There is one wetland of international importance that is registered under the Ramsar Convention. A total of 22 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) - areas of high biodiversity and conservation value - have been identified in Kiribati.
In December 1960, the British colonial authority gazetted Kiritimati as a bird sanctuary under the "Gilbert and Ellice Island Colony Wild Birds Protection Ordinance" of 1938. Access to Cook Island, Motu Tabu, and Motu Upua was restricted. Kiritimati was declared a wildlife sanctuary in May 1975, in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Ordinance of the then self-governing colony. Ngaontetaake islet and the sooty tern breeding grounds at North West Point also became restricted-access zones.[1]
Nooto - North Tarawa Conservation Area, 10.33 km2 (3.99 sq mi), is Ramsar Site - Wetland of International Importance. This Conservation Area includes marine zones.[3][5]
Four marine reserves were specifically set aside for the conservation of grouper. These are all located in the Gilbert Islands off the atolls of Butaritari, Tabiteuea, Nonouti, and Onotoa and are managed by the Kiribati Fisheries Division.[3]
A total of 22 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) - areas of high biodiversity and conservation value - have been identified in Kiribati, with the KBAs encompassing both marine and terrestrial systems (such as bird nesting or feeding environments).[7] The 22 identified KBAs cover an approximate total area of 4 thousand km2 (1.5 thousand sq mi) or approximately 74% of the total land, lagoon and reef habitat of Kiribati.[7] As of 2013, 12 of the 22 KBAs have been completely or partially established as conservation areas by the government of Kiribati or by local village communities.[7]
Phoenix Islands Protected Area
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area is a mostly uninhabited coral archipelago located within a globally biologically important area called the Polynesian/Micronesian hotspot
The 2006 declaration of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), with a size of 397,447 km2 (153,455 sq mi), created, at that time, the world's largest designated marine protected area (MPA), which was also designated as the world's largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.[8]
The PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The PIPA conserves one of the world's largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, including 14 known underwater seamounts (presumed to be extinct volcanoes) and other deep-sea habitats. The area contains approximately 800 known species of fauna, including about 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammals and 44 bird species.[9][10][11] In total it is equivalent to the size of the state of California in the U.S., though the total land area is only 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi).
The 14 submerged volcanic seamounts, rise from the sea floor with an average depth of more than 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) and a maximum depth of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). The large bathymetric range of the submerged seamounts provides depth defined habitat types fully representative of Pacific mid oceanic biota.[12]
The eight atolls and reef islands within PIPA are also volcanic mountains. All of the Phoenix Islands are uninhabited, except for a few families who live on Canton Island.
^ ab"World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ abcvan Dijken, S. G.; Anderson, P. (2013). Priority Areas for Conservation in Kiribati: Key Biodiversity Areas(PDF) (Report). Vol. 18. Conservation International Pacific Islands Programme, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Government of Kiribati Ministry of Environment. pp. 161–171. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
