NORTH TARAWA

2008

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE

PRODUCED BY THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS, WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE UNITED NATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY.

Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati Project P.O. Box 75, Bairiki, Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati Telephone (686) 22741 or 22040, Fax: (686) 21133

TARAWA ANTHEM

TE TOKATARAWA

Mwaane oo ai kamimira Tarawa ngkai e a ua nanginangi tiena Ao ni katea marenaia rungarunga n unimanne iaon Tarawa Mai Buariki ni karokoa Betio Be na bakatekekeaki te kaawa ae Abaokoro timaroa N tenua bongin Okitobwa inanon te bong aio Man aia babaire unimane inanon kawan Tarawa ni kabuta Bwa ana rungaiti ma rungarungataake mataawa are ngaia kamatuatawa Bwa Riiki te ara ae moti benebeneaki maiirouia unimanne ma rorobuaka mai iaon Tarawa

Ma Riiki, Riiki bwa eutan Tarawa bwa te ara teuana mannanaia oh Bwa te Tokatarawa te ara ae e tonutonu tokamanim oh, Bwa tia mwamwaioakinna ni kangai oh Ti weete oo, o ti weete oo Ti weteia buu n anti n meang naaka oo Ti weteia buu n anti n maiaki ee Ti weteia buu n antin mai mainiku oo Maeao ma karawa ma moone oo Bwa akea be a bwaka te ara ae Teaantarawa Ao ea toka te ara ae Tetokatarawa Te kakabwaia ni bane ma rorokoia Toka iaon kainikatikuna aio bwa manin tei abatera Bwa a rabwarabwataki manin aia kaaro ni mwamwananga ni kakatau Te Tokatarawa te riba rooroo, te riba maina, E a tiki korana ba te kora te nimaerere

Ee kukurei kimwareirei a are ae nna weteia ngkai, Bwa e a roko ana bongi Tetokatarawa ngkai ni katonuaki arana ngkai Ee kukurei kimareirei a are ae nna weteia ngkai Bwa e a roko ana bong ma te tekeraoi.

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FOREWORD

By the Honourable Amberoti Nikora, Minister of Internal and Social Affairs, July, 2007

I am honored to have this opportunity to introduce this revised and updated socio-economic profile for Butaritari Island. The completion of this profile is the culmination of months of hard-work and collaborative effort of many people, Government agencies and development partners particularly those who have provided direct financial and technical assistance towards this important exercise.

The socio-economic profiles contain specific data and information about individual islands that are not only interesting to read, but also more importantly, useful for education, planning and decision making. The profile is meant to be used as a reference material for leaders at both the island and national level, to enable them to make informed decisions that are founded on accurate and easily accessible statistics. With our limited natural and financial resources, it is very important that our leaders are in a position to make wise decisions regarding the use of these limited resources, so that they are targeted at the most urgent needs and produce maximum impact.

In addition, this profile will act as reference material that could be used for educational purposes, at the secondary and tertiary levels. This is one of the intentions when the revision exercise was conceived in the first place. In its new format, the profile contains valuable information on the history, geography, demography, commerce and trade, natural resources, the environment, and many other important facts about the islands. The vision to make the island profile important reference material will be further enhanced with the launching of the Ministry’s website. This is indeed a revolutionary step in the sense that such valuable information will be made accessible on the internet, for everyone to use in and outside Kiribati.

The profiles have potential economic value because they provide the kind of information that local and foreign investors need. This aspect of the profiles will be improved with time, as better information on marine and land resources becomes available and incorporated in the book.

One of the new features of the revised profiles is the incorporation of Millennium Development Goals indicators (MDGs). The importance of working with MDGs is that it keeps Kiribati on track in its commitment towards the Millennium Declaration of 2000. Secondly, the issues embodied in the MDGs are the same issues contained in the Operational Plans of various ministries, and therefore are important national concerns. While the National Development Strategy 2004-2007does not incorporate MDGs, the current NDS review exercise is placing the MDGs high on its agenda. As far as the island profiles are concerned, they will serve the purpose of being a monitoring and evaluation tool both for Kiribati and relevant agencies of the United Nations, since the MDG indicators will be updated, biannually at the most.

The island profiles are useful development documents for individual islands and the nation as a whole. Whether they are used by students, businesspersons, tourists, politicians, or planners, I can say with conviction that it will prove a useful resource on Kiribati.

Te Mauri, Te Raoi and Te Tabomoa to you all.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this profile involved the hard work and commitment of various individuals, Government ministries and external development agencies. At the outset, the initiative and financial support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) must be acknowledged with deep appreciation. UNDP financed the revision of the profiles through a joint UNDP-GoK project known as Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati (SDGiK).

Other regional organizations that have been very supportive to the profiling exercise include the South Pacific Geo-science Commission (SOPAC), who provided technical support in relation to the incorporation of GIS and CHARM in the project. The South Pacific Commission (SPC), who assisted in the establishment of POPGIS for use in data sourcing and analysis, provided input to the structure of the profiles, recommends the incorporation of valuable data and information, and generously offered to publish the profiles. The Kiribati Adaptation willingly came on board after the SDGiK ended, to continue funding completion of the outer island profiles and to incorporate Climate Change and Sea level rise information in the profiles that were otherwise non-existent. Without all the above assistance, the profiles as you see them now would not have attained such a high quality in terms of content and appearance. The Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs owes much gratitude to these organizations particularly their concerned staff, for their readiness to assist even if it was beyond their terms of engagement.

The project office of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) based in Fiji, through its Pacific Project, also contributed invaluable assistance to the project, in particular to Component 3, which focused on capacity development of local government bodies on the outer islands. Several of the activities under this component were jointly funded by CLGF, thereby absorbing much in terms of financial costs and time. For these contributions, we are very much thankful.

The various ministries of Government have helped in one way or another, especially in the furbishing of valuable data and information used in this profile. The project has been successful in maintaining the good relationship that had developed with other ministries and civil organizations. In addition, inter- agency committees were established for monitoring and technical support during the implementation phase of the project. The most important of these committees is the Outer Island Project Coordinating Committee (OIPCC), which serves as the overall steering body of SDGiK. Other technical working committees were also instrumental in getting some of the difficult tasks done. These working committees include the committee on the review of the Local Government Act, and the committee on the review of development procedures. One of the important lessons learned from the establishment of these committees is that it is possible to cut across borders to get the kind of commitment and cooperation that are reflected in the achievements of the project.

Hopefully the network of cooperation, which is necessary in sustaining and improving the profiles in future, is maintained between the various ministries of Government. As the leading agency in the production of this profile, the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs must ensure that the linkages between the statistical units of various government departments remain intact.

Due to its multi-dimensional nature, far too many people are involved in the profiling exercise to allow acknowledgement on a personal level. It is hoped that by according merit to their respective agencies will somehow convey the deep sense of gratitude, which the project owes to these committed individuals. With this in mind, we would like to acknowledge the great contribution and support of the Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs (MISA), in particular the Rural Planning Division (RPD), the Local Government Division (LGD), the Community Development and Services Division (CDSD), and the Accounting Unit, who spearheaded the various activities related to their areas of expertise. The

- 4 - successes that have been achieved in the different project components are indeed the result of their collective work.

