The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management.
Planning resource for integrated action planning for the management of the Cook Islands marine environment
pdf of the Cook Islands 4th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity 2011
Data on reef fish, sea urchin, sea urchin density and biomass
Reports lagoon water quality includes on physio-chemical data
Contains census data reporting on the status of agriculture and fisheries in Cook Islands
A summary of marine and terrestrial eco-regions of Kiribati.
There is an increasing need for sand and gravel for building materials in Tarawa and on other atolls. However, supplies from overseas are expensive. Furthermore, the mining of local beaches contributes to coastal erosion and lacks sufficient quantities for the current and future requirements. An answer to these problems is to source supplies from the lagoon. A purpose-built vessel capable of dredging lagoon aggregates in Tarawa and further afield was available through a European Union grant. This EIA assesses the impacts such would do to the environment.
The lagoon of Tarawa harbors the richest benthos documented for any Pacific atoll. The biota is strongly influenced by its setting in the equatorial upwelling zone and the unusual geomorphology of the atoll, with a submerged western rim, but largely closed and islet-strewn eastern and southern sides.
The purpose of this paper therefore is to describe aspects of the benthic ecology and biota of Tarawa Atoll and to consider how the unusual setting of the atoll has affected the bentho.
Millennium is a member of the southern group of the Line Islands chain in the equatorial Central Pacific and part of the Republic of Kiribati.
This is the first extensive survey of the marine natural history of Millennium lagoon. Also included in this report are observations of indications of human activity in the lagoon, which were present despite its remote location, and the potential significance of this activity on the marine communities surveyed.
Documenting ways of increasing the resilience of beaches to erosion, including the use of re-vegetation. A key objective is developing low cost methods that allow reduction of direct impacts that contribute to beach erosion, enabling natural processes of sand accretion and stabilization to operate effectively.
This study compared parasite communities at two coral atolls in the Line Islands chain of the central Pacific (Kiritimati Island and Palmyra Atoll). Palmyra Atoll is relatively pristine while Kiritimati Island is heavily fished. At each island, the study sampled five fish species for helminth and arthropod endoparasites: Chromis margaritifer, Plectroglyphidodon dickii, Paracirrhites arcatus, Acanthurus nigricans, and Lutjanus bohar. The surveys found monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes, nematodes, acanthocephalans, and copepods.
Effective conservation requires rigorous baselines of pristine conditions to assess the impacts of human activities and to valuate the efficacy of management. The study found that top predators and reef-building organisms dominated unpopulated Kingman and Palmyra, while small planktivorous fishes and fleshy algae dominated the populated atolls of Tabuaeran and Kiritimati.
Assessing the impact of destructive fishing methods and practices on coastal fisheries and community livelihoods, and to provide recommendations on possible courses of action. The study analysed economic and social impacts by evaluating the current situation in Tarawa’s coastal communities.
An overview of the main trends and issues of the fishery sector of Kiribati.
This dataset hosts the SOE (s) of Kiribati
Looking at pressures of development on freshwater, this article argues that the future survival of small island states and their societies also greatly depends on managing the impacts of development.
This review updates and builds on the reviews conducted in the early 2000s under the International Waters Project. The review is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be a complete source of information on the matters it deals with.