north to south.² The capital, Tarawi, is located about halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

Kiribati is extremely vulnerable to climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. The 33 atolls of Kiribati are less than 500-1,000 m (average 450 m) in width and rarely surpass 3 meters above sea level,³ and Tarawi, which contains half the national population, lies less than 3 meters above sea level. The islands are also exposed to periodic storm surges and droughts, particularly during La Niña years. A 2000 World Bank Regional Economic Report estimated that Kiribati could lose up to 34% of its 1998 GDP by 2050 due to climate change if no adaptation measures were undertaken.⁴ In response, an international coalition of interests has spearheaded an adaptation program to help inhabitants adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Background

Previously named the Gilbert Islands, the nation of 33 atolls became a British protectorate in 1892 and a colony in 1915, and was captured by the Japanese in 1941 during World War II.⁵ It remained a colony of the United Kingdom until it was granted self-rule in 1971, and subsequently, complete independence in 1979.⁶ The country includes 3 island groups: the Gilbert Islands, the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands, the total coastline of which measures 810 square km (313 sq miles). Banaba Island, the former capital of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony, is Kiribati's highest point, reaching 285 feet above sea level. Except for Banaba, all of Kiribati's islands are low-lying coral atolls built on a submerged volcanic chain and encircled by reefs.⁷

The population of Kiribati is 112,850 as of July 2009, occupying 21 of the 33 islands, with most of the population living on the Gilbert Islands and the capital city, Tarawa, experiencing severe overcrowding.⁸ The indigenous people are mostly Micronesian. The official languages are English and Gilbertese, with most of the residents being Roman Catholic or Protestant.⁹ At current rates of growth, the national population is expected to increase by 55% by 2025.¹⁰

View Kiribati in a larger map

Most of Kiribati's 33 atolls no more than 3 meters above sea level.

The Kiribati economy uses the Australian dollar. The gross domestic product (GDP) numbers around US $357.4 million, with tourism comprising over 20% of annual GDP, and the most common exports are copra, fish, and seaweed. The economy has fluctuated dramatically in recent years, and impediments to economic development include deficiency of natural resources, remoteness from other trading nations, lack of skilled workers, and underdeveloped infrastructure.¹¹ The United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China provide critical aid to Kiribati that has recently comprised as much as 25-50% of GDP.

Kiribati is a Republic that consists of a president, who acts as the chief of state and head of government (currently Anote Tong), and a 42-member House of Parliament known as the Maneabani Maungatabu.¹² The Parliament chooses candidates to compete in a democratic election that results in a four-year presidential term. A 12-member cabinet including the Attorney General and Vice President is then chosen by the president from members of the House of Parliament.¹³

The coral atolls composing Kiribati lie over a volcanic chain, and therefore are located in an area of high seismic activity. The temperature is moderated by northwest trade winds that blow between March and October but experiences little annual variation, averaging 29°C (84°F) at the southern-most islands to 27°C (81°F) in the north and dropping less than 1°C in the coolest months. Kiribati is outside the cyclone belt but still receives heavy rains and strong winds, largely during the cyclone season from November to April. But rainfall patterns vary considerably from year to year, and drought is a continual threat.¹⁴

Kiribati is vulnerable to climate change due to chararacteristics such as high populations concentrated on small land areas, accelerated coastal development combined with coastal erosion, and rising environmental degradation.¹⁵ The Kiribati President has highlighted the threat of climate change in international talks, particularly stressing rising sea levels. In 2005 the President named climate change, rapidly-rising population levels and youth unemployment as key challenges for Kiribati.¹⁶

Impacts and Threats

Kiribati has long been considered at high risk for experiencing negative impacts of climate change. A UN 1989 report on the ‘greenhouse effect’ listed Kiribati as an endangered country in the event of sea level-rise during the 21st century,¹⁷ and a 2000 World Bank study found that in the absence of adaptation, up to 55-80% of land areas in North Tarawa, and 25-54% of areas in South Tarawa, could be inundated by 2050 due to sea level rise and storm surges.¹⁸

Over the past 20 years Kiribati has already experienced coastal erosion, sea level rise, more intense storm surges, and declining fish stocks due to climate change. Erosion devastates development near the coast, storms have indundated taro and bana subsidence crops, and drinking water has been salienated by storm surges and sea level rise.¹⁹ In 1997 Kiritimati was devastated by an El Niño event that brought heavy rainfall and flooding, resulting in a half-meter rise in sea level. Roughly 40% of the islands’ coral died and their 14 million birds, reputed to be among the world’s richest bird population, left the islands.²⁰

Other extreme weather events have seemed to increase in intensity. For example, less than a week before the Kyoto Protocol went into effect, Kiribati was ravished by a 'king tide' -- an example of the kind of sea-level rise that is predicted to occur as global temperatures increase. During the king tide thousands of people were affected by waves that reached 2.87 meters (9.5 feet) -- devastating some villages, sweeping farmland out to sea, and contaminating fresh water wells.²¹

Mitigation and adaptation strategies

With very little fossil fuel use and high suscebtabilty to climate climate effects, Kiribati is much more focused on adaptating to rather than mitigating climate change. Beyond standard adaptation methods, the country has become one of the first to consider and take steps toward relocating the entire population to another country.