Ultimately the greatest contribution and sacrifice in the production of these revised Island Profiles is offered by a few committed individuals, both within the Ministry as well as from outside who deserve to be acknowledged. Nei Terautete Tareti, the computer operator in the Rural Planning Division who collected the initial data, Nei Buraieta Tekabwaara who worked hard to collect and update data required for the profiles as well as the GIS data maps. Nei Ruta Ioata, who assisted in data collection, designed the graphic formats in the profiles, willingly assisted in collection of outer island data and pictures and had to work extra hours to complete her profile responsibilities.

Phil Bright and his colleagues at SPC in Noumea generously offered to edit and publish the profiles, besides arranging for a work attachment with SPC for two of MISA staff. The profiles will have not attained the very high quality in which you see them now without their assistance. In addition, the improved layout and presentation of information is also based on their professional views and guidance.

The strong support and leadership of the Minister of Internal and Social Affairs, Honorable Amberoti Nikora has been a significant factor in the successful undertaking and completion of the profiling exercise, and for the whole SDGiK project for that matter. His support would have not been that strong without the equally solid support and guidance of the former Secretary of MISA, Karib'aiti Taoaba, and Rikiaua Takeke, the current Secretary.

The Deputy Secretary, Manikaoti Timeon spearheaded the profiling and completed the first prototype on Makin after which project staff continued drafting the other outer island profiles. His immense effort and guidance in the profiling is a major contribution to the completion of these profiles. The unwavering efforts and dedication of Nei Erimeta Barako in the completion of the profiles even after the SDGiK project had ended culminated in the completion of these outer island profiles. Tebwania Taateri came in later and assisted in data collection and compilation. Ultimately, the KAPII project under the directions of Kautuna Kaitara, the KAPII Coordinator, Kaiarake Taburuea, the Project Manager and Paul Craig, provided the required funds and support in the eventual completion of the profiles.

To everyone who have contributed in one way or another to the production of this useful document, including the many people and island councils on the outer islands, the Government of Kiribati is deeply indebted, and wish to thank you immensely for your useful contributions.

AMI BAU TE MAURI TE RAOI AO TE TABOMOA.

KAM BATI N RABWA.

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Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... - 10 - 1.1 Summary of Main Socio-Economic Indicators ...... - 11 - CHAPTER 2: GENERAL BACKGROUND ...... - 12 - 2.1 LOCALE ...... - 12 - 2.1.1 Location, Size and Land Area ...... - 12 - 2.1.2 Physical features ...... - 12 - 2.1.3 Climate ...... - 13 - 2.1.4. Soil ...... - 14 - 2.1.5 History and Culture ...... - 16 - CHAPTER 3: TE MAURI – ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND SOCIAL SERVICES ...... - 18 - 3.1 DEMOGRAPHY ...... - 18 - 3.1.1 Total population ...... - 18 - 3.1.2 Growth rate ...... - 19 - 3.1.3 Population Density ...... - 19 - 3.1.4 Breakdown of Population ...... - 22 - 3.1.5 Population by Gender ...... - 22 - 3.1.6 Population distribution by religion ...... - 24 - 3.1.7 Migration ...... - 24 - 3.2 LAND RESOURCES ...... - 25 - 3.2.1 Terrestrial flora ...... - 26 - 3.2.2 Terrestrial fauna...... - 27 - 3.2.3 Land Tenure, Use and Ownership ...... - 27 - 3.3 MARINE RESOURCES ...... - 28 - 3.3.1 Size of reef and Lagoon area ...... - 28 - 3.3.2 Fish resources and status ...... - 28 - 3.3.3 Pattern of fishing ...... - 29 - 3.3.4 Marine Developments ...... - 30 - 3.3.5 Issues facing fishing and development of marine resources ...... - 30 - 3.4 THE ENVIRONMENT ...... - 31 - 3.4.1 Environmental Issues ...... - 31 - 3.5 EDUCATION ...... - 32 - 3.5.1 Number of school children, proportion enrolled in schools ...... - 33 - 3.5.2. Breakdown of school enrolment at different levels ...... - 34 - 3.5.3 Teacher:Pupil Ratio ...... - 35 - 3.5.4 Percentage of pupils completing Primary and JSS ...... - 38 - 3.5.5 Number of schools, type and state of facilities ...... - 38 - 3.5.6 Performance of Pupils in national tests/exams ...... - 39 - 3.5.7 Community involvement to improve standard of education ...... - 42 - 3.6 HEALTH ...... - 43 - 3.6.1 Health Facilities & Staff ...... - 43 - 3.6.2 Most Common Health Problems ...... - 43 - 3.7 HOUSING ...... - 44 - 3.7.1 Total number of residential houses, type and status ...... - 44 - 3.8 WATER ...... - 45 - 3.8.1 Water Supply Sources ...... - 45 - 3.8.2 Status of Water Supply ...... - 46 - 3.9 ENERGY ...... - 48 - 3.9.1 Lighting ...... - 48 - 3.9.2 Fuel ...... - 49 - CHAPTER 4: TE RAOI – SOCIAL CAPITAL, COMMUNITY LIFE AND GOVERNANCE ...... - 50 - 4.1 LOCAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL CHANGE ...... - 50 - - 6 -

4.1.1 The Mwaneaba System and Unimwane Association ...... - 50 - 4.1.2 Women Organizations ...... - 51 - 4.1.3 Youth and Sports Associations ...... - 51 - 4.2 RELIGION ...... - 52 - 4.2.1 Main religious denomination ...... - 52 - 4.3 POLITICAL AUTHORITY AND GOVERNANCE ...... - 53 - 4.3.1 Traditional political system – description and status ...... - 53 - 4.3.2 Local government system – Eutan Tarawa Council ...... - 53 - 4.3.3 Interface between Local Government and Traditional Political System ...... - 56 - 4.3.4 Crime and Justice System ...... - 57 - CHAPTER 5: TE TABOMOA – ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES ... - 59 - 5.1 ISLAND ECONOMY ...... - 59 - 5.1.1 Subsistence Economy ...... - 59 - 5.1.2 Copra cutting ...... - 60 - 5.1.3 Employment ...... - 61 - 5.1.4 Trade and Commerce ...... - 61 - 5.1.5 Local Finance ...... - 63 - 5.1.6 Remittances ...... - 64 - 5.2 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ...... - 66 - 5.2.1 Agriculture ...... - 66 - 5.2.2 Livestock ...... - 68 - 5.2.3 Fisheries ...... - 70 - 5.2.4 Handicrafts ...... - 71 - 5.3 INFRASTRUCTURE ...... - 72 - 5.3.1 Land Transport ...... - 73 - 5.3.2 Sea Transport and Shipping ...... - 75 - 5.3.3 Air Service ...... - 77 - 5.3.4 Issues facing Transportation ...... - 77 - 5.3.5 Communication ...... - 77 - 5.4 Millennium Development Goals indicators ...... - 79 -

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLES Table 1 Population density by village Table 2 Village population by age Table 3 Reef and lagoon size Table 4 Senior Secondary schools Table 5 School enrolment Table 6 Primary enrolment by gender, age and class Table 7 JSS enrolment by gender, age and form Table 8 Teacher:Pupil ratio Table 9 Level of education Table 10 Population by religion Table 11 Council priority projects 2004-2007 Table 12 Businesses and license fees Table 13 Service and fees Table 14 Village bank distributed grant to North Tarawa Table 15 North Tarawa coastal infrastructure

