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From the Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System (TREDS)

Nauru is a small country of around 10,200 people located on a single island in the Pacifi c Ocean. Per capita gross domestic product was estimated to be A$11,540 (approximately $10,500) in 2012 (Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacifi c 2013).1 The country is divided into 14 districts with the seat of government in the Yaren district, which also functions as the country’s de facto capital. T

At the request of the Government of Nauru, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) through the European Union-supported Global Climate Change Alliance: Pacific Small Island States project, together with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the United Nations Development Programme – Global Environment Facility funded Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change project commissioned NRW Specialists Pty Ltd (Australia) in association with NRW Macallan (Fiji) Ltd to prepare the Nauru Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan covering the planning horizon of

Nauru’s water resources are limited and under stress with an expected increase in prolonged dry periods due to climate variability. There are no fresh surface water sources and Nauru relies mostly on rainwater for its potable water needs. Desalinated water is currently supplying about 20% of the population water requirements but during period of prolonged drought, where rainwater is limited, the communities reliance on desalinated water can increase to more than 90%.

This document is a record of an in-country technical survey mission to Nauru, completed from 13th February to 23rd February 2007 by the following SOPAC staff:
• Mr Stephen Booth (EDF8/9 Senior Advisor – Water);
• Ms Elizabeth Lomani-Whippy (EDF8/9 Project Intern);
• Ms Arieta Navatoga-Sokota (SOPAC Project Officer – Water); and
• Ms Vilisi Tokalauvere (EDF8 Fiji Country Intern).

Nauru island, near the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, has been mined for phosphate since 1907 and over 80 million tonnes of phosphate have been exported to Australia, NZ, Britain and other overseas markets. Although superphosphate, prepared from the Nauru rock phosphate has considerable value as an agricultural nutrient, it also contains high concentrations of the toxic metal cadmium. Nauru phosphate deposits have a cadmium content between 100 and 1,000 times the average lithosphere concentration.

From time immemorial it has been the ambition of every Nauruan youth to excel in the snaring of the 'iti', or frigate bird. In the old, far-off days, before the coming of the white man, prowess in capture of the iti was one of the many strenuous tests which marked the transition from youth into manhood, and failure to  acquit oneself creditably meant disgrace. 

Map of the Nauru Island landcover, with country-level summary of the different classes.

The SPREP ID map is a high resolution (1MB) that shows SPREP member countries with their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundaries developed by the GIS team at SPREP.

The SPREP ID map is low resolution (200KB) that shows SPREP member countries with their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundaries developed by the GIS team at SPREP.

The map is high resolution showing SPREP member countries' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundaries overlaid on a bathymetric base layer that was developed by the GIS team at SPREP.

The map is low resolution showing SPREP member countries' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundaries overlaid on a bathymetric base layer that was developed by the GIS team at SPREP.

 The Smithsonian Institution

As of 1969, the scientific community had no general information on the natural history of Namoluk Atoll in the Eastern Caroline Islands of Micronesia. The only significant published source for the atoll was an ethnographic and linguistic account provided by the German physician.

 Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Climate change is real and Asia is already experiencing its adverse impacts. Projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that such impacts will become even more intense in the future. While the contribution of developing countries in Asia to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is increasing rapidly, per capita emissions are still low and developmental challenges remain significant.

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

Reefs at Risk Revisited is a high-resolution update of the original global analysis, Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World’s Coral Reefs. Reefs at Risk Revisited uses a global map of coral reefs at 500-m resolution, which is 64 times more detailed than the 4-km resolution map used in the 1998 analysis, and benefits from improvements in many global data sets used to evaluate threats to reefs (most threat data are at 1 km resolution, which is 16 times more detailed than those used in the 1998 analysis).

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

A collection of Inform project training materials. You are free to download and use any of the training resources below. The PowerPoint presentations contain a complete set of slides, so please feel free to copy, delete or change slides, to fit the purpose of your country training.

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

Dataset regarding 'Seamounts' - peaks that rise over 1,000 m above the seafloor. Seamount chains occur in all three major ocean basins, with the Pacific having the most number and most extensive seamount chains.

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

A direct internet link to and resources pertaining the Blue Habitat website which has been established as a portal for information on the global distribution of marine ‘blue’ habitats. Knowledge on the distribution of blue habitats is an important input into ocean management, marine spatial planning and biodiversity conservation.

 Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme

FAO Agriculture and Fair Trade in Pacific Island Countries. This desk study has been prepared by Winnie Fay Bell and comments were kindly provided by the Pacific Regional Organic Task Force in May 2009