A profile view of Flint Island (Line Islands, Kiribati)

Source: http://www.pbif.org/WebGallery/Defau...6&search=flint. Author: Angela K. Kepler. Permission: Public Domain.

Mitigation

Kiribati's 2005 CO2 emissions (other greenhouse gas data was not reported) were lower than any other country except one. Per capita emissions that year were only 7% of the global average and less than 2% U.S. per capita emissions.²² Low-carbon technologies in Kiribati are therefore more beneficial to promote development than to mitigate climate change.

Adaptation

The Kiribati Adaptation Program is a US $5.5 million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the Japanese Government. Australia later joined the coalition, donating US $1.5 million to the effort. The program aims to take place over 6 years, supporting measures that reduce Kiribati’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change and sea level rise by raising awareness of climate change, assessing and protecting available water resources, and managing inundation.²³

At the start of the Adaptation Program, representatives from each of the inhabited atolls identified key climatic changes that had taken place over the past 20-40 years, and proposed coping mechanisms to deal with these changes under 4 categories of urgency of need.²⁴ The program is now focusing on the country’s most vulnerable sectors in the most highly populated areas. Initiatives include improving water supply management in and around Tarawa; coastal management protection measures such as mangrove re-plantation and protection of public infrastructure; strengthening laws to reduce coastal erosion; and population settlement planning to reduce personal risks.²⁵

Migration

The Kiribati government is still seeking negotiations with the governments of Australia and New Zealand to eventually relocate Kiribati's population. Kiribati's president, Anote Tong, is looking to purchase land in other countries to relocate communities that are in danger of displacement because of rising sea levels. However, because of difficulties in negotiating land purchases, President Tong has started encouraging citizens to migrate now before they are forced to evacuate later. The initial target is for about 1,000 people annually to migrate to countries like Australia and New Zealand and be trained in skilled professions, leading the way for others to follow.²⁶

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Initiatives and Sponsors
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); Asian Development Bank (ADB); Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA); Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC); Global Environment Facility (GEF); Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (GSEII); Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); Organization of American States (OAS); Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre (RC/RCCC); Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSNet); South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP); United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); World Bank (WB)
Related Topics
Ocean Acidification

Footnotes

1. Nations Online. Republic of Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

2. BBC News Country Profile: Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

3. The Kiribati Adaptation Program. Presentation from CoP10 Buenos Aires. 11 Dec 2004, p. 4. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

4. World Bank. Press Release: Sydney, July 18, 2005, International Coalition Tackles Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

5. CIA. The World Factbook. Kiribati. Retrieved on: 13 June 2009.

6. United Nations. Profiles of Small Island Developing States. Kirabiti. Retrieved on: 9 June 2009.

7. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

8. Kiribati Seeks Relocation as Climate Change Sets In. Solomon Times Online. 16 February 2009. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

9. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

10. World Bank Press Release: Sydney, July 18, 2005, International Coalition Tackles Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

11. CIA. The World Factbook. Kiribati. Retrieved on: 13 June 2009.

12. BBC News Country Profile: Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

13. CIA. The World Factbook. Kiribati. Retrieved on: 13 June 2009.

14. US Department of State. International Travel Information: Kiribati. Updated 21 April 2009. Retrieved on: 9 June 2009.

15. World Bank. Kiribati Adaptation Project. Project Report, p. 1. Retrieved on: 13 June 2009.

16. BBC News Country Profile: Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

17. Kiribati - Geography. The Commonwealth. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

18. The Kiribati Adaptation Program. Presentation from CoP10 Buenos Aires. 11 Dec 2004. p. 5. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

19. The Kiribati Adaptation Program. Presentation from CoP10 Buenos Aires. 11 Dec 2004. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

20. Kiribati - Geography. The Commonwealth. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

21. Green Peace. 9 February 2005. King Tide Pummels Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

22. WRI. CAIT tool. (free reg req'd) Retrieved on: 14 July 2009.

23. World Bank. Press Release: Sydney, July 18, 2005, International Coalition Tackles Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

24. The Kiribati Adaptation Program. Presentation from CoP10 Buenos Aires. 11 Dec 2004. p. 12.

25. World Bank. Press Release: Sydney, July 18, 2005. International Coalition Tackles Impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati. Retrieved on: 13 June 2009.

26. Kiribati Seeks Relocation as Climate Change Sets In. Solomon Times Online. 16 February 2009. Retrieved on: 10 June 2009.

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