FIGURES Figure 1 A geographical map of North Tarawa Figure 2 Population trend 1931-2005 Figure 3 Population pyramid Figure 4 Population make-up Figure 5 North Tarawa population distribution on islands Figure 6 Household location of fishing Figure 7 School enrolment by gender Figure 8 Types of houses Figure 9 House ownership Figure 10 Sources of water Figure 11 Fuel supply 2005-2007 Figure 12 Structure of traditional authority Figure 13 Eutan Tarawa Council staff structure Figure 14 Copra production 1990-2005 Figure 15 Access to food trees and vegetables Figure 16 Households owning pigs Figure 17 Households owning chickens Figure 18 Households owning bicycles Figure 19 Households owning boats

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

SDGIK Strengthening Decentralized Governance in Kiribati MDGs Millennium Development Goals MOP Ministry Operational Plan NDS National Development Strategy UN United Nations GOK Government of Kiribati SOPAC South Pacific Geo-Science Commission CHARM Comprehensive Hazard and Risk Management GIS Geographic Information System CLGF Commonwealth Local Government Forum OIPCC Outer Island Project Coordinating Committee MISA Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs RPD Rural Planning Division LGD Local Government Division CDSD Community Development and Services Division SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community MOH Ministry of Health MELAD Ministry of Environment Land and Agricultural Development MEYS Ministry of Education Youth and Sport MFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development POPGIS Population GIS RC Roman Catholic Church KPC Kiribati Protestant Church SDA Seventh Day Adventist Church LDS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints COG Church of God KHLP Kiribati Handicraft and Local Produce Company KSECL Kiribati Solar Energy Company Limited JSS Junior Secondary School

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The first Island Profiles were published in the late 1980s, about 20 years ago. Apart from being used as a resource book by project personnel in the Rural Planning Division, it remained largely unutilized, and the information quickly became obsolete as the years passed without any attempt to update a lot of the statistics contained in them. This is the first time that the profiles are being updated and upgraded to suit today’s need for information. In addition to the upgrading exercise, the profiles will also be updated, annually if possible, depending on the regularity and availability of reliable statistics. The current revision is based on a mixture of methodologies including importation of data from different government ministries (MOH, MELAD, MEYS, and MFED), the use of PopGIS software to analyze and map data, face to face interviews, questionnaire surveys and the use of reference materials and the internet.

While the purpose of the profiles is to serve as the basic information tool for planners and decision makers, it can also be used to meet the needs of students, business people, politicians, tourists, planners, and the public in general. This is possible due to the fact that it contains unique and interesting information on the island’s culture, economy, natural resources, environment, infrastructure, social services and various other features. With the incorporation of MDG indicators in this new version, the profiles will now serve a very useful purpose of becoming an important tool to monitor the country’s performance in respect of achieving MDG targets. Island-level statistics enables more specific analysis of the situation faced by Kiribati in the different sectors of health, education, poverty reduction, gender equality, the environment, and HIV/AIDS. These are the issues embodied in the eight goals set by the United Nations which countries are expected to achieve by the year 2015.

Another new feature of the profiles is the introduction of a computerized back-up system, which is made up of an electronic copy of the profile, as well as a GIS program, which enables detailed analysis of statistics right down to the village and household levels. The ultimate objective of the whole exercise is to have an efficient and reliable source of information about the outer islands, that is not only available in hard copy, but better still one that could be accessed immediately by the push of a keyboard button. This will enable professionals and lay people alike to acquire information quickly, for whichever purpose they may have. The profiles will be made available on the Ministry’s website – www.misa.com, or alternatively through PRISM. This will enable international access to the profiles for the use of traveling officials, overseas students, potential investors and visitors. Apparently the website will contain information other than the island profiles, from the various divisions of the Ministry and perhaps additional relevant information from other government ministries. Upon completion of the website two goals will be achieved, first, that the information will be available on line for the first time and, second, that such useful information will be accessible from anywhere in the world in electronic form. This is going to be a significant achievement in itself.

The continual usefulness of the profiles, and other information contained in both the hard and electronic versions, will depend to a great extent, on a reliable system of updating and upgrading. After all, information changes all the time, as do the technology upon which it depends. Finally, it is hoped that the profiles in their new format and accompanying electronic features will serve the purpose for which they are designed, and much more. We wish every user of this profile enjoyable reading, and trust that they find it interesting and rewarding.

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1.1 Summary of Main Socio-Economic Indicators NATIONAL North Tarawa Total Males Female Total Male Female Total population (November 2005) 92533 45612 46921 5678 2756 2922 Urban population 40311 19435 20876 NA NA NA Percent of national population 6.1 6 6.2 Percent urban (%) 43.6 NA NA NA Rate of Growth (%) of total population NA NA NA 2000-2005 Population density 127 372 NA NA South Tarawa population density 2558 NA NA NA % population younger than 15years 37 38 36 37 38 36 % population 15-24 years 21 21 20 23 22 23 % population 15-59 years 58 57 58 58 58 59 % population 60 years and older 5 5 6 5 4 6 Age dependency ratio 74 71 73 70 Households Number of private households 13999 867 NA NA Number of persons in private households 88644 43749 44895 5404 NA NA Average household size 6.3 8.6 NA NA Number of institutions (non-private) 43 NA NA NA Number of persons in institutions 3889 NA NA NA Labor market activity 36969 20013 16956 Employed population 34715 18883 15832 3,582 1,698 1,884 Cash workers 13133 8095 5038 456 294 162 Village workers 21582 10788 10794 1,721 862 859 Unemployed 2254 1130 1124 171 93 78 Non-labor market 21069 7926 13143 Students 7323 3496 3827 542 222 320 Persons engaged in home duties 6077 793 5284 269 14 255 Inactive persons 3662 1996 1666 214 132 82 Retired persons 3227 1179 2048 189 69 120 Disabled or sick persons 709 398 311 15 11 4 Prisoners 71 64 7 0 0 0 Labor market participation ratio 63.6 71.5 56.3 65.6 73.7 58.3 Employment-population ratio 22.6 28.9 16.7 NA NA NA Real Unemployment rate (%) 6.1 5.6 6.6 80.58 NA NA Education School enrolment rates 6-15 year olds (%) 91.0 89.1 93.0 NA NA NA Proportion of population 15 years and older with 50.5 51.6 49.5 NA NA NA secondary or higher education Proportion of total population with secondary or 19.4 18.2 20.5 NA NA NA tertiary qualification Source: PopGis and NSO 2005 census statistics

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CHAPTER 2: GENERAL BACKGROUND

2.1 LOCALE

2.1.1 Location, Size and Land Area

Tarawa, the capital island of Kiribati is one of the two islands in Kiribati that has been split into South and North with South Tarawa as the main island and North Tarawa generally addressed as another of the outer islands. The other island is that of Tabiteuea, Tab North and Tab South. North Tarawa starts at the village of Buota where South Tarawa ends in the neighbouring village of Tanaea. It ends in the islet of Naa, 9.50 km southwest of Tabontebike village in Abaiang and 31.15 km north of Betio in South Tarawa.

