Nauru is a country in post-phosphate transition. After years of high economic growth fuelled by booming but unsustainable phosphate exports (and looming resource exhaustion), the economy of Nauru has, over the past decade, experienced an unprecedented economic downturn. The downturn has been characterized by mounting domestic and external debt service payments, falling revenues, high and unsustainable government expenditure, and a liquidity crisis in the financial sector (including the near
The proposal to have the East Coast Escarpment designated as one of Nauru's five conservation areas to date stemmed from the government's desire to promote sustainable use of the country's terrestrial and marine biodiversity as a foundation for sustainable development. The other Conservation areas as shown in Map 1 have been recommended as an addition to the East Coast Escarpment Conservation Area.