ALM UNDP

Summary:

The goal of this Kiribati EU project implemented by SOPAC is to support the community of Kiribati to combat coastal erosion on its most densely populated atoll, Tarawa. The atoll faces severe coastal erosion problems which result in the loss of land, wave overtopping and flooding of businesses and houses and critical infrastructure such as the local hospital. The project aims to protect the vulnerable beaches of South Tarawa from damage caused by aggregate mining and provide an alternative supply of material through environmentally safe lagoon dredging.

The Republic of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) is a country that comprises 33 atolls dispersed over 3,500,000 kmý of the Pacific Ocean, with a population of 105,432 people (2006 est.) of Micronesians. Kiribati is straddling the equator and the Internatinal Date Line. Kiribati is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, climate variability, and sea-level rise. The country is highly vulnerable to extreme events, especially droughts and coastal flooding from storm surges. Cooperation between the Republic of Kiribati and the European Union dates back to 1975. Since then, the EU has made available resources of approximately EUR 51 million. The largest part of these funds has been and are presently devolved to development in the outer islands of this very dispersed atoll country to reduce migration towards the overpopulated capital island of South Tarawa. A new chapter in Kiribati - EU relations was the signing of a Fisheries Agreement in 2002.

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