Alternative Names: Cook Island

Area / Country: Southern Gilbert group, KIRIBATI

Coordinates: Latitude (DMS): 1° 29' 51.64” S Longitude (DMS): 173° 1' 16.17” E (Degrees, minutes and seconds)

Area: Total land area: 9.48 sq.km Widest width: 1.73 km Narrowest width: 0.27 km Length: 35.54 km

It widest width can be found in the village of Buariki and narrowest width in the village of Tearinibai, next to Buariki. Running along the coral road from the bridge in Buota to the tip of Naa takes an approximate 35.54 km including having to walk on the lagoon beds between the islets during low tide.

2.1.2 Physical features

At 15.26 sq. km, North Tarawa has the 13th biggest land area in the country with Kiritimati the biggest atoll having a land area of 388.39 sq.km and Tamana island the smallest at 4.73 sq. km. North Tarawa is part of Tarawa that have been divided into North Tarawa, South Tarawa and Betio and thus have different island councils. It is made up of several islets with the Government station located in Abaokoro. Its lagoon is also shared with South Tarawa and Betio that is abundant with a variety of marine resources that are slowly depleting due to harvest from the population in South Tarawa and Betio. One of its islets is famous for it being the place where the Millennium Development Goals were ratified by Forum countries in the year 2000 and is now a popular picnic and camping place.

Abaokoro accommodates the main service infrastructures such as the Council offices, junior secondary school and medical centre amongst other services. With the increasing congestion of people in South Tarawa, people are slowly migrating up to North Tarawa most notably Abatao and Buota, the nearest - 12 - two villages that can easily access South Tarawa by walking to Tanaea or traveling by vehicles. Where there is not yet a bridge or causeway from Abatao to Buota, the gap between the islets of Buota and Tanaea was bridged in 1995 when a bridge was built between the two villages of North and South Tarawa. The location and difficulty of accessing the Government Station in their native North Tarawa has made the people in the villages of Abatao and Buota more dependent on services provided from South Tarawa such as transport and school, especially the junior secondary school.

The islet of Naa is the nearest point to Abaiang where one can see the village of Tabontebike when in Naa. Apart from the bridge from Buota to Tanaea, small causeways can also be found between the villages of Tebwangoroi and Taratai, and Tebwangoroi and Nuatabu. Not counting the islets, there are 15 villages in North Tarawa namely; Buariki, Tearinibai, Nuatabu, Tebwangoroi, Taratai, Nootoue, Abaokoro, Marenanuka, Tabonibara, Kainaba, Nabeina, Tabiteuea, Abatao and Buota.

North Tarawa is quite well known in the country for its expansive lagoon bed that one has to walk to get to a village if traveling by boat or canoe and caught by low tide. At such times, when one has to walk these lagoon beds, one has to be prepared for a long walk that can be risky with having to step on some harsh lagoon bed life such as the ‘reke’, ‘katati’ (Pinna bicolor) and ‘kaatuu iaia’.

2.1.3 Climate

With the exception of South Tarawa that has its own meteorological office, the non-availability of rainfall measuring equipment on the outer islands has resulted in the lack of rainfall data for all the outer islands of Kiribati including those in the Phoenix and Line group and North Tarawa. North Tarawa like the other islands scattered astride the equator, has a tropical climate but unlike the southern islands, experiences more rainfall throughout the years. It is hot and humid all year round with east trade winds moderating the temperatures throughout the year. November to April is the rainy season, with high humidity and stronger winds, however, due to its high rainfall, the humidity is great and according to the locals, the most humid island of the Kiribati islands.

Most of the Kiribati islands are located in the dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic zone, between 5◦ on either side of the equator (Frank R. Thomas: 2002). The strong influence of El Nino and La Nina events on the climate is therefore prevalent throughout and even though North Tarawa is no exception, Where the southern islands are adversely affected during El Nino events, Butaritari experiences a lot of rain while North Tarawa experiences more rain than the southern islands but less rainfall than Butaritari. The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability is defined by the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) that measures the difference in pressure between Darwin, Australia and Tahiti. Simply defined, El Nino is the warming of the sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that influences the atmospheric circulation and consequently rainfall and temperature in specific areas around world. Depending on this complex interplay of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial Pacific ocean, atmospheric circulation is affected which either then moves eastward or westward producing either of the two events, El Nino or La Nina which in turn either results in rain or drought on the islands depending on where the atmospheric circulation is headed. (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov).

Generally in Kiribati, the wet season, according to records, falls between the months of September to February, while the dry season begins in March and ends in August. The temperature ranges between 28˚ Celsius at dawn to 32˚ Celsius in the early afternoon but have been known to get hotter or warmer than 32˚ C. Cool ocean breezes play an important role in keeping the temperature down during hot days.

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2.1.4. Soil

Kiribati atoll soils are derived from the underlying coral reef and thereby consist mainly of calcium and magnesium carbonates (Town 1982) and are among the poorest in the world (Frank R. Thomas 2002). The soils tend to be shallow and highly alkaline with large soil (grain) particles rendering it highly permeable with low capacity to hold water, highly porous (J. Barr 1991). Because the soil is highly alkaline, fertility is dependent on organic matter for the concentration and recycling of plant nutrients and for soil water retention in such excessively well drained soil. Kiribati soils especially those in the Gilbert group are classed as among the poorest in the world (Frank R. Thomas 2003).

The soils encountered in Kiribati are described as having an AC type profile. The A-horizon consists of sand containing a variable quantity of humus. It is usually about 25 cm deep, has a pH of 7.6-8.0, and is dark grayish to black in colour. This rapidly gives way to coarse white and pink gravely sand of the C-horizon, which consists almost exclusively of calcium and magnesium carbonates and has a pH of 7.8-8.3.

The soil type is one of coral sediment with varying topsoil that is poor in nutrients. The soil has a high amount of free calcium, locking up most of the necessary nutrients. The soils are very highly permeable and have a low moisture-retaining capacity.

The topsoil may have clay-sized particles constituting up to 5 percent of the volume of soil but such particles are formed by the breakdown of the algae shells by carbonic acid in humus. The soils are generally low in N and K, and P tends to be fixed. Deficiencies of micro-minerals (nutrients) such as Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn are very common, however, the levels of sodium, boron and molybdenum are adequate, while sulphur may be borderline in some areas. http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/southpacific/kiribati.htm

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Fig 1: A geographical map of North Tarawa

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2.1.5 History and Culture

Tarawa was the earth when the land, ocean and sky had not been cleaved yet by Nareau the First. Thus after calling the sky ‘karawa’ and the ocean ‘marawa’, he called the piece of rock that ‘Riiki’ (another god that Nareau found) had stood upon when he lifted up the sky as, ‘Tarawa’. He then created the rest of the islands in Kiribati after creating Samoa where the famous ‘kai n tikuaaba’ grew before the inhabitants dispersed and migrated back to the Kiribati islands.

