The nature of shallow aquifers and the impacts of seawater intrusion in small islands within the Pacific Ocean are reviewed. Many Pacific islands rely on shallow fresh groundwater lenses in highly permeable aquifers, underlain and surrounded by seawater, as their principal freshwater source. It is argued here that, in small islands, the nature of fresh groundwater lenses and their host aquifers coupled with frequent natural and ever-present anthropogenic threats make them some of the most vulnerable aquifer systems in the world.
Water resources sustainable management is a vital issue for small islands where groundwater is often the only available water resource. Nauru is an isolated and uplifted limestone atoll island located in the Pacific Ocean. Politecnico di Milano performed a feasibility study for the development of sustainable use of groundwater on the island. This paper focuses on the first phase of the study that concerns the conceptual site model development, the hydrogeological characterization and the 2D model implementation.
The environmental issue of greatest concern to the people of Nauru is the degradation of the mined phosphate lands. In all of the series of consultations that were carried out between the people of Nauru and the various teams of technical experts to ascertain the feasibility of rehabilitating the island, it was constantly emphasised that the total degradation of topside, including localized inland, water shortages and coastal erosions are problems that need to be addressed for sustainable development.
Locality of Nauru Island hydrology feature - Buada Lagoon.
Circular cover letter that was sent out on 1st December 2021
Proposed Project Objective: Enhanced use of data for decision making in the environment sector throughout the Pacific region. Building on the tools and momentum the Inform project established, this scaled up project will expand the user base and fill significant gaps including in situ monitoring, increased partnerships between the environment ministries and other ministries, increase use of spatial tools, and the establishment of standardise environmental standards and key indicators for key resources.
At present in the Fiji Islands, no guidelines are available only for biological parameters for receiving water bodies commonly used for recreational activities. The ANZECC (2000) guidelines recommend the use of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Enterococci (Faecal Coliforms) as indicator organisms for fecal contamination of fresh and marine recreational water. This study compiled results for 3 biological parameters, namely, Total Coliforms (TC), E. coli and Faecal Coliforms (FC) at 3 sites in Fiji, namely; My Suva park, Wailea settlement and Centre Point.