One of the most well known legends of North Tarawa is that of ‘King Keewe’, the king who was taken away by a woman (‘Nei Aromaeao’) who had embodied herself as a huge driftwood that had landed on the beaches of Buariki where King Keewe lived. King Keewe had gone to relax on the driftwood, fell asleep when ‘Nei Aromaeao’ drifted away with him. The king was saved by his flock of ‘rube’ (birds) who had carried him back to Buariki. Later, ‘Nei Aromaeao’ again drifted onto the shores of Buariki, only to be chopped by the people who now knew what or who the driftwood was.

There is an amazing shrine of BeiamaTekaai that is somehow mysterious as nothing seems to be able to grow on it. Coconut trees growing around the shrine always bend and grow away from the shrine, grass and weeds alike cannot even grow on it. A study has also been carried out to explain this strange phenomenon but so far, have not come up with an answer as to why tree branches would bend and grow away from the shrine or why weeds/grass cannot grown on that square piece of land. The study showed that the soil was just like any other normal soil found on the island, pH and nutrient wise so why so barren and bare remains a mystery.

Tarawa was discovered in 1788 by Captain Thomas Gilbert on his ship HMS Dolphin and Captain John Marshall on his ship HMS Scarborough. Both ships were in the Pacific on their way to China after having dropped off convicts in Australia from the United Kingdon. They had passed through the archipelago of the Gilbert islands and called them the Kingsmill Island group. Gilberts was later a name given to the group by a Russian Portugese born captain by the name of Pedro Fernandes de Querós after the first man on record to have sighted the islands, Captain Thomas Gilberts.

It is the second most populated island in the country and is also rich in cultural and factual history having been one of the islands that was governed by a monarchy and a place of many cultural and historical battles, most notably the battle of BeiamaTekaai and WWII in the 1940s. Pictured left is a US warship named in honor of the battle in Tarawa. In 1963 the colonial administration abolished the island monarchies most notably those in the northern and central islands and established central government stations on the islands now known as island councils.

North Tarawa was initially the colonial administrative centre located at Taratai (where the last king used to live) and then moved to Abaokoro later for more convenient travelling to the southern part of the island where the administration centre was again moved to Bairiki later on. Abaokoro accommodated the administration offices, school and the health centre while the Agricultural centre was located at Abatao. The Immaculate Heart College (a Catholic high school) was later established in 1956 at the village of Nootouee (next to Abaokoro), formerly also known as ‘Eretiboou’ during the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colonial times. After the Ellice islands broke away from the Gilberts, the name Nootouee again replaced ‘Eretiboou’. The islet of Biketawaa was the place where the Millennium Development Goals were signed by member Forum countries and is now a popular picnic and camping place for the general public as managed by the Otintaai Hotel.

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A once popular picnic and camping place called ‘Bikemaan’ or ‘Abanuea’ has disappeared over the years with general blame being placed on the establishment of the ‘Dai Nippon’ that runs from Bairiki to Betio in South Tarawa.

Travel to South Tarawa is easier when compared to the other outer islands as South Tarawa can be accessed by walking during low tide or by boat and canoe. Since most of the marine resources are shared with the concentrated South Tarawa population, people in North Tarawa are also suffering depletion of marine resources and pollution of the lagoon.

The people are generally like the rest of the people in Kiribati, friendly, hospitable, generous and kind hearted. As humans, they also have their own limitations but the aggressiveness in them do not normally come out unless one oversteps their boundaries i.e. do not follow community or household rules and taboos. As the nearest outer island to the centre of development, it is also the nearest island to be impacted from development and issues relating to the environment pollution and degradation etc. Inter-marriage is also quite high in North Tarawa and in the bid to stay as close to South as possible, most of the outer islanders find it convenient to marry to a Tarawa family or a Government employee stationed in Tarawa.

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CHAPTER 3: TE MAURI – ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND SOCIAL SERVICES

3.1 DEMOGRAPHY

3.1.1 Total population

The 2005 statistics recorded a total population of 5,678 people on the island, an increase of 1,201 people since the 2000 census when the population was 4477. Of this 5,678, there are 2756 (49%) males and 2922 (51%) females scattered throughout the island’s fourteen (14) villages of Buariki, Tearinibai, Nuatabu, Tebwangaroi, Taratai, Nootoue, Abaokoro, Marenanuka, Tabonibara, Nabeina, Kainaba, Tabiteuea, Abatao and Buota.

Fig 2: North Tarawa population trend since 1931-2005 National 92533 90000 North Tarawa 84494 80000 77658 72335 70000 63883 56213 60000 51926 50000 47735 43336 40000 31513 No. of Persons 29751 30000

20000

10000 5678 4004 2268 2227 3205 3648 4477 0 1911 1813 2026 0 1931 1947 1963 1968 1973 1978 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Census Year

The population of North Tarawa represented 6% of the total 92.533 population of Kiribati with South Tarawa having the greatest number of people at 43.6%. As evident from the 2005 census, the population of North Tarawa changed/increased by 1201 (5.3%) people since the 2000 census.

Its population trend is one that is increasing by each passing year. This should not come as a surprise considering that it is next and adjoins South Tarawa where the country’s population is concentrated. To relieve congestion and in search for permanent settlements, the population of South Tarawa are buying land and slowly migrating up north to the nearest villages of Buota and Abatao where jobs and other services can still be accessed without too much difficulty. With the increasing availability of boats and ferries, it will not be a wonder if the majority of government workers travel to work from North Tarawa.

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31.2 Growth rate

The population of North Tarawa during the census years of 1947 and 1973 fluctuated down and has been since been constantly increasing in the following census years eventually reaching the most recent figure of 5,678 in the 2005 census.

Consequently, its population change between 1995 and 2005 was an increased of 473 (11.8%) which again changed by an increase of 1201 (26.8%) in 2005. Where its annual growth rate in 2000 was at 2.2%, its growth rate in the recent 2005 statistics was 4.8%. Nationally, the Gilbert islands population growth was 1.7% in 2000 and 1.8% in 2005. Kiritimati in the Line Group had the fastest national growth rate of 8% on average while Kanton, also documented as Abariringa had the slowest growth rate at - 7.9%. (2005 Analytical report). North Tarawa meanwhile has the third fastest growth rate in the country after Tabuaeran in the Line group.

3.1.3 Population Density

Population density is defined as the number of people living within a square kilometer of land that is calculated by dividing the number of people in a given location with the area of land. Table 2 below presents the population density on North Tarawa throughout the years since 1995 that has been increasing most notably in the villages of Buota and Abatao. Consequently, there are more people living on a given square kilometer of land according to statistical records. The recent density for North Tarawa stands at 372 people per sq. km, a density change of 27% since the 2000 statistics as further illustrated in the following table.

Table 1: North Tarawa Population Density by village (2000 & 2005) Village Land Density Area (Sq. Density Density Change Village Name Km) Pop 2000 2000 Pop 2005 2005 % Buariki 0.65 533 820 597 918 12.01 Tearinibai 0.52 221 425 317 610 43.44 Nuatabu 0.15 183 1220 199 1327 8.74 Tebwangaroi 0.27 34 126 34 126 0 Taratai 0.28 179 639 203 725 13.41 Nootouee (Eretiboou) 0.49 699 1427 845 1724 20.89 Abaokoro 0.26 248 954 294 1131 18.55 Marenanuka 0.17 70 412 71 418 1.43 Tabonibara 0.1 227 2270 300 3000 32.16 Kainaba 0.06 149 2483 219 3650 46.98 Nabeina 0.1 297 2970 414 4140 39.39 Tabiteuea 0.33 342 1036 391 1185 14.33 Abatao 0.25 379 1516 421 1684 11.08 Buota 0.48 916 1908 1373 2860 49.89 North Tarawa 15.26 4477 293 5678 372 27 Source: PopGis 2005 SPC Noumea

North Tarawa has a total land area of 15.26 sq. km of which approximately 4.11 sq. km (PopGis 2005) comprises the village areas leaving 11.3 sq. km. as arable agricultural or coconut woodland. The figure for the total village land area gives the idea that the people are congested which is not so, however, it is not due to lack of space that the people are living in dense conditions but is rather a voluntary action by people to live in those conditions. Compared to South Tarawa and Betio, people are living in congested

- 19 - conditions as there are no other options for them whereas those on the outer islands including North Tarawa are living in the small village areas of their own choice.

Buota on the other hand is wide but a great part of the land has been leased including land in Bonriki, by the Government for the underlying water lens that supplies the population of South Tarawa. Kainaba, Nabeina and Tabonibara have the smallest village land areas at 0.06 and 0.1 square kilometers and the densest of the villages. However, the native population in these villages still have lands that they can live off even though they are living in the small village areas. In comparison, people on South Tarawa and Betio have hardly any land to harvest coconuts and other subsistence livelihoods from.

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- 21 -

3.1.4 Breakdown of Population

The age dependency group is defined as those below 15 years and those over 64 years of age, too young as yet or too old to manage or live on their own and therefore have to depend on others for their livelihood. Of the 5678 population, there are 2262 (40%) of people in the age dependency group, nearly half of the total population of the island. The majority 2096 (93%) are those younger than 15 and 166 (7%) are elderlies, those older than 64 years old (PopGis 2005).

Table 2: Village population by Age groups Village Broadage Age Group Total <1 1 2-5 6-14 15-17 18-49 50-69 70+ Buariki 597 18 12 53 127 45 268 63 11 Tearinibai 317 6 10 32 78 17 129 34 11 Nuatabu 199 4 6 18 48 14 81 23 5 Tebwangaroi 34 0 2 3 8 1 18 2 0 Taratai 203 5 11 19 48 10 81 25 4 Nootoue 845 24 9 45 119 237 344 53 14 Abaokoro 294 4 3 24 95 24 110 29 5 Marenanuka 71 3 3 7 14 4 31 8 1 Tabonibara 300 8 4 32 75 17 131 28 5 Kainaba 219 4 6 19 52 13 102 19 4 Nabeina 414 19 10 43 98 17 173 50 4 Tabiteuea 391 8 3 34 106 26 172 34 8 Abatao 421 12 16 38 112 19 180 40 4 Buota 1,373 37 36 135 331 68 620 114 32 North Tarawa 5,678 152 131 502 1,311 512 2,440 522 108 Source: NSO MFED Bairiki Tarawa

The majority of the island population in the statistical year of 2005 was between the ages 18-49 numbering 2262 out of the 5678 population with the highest number residing in the village of Buota, the first village from South Tarawa into North Tarawa. Factually, according to the above table, the highest number of people in the different age groups can all be found in the the village of Buota except for those in the age group 15-17. This is a most probable attribute of the Immaculate Heart College known locally as Taborio, a Catholic high school located at the northern end of Nootouee that young Catholics from all over Kiribati compete to attend.

2440 (43%) of the 5678 population are those in the age group 18-49, seconded by 1311 (23%) of those in the age group 6-14. The least people were the elderlies, those aged 70 or more who numbered 108, 2% of the North Tarawa population.

3.1.5 Population by Gender

Statistics indicate that in 2005, of the 5678 population 2756 (49%) were males and 2922 (51%) were females thus the males were outnumbered by the females by 166 (2922-2756) and as further illustrated in the population pyramid (chart below) for North Tarawa, (Kiribati 2005 Census2: Analytical Report, SPC, Noumea, 2007), the sex ratio for Butaritari is 94 males to 100 females (total number of males/total number of females * 100 ==> 2756/2922*100).

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Fig. 3: North Tarawa population pyramid (2005 outlined, 2000 patterned)

75+ Males Females 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39

Age Groups Age 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5- 9 0- 4

600 400 200 0 200 400 600 Number of Persons

Source: 2005 Census Analytical Report, SPC Noumea

North Tarawa like the rest of the islands in the country has got a young population with the majority being those aged between 0 and 19 years old at 2,895 (51%) of the total 5678 population. The increase in population was experienced in nearly all the age groups from those in the age groups 5-9 to those in the elderly age group of 70. The only obvious decrease was the number of male children in the age group 0-4 years of age even who decreased by 19 children from 337 in the 2000 census to 318 in the 2005 census, a decrease of 6%. The highest increase of the population was by females in the age group 15-19 years old, females old enough to attend the Immaculate Heart College at Taborio corresponding well with the statistics for that year..

The improvement of the education system in the establishment of a JSS and provision of qualified teachers to both primary and junior secondary schools on the outer islands was one of the attempts of the Government to provide quality education to the outer island community that would in turn stem the flow of junior secondary school students from the outer islands to South Tarawa. This seems to be working on most of the outer islands, however, those old enough to attend junior secondary on North seems to correspond well with the trend in the number of children in the age groups 12-14 (junior secondary aged children) increasing on most of the outer islands. Buota and Abatao are the two North Tarawa villages closer to services provided from South Tarawa and most of the junior secondary school aged children find it easier to access either one of the two JSS schools in South Tarawa, in the villages of Bikenibeu and Teaoraereke. Otherwise, to attend the Junior Secondary School in North would mean having to board/lodge with relatives in villages near to Abaokoro or villages that can provide easy access to the JSS.

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3.1.6 Population distribution by religion

The 2005 census showed that out of the 5678 North Tarawans, 1273 (22%) are Protestant, the majority 3889 (68%) are Roman Catholic followers, 60 (1%) belong to the Seventh Adventist Church, 135 (2%) are Bahais, 15 (0.3%) belong to the Church of God, 228 (4%) are Mormons, 74 (1%) belong to other unstated churches while 3 (0.1%) do not have religion and 1 male did not state his religion.

The Protestant church followers in North Tarawa represent 4% of the overall 33042 total national KPC congregation, the Roman Catholic on Butaritari represents 8% of the national 51144 RC followers, Seventh Day Adventist followers represent 3% of the national 1756 followers, Bahais represent 7% of the 2034 national Bahais, while the Church of God and Mormons respectively represent 4% and 8% of their total national congregation. The 14 villages of North Tarawa each have a Roman Catholic church, and not all have a KPC church. the rest of the other denominations do not have churches as yet in the villages of North Tarawa. Like the rest of the islands in Kiribati, the most imposing structures on the outer island are the churches and the ‘mwaneabas’.

Religion wise, the trend in the country is that the Northern and central islands are predominantly Roman Catholic while the Southern islands are predominantly Protestant. As evident, the Catholic congregation in North Tarawa outnumbers the KPC followers by 2616 and comprises more than half the population of the island. There a few members of the other denominations with the Mormons increasing coming third in numbers considering that it was a lot more recently introduced to the country than those of the SDA, Bahai and Church of God.

Churches not stated in the statistical records include the Assemblies of God, Pentecostal Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Islamic Muslim. Those belonging to other churches could either to any of these or another unknown religion, not yet known in the country.

Fig 4: Population make-up 3.1.7 Migration

Labour migration has a long history for the I-Kiribati people. From the 19th century both men and women, North Northern single and as families traveled to plantations and mines Tarawa 2,273 1949 within and beyond the Pacific region, some by fair recruitment and others by blackbirders in the eighteenth century. For most of the 20th century, the major outlets Overseas Southern, 70 for migration were the phosphate mines at Nauru and 1,033 Ocean Island and German ships. In the 1930s, families Line & Central Phoenix 341 from the Gilberts especially the southern drought stricken 11 islands were resettled in the Phoenix Islands in an attempt to alleviate perceived land hunger. In the 1960s, the scheme was abandoned, more for administrative convenience and cost reasons than because of the non-viability of the settlement itself only to be re-taken up again in the 1990s. All of these experiences maintained the tradition of migration

- 24 - and, from the phosphate industry and seamen, the practice of remitting income to the home-island was introduced and maintained throughout the years.

The population of North Tarawa (as illustrated in Fig. 9: North Tarawa population trend) fluctuated down only once since the 1947 census but has been steadily increasing over the years. If these population fluctuations are taken as an indication of in and out migration from North Tarawa over the years, then it would appear that there has been no out-migration from the island since 1947 but instead, North Tarawa has been experiencing an in-migration over the years.

Statistics as illustrated in the chart on the right, showed that of the 5678 population on North Tarawa at the time of the 2005 census, 1949 (34%) are are native islanders themselves while the rest 66% comprise those from other islands residing in North Tarawa including those in the Line and Phoenix group (0.2%) and 70 (1%) foreigners. 2273 (40%) are northern islanders, 341 (6%) are from the central islands and 1033 (18%) from the southern group of islands.

Fig 5: North Tarawa population distribution by island A recorded 2655 (3%) North Kanton 0 Kiritimati 39 Tarawans make up the Kiribati Tabuaeran 28 Teeraina 21 population of 92,533 and where Arorae 2 1949 (73%) of this 2655 figure Tamana 0 Onotoa 15 reside on the island itself, the rest Nikunau 7 27% are scattered all over the rest Beru 4 STabiteuea 1 of the Kiribati islands as depicted NTabiteuea 37 Nonouti 5 the chart (left). 17% (444) of Aranuka 7 those scattered amongst the other Kuria 9 islands of Kiribati were residing in

Island of Residence Abemama 31 Maiana 21 South Tarawa at the time of the STarawa 444 NTarawa 1,949 census. Generally, reasons for Abaiang 19 native islanders residing on islands Marakei 6 Butaritari 4 other than their own include: their Makin 6 Banaba 0 being Government employees

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 working on these islands, through Number of Persons marriage to people from these islands, through adoption to these islands, attending higher education schools and general family visiting amongst other reasons. For North Tarawans however, South Tarawa is part of their land and inheritance as well and thus feel free to move to and from South Tarawa when they want.

Compared to some outer islands, not many North Tarawans have been migrating to the Line and Phoenix Line group of islands during the re-settlement scheme in the early 1990s. However, Kiritimati and Tabuaeran accommodate the third and fifth populous North Tarawans as depicted in the above chart. Unfortunately, data is not available on the re-settlement scheme and the census does not indicate when these people arrived on the individual islands for a more detailed expression of in and out migration from individual islands.

3.2 LAND RESOURCES

Apart from Butaritari that has a rich bio-diversity, North Tarawa land resources are generally the same as those on the other islands that is to say, limited. As with the rest of the islands in Kiribati, the most resourceful trees on the island are also coconuts and pandanus but where other islands are making a living out of copra, North Tarawa seems to have been left out of the copra scheme or else the people are

- 25 - not interested in copra cutting as they have other means of generating income such as in pandanus roof thatches and local food sales.

3.2.1 Terrestrial flora

Plant life plays a great role in livelihood of the islanders and as limited as they are, they all have significant uses amongst others as sources of:

• Subsistence and commercial materials and products • Ingredients for medicines • Symbols of individual welfare • Ingredients in traditional cultivation • Soil improvement • Provision of shade and groundcover • Materials for toys

Coconut trees (Cocos nucifera) are generally the trees of life for islanders as all parts of the tree provide their mainstay of food, shelter, medicine and income for the people in Kiribati including the people of Butaritari. Coconuts have adapted well to atoll and dry conditions and will still remain standing after years of drought even though they may not be producing fruit. However, without fruits, these trees during drought times can still provide toddy spathes that have provided the people for centuries with their initial source of vitamin C and local brew found in the toddy.

The pandanus tree (Pandanus tectorius) comes second after the coconut as one of the very important tree crops on the islands that people hack their living out of. There is an abundance of pandanus and thus an abundance of materials for handicrafts particularly roof thatches and mats. The northern islands in general are not well known for utilizing the pandanus fruit into other food products that can be preserved for years when compared to the southern islands. In the southern islands, it is a popular routine for the women to boil the ripe fruit and process them into a paste that is later dried (‘tuae) under the sun before preservation or skewer the fruit before processing it into a slab that is also dried under the sun, baked and later pounded into a powder (‘kabubu’) that can also be preserved for months and years. These ways of preserving food from pandanus is slowly dying out especially in the northern and central islands including North Tarawa.

There are also several varieties of breadfruit on the island including the common breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) and the Mariannas breadfruit (A. mariennensis). The breadfruit tree comes third after the pandanus as the popular fruit trees in the islands and unfortunately for the southern islands including Tarawa, it is the most vulnerable to prolonged droughts (R.R. Thaman 1990), and has to be taken care of during times of prolonged droughts.

The introduction of the ‘bwabwai’ beetle to South Tarawa in the 1970s has decreased the value of bwabwai as an important food crop that has to be cultivated routinely, however, according to agricultural statistics, the beetle has not reached North Tarawa yet, starting from Nabeina to end of North Tarawa at Naa. Bwabwai is still grown in these villages but the popularity in it being cultivated daily has been declining from sightings of what the beetle can do to the ‘bwabwai’ corms once they are infested.

General flora comprise papayas, local fig, bananas, uri (Guettarda speciosa), casuarinas, leucaena, non (Morinda citrifolia), saltbush (Scaevola sericea), heliotropes (Tournefortia argentea), Alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum), sea trumpet (Cordia subcordata), iron tree (Pemphis acidula), beach almond (Terminalia samoensis), great lettuce tree (Pisonia grandis), privet (Clerodendrum inerme) and a variety of ornamental plants, grass and weeds. The flower of the Guettarda locally called ‘te uri’ is the national - 26 - flower of Kiribati. Individually, all these plants play a great role in the subsistence and economic life of the people on North Tarawa and Kiribati as a whole.

3.2.2 Terrestrial fauna

Like the rest of the Kiribati islands, North Tarawa is not rich in its land fauna and comprises the common pigs, chickens, dogs, cats, birds and island insects such as rats, lizards, ants and crabs amongst others. The marine fauna on the other hand, has its share of fish, octopus, flying fish, tuna, sharks, lobster, and oil fish to name a few.

The local pigs and local roosters are generally priceless domestic animals that all households have to own and these are kept and managed intensively (pigs) or free ranged (chickens). Introduced breeds of pigs, chickens and other livestock (goats and ducks) have been introduced to the islands by the Division of Agriculture but have limitations and thus are not that popular on the outer islands and Nikunau. Dogs are also kept domestically and to a lesser extent cats. Where dogs are kept as pets because of their role in guarding territories, cats are kept to control rats around the home as rats are abundant throughout Kiribati and in some places such as in the northern islands, they are devouring more coconuts and pandanus fruits than can be harvested for consumption and copra.

Like Butaritari, North Tarawa is also heavily infested with rats and thus suffers coconut and other tree crop damages from these rats. Fruits are eaten from the top of the tree before they can be harvested for consumption or use by the natives. The Agricultural department has been trying to solve this problem by providing rat baits but somehow, the rats only seem to come on faster and worse. According to the native Tarawans, killing the rats off has never been a solution as rats are quite taboo to the islanders as they are tied in to one of their legends in which the wife of one of the kings embodied herself as a rat and hid in the bush and pond banks from her husband and his people. Thus, one of the rats could still be their legendary queen who was never found in the story.

3.2.3 Land Tenure, Use and Ownership

During colonial times, people of all the Kiribati islands were brought together from their hamlets in the bush for easier census and administration resulting in the formation of villages throughout the islands in the country. The colonial government attempted to reorganize the land tenure system to encourage the codification of individual land holdings, in part to reduce land disputes. As a result, lands and land transfers are now registered. The rest of the island, not used for settlements or infrastructure (airports etc) is, individually owned agricultural land where coconuts, pandanus, and bwabwai are cultivated. All land tenure is catered for under the laws of the ‘Native Lands’.

Land ownership is by inheritance as willed by the parents and landowners or from shared family lands from those that have died without leaving a will or children. Depending on how the land was acquired or willed, there are family lands that were not properly registered and these lands are family owned thus for one to have access to the land requires that one knows their geneology to the ancestor whose land it is now being shared by the family. However, such cases in North Tarawa are rare compared to lands in South Tarawa that have been confusing with Government leases and government owned land such as that at Temwaiku bight.

Some acres of freehold land are leased by the Island Council to accommodate its administrative buildings, primary and JSS schools and health centers at the Government station as well as in the villages. Disputes over land ownership and boundaries are settled in Lands Court. The areas where the churches stand most of the time are land freely given away most of the time as religion is uppermost in

- 27 - most of the country’s activities whether it be Catholic or Protestant. Some are however bought or purchased in cash as most people are now income minded and since most do not cut copra, land sales are quite a welcome idea to some individuals. Individual land plots are marked by stones, boulders, trees and specific land marks such as beachrocks, lakes, pits or shrines. On some islands such as in Onotoa, land plots are also taxed whether one lives on the island or not.

Land can also be conveyed as gifts especially when one has done the landowner a big assistance such as in looking after an elderly till death because he was neglected by his own next of kin. However, in family owned lands, the approval of all family members has to be acquired before the land can be given away in such cases. Some can be also given away to adopted ones who can inherit lands from their own biological parents as well effectively getting inherited lands from both adoptive and biological parents. Some lands have been disposed off by sale and lease to the Council or Government.

Government leases for South Tarawa and Betio have different rates for residential and commercial purposes. Residential leases are AUD1480.82 while commercial leases are at AUD1802.20 per annum. Outer island leases are much lower than South Tarawa leases at AUD532.00 per annum and this outer island rate also applies to lands leased in North Tarawa as it is counted as an outer island even though it is part and adjoins South Tarawa

Due to the increasing population, lands on the outer islands are as precious as they were in the olden days with some preferring to leave their lands as family lands for all members to utilize as required for reasons such as:

• Division of parental lands would mean that some would get the best lands while others could get barren ones • Division of lands could leave one with as few as 2 plots of land or less

3.3 MARINE RESOURCES

3.3.1 Size of reef and Lagoon area

Table 3: Reef and lagoon size Island REF(sq/km) REF base LGN (sq/km) LAND (sq/km) (sq/km) Tarawa 129.03 375 533.91 31.2

3.3.2 Fish resources and status

It is difficult to quantify the fish resources of Tarawa, or any island for that matter. However, it is generally accepted that the bigger the reef area the larger the fish resource, particularly reef fish. It could therefore be concluded, that due to its vast reef and lagoon area, North Tarawa should have an abundance of marine resources as well.

Free migratory fish such as skipjacks and yellow fin tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus albocores) flying fish (Cypserulus sp.), shark (Ginglymostoma ferrugineium), oil fish (Ruvettus pretiosus) and lobsters (Panurillus sp.) etc are always abundant but are normally difficult to access by those living away from the ocean however, the lagoon provides a great variety of edible resources such as the common mojarra, trevally, and an abundance of shellfish most notable the ‘bun, nouoo, koumwara and koikoi’. Seaworms are also abundant in the lagoon but somehow they are not harvested as much as they are in the outer islands. Blessed with a huge lagoon, Tarawans have easy access to deep ocean resources as

- 28 - well as a diverse range of lagoon resources that are slowly depleting. The ‘maebo’ and ‘tewe’ are said to have frequented the island, was found in abundance in the lagoon and now are hardly ever caught by the fishermen. Of course there are other shellfish on the island including the shutter shellfish, the ‘koumwara’ or ‘kouramwa’ as they call it in Beru etc. Shutter shellfish come out during the full moon onto the reef rocks and are easily picked up when found. The introduction of fishing nets has provided another alternative for women to participate in fishing. Consequently, women either fish with nets or collect shellfish on the reef or in the lagoon for their subsistence living.

The main and major source of protein to atoll islanders is ocean, lagoon fish and shellfish as hardly any other animal apart from pigs and chickens can live and survive on the atolls with their limited vegetation. Pigs and chickens on the other hand take time to grow and are kept for special functions or family celebrations but for fish and other marine resources, these are available every day for harvest and consumption. Fig 6: Household location of fishing

800 3.3.3 Pattern of fishing 704 676 700 575 The proportion of fresh fisheries resources 600 509 caught and locally consumed in Kiribati 500 ranks amongst the highest in the Pacific 400 region (Frank R. Thomas 2003). Fishing is 300 largely a man’s responsibility even though of HHs No. 231 women are not restricted from fishing. Not 200 every man owns a canoe or boat but the 100 most households own a canoe or have 0 access to one. Having access to one Ocean Flat Lagoon Ocean Lagoon Net Fishing implies that one can borrow a neighbors, a Flat family’s or a friend’s canoe or boat. The Location of Fishing above chart depicts the location of fishing for the 867 households on the island and thus pattern of fishing. 509 (59%) of the households fish on the ocean flats, 676 (78%) on the lagoon flats, 231 (27%) fish in the ocean meaning that they have own or have access to a boat or canoe, 575 (66%) fish in the lagoon also meaning that they have access to a canoe or a boat while 704 (81%) households engage in net fishing. The normal catches on the ocean flats are by net fishing, picking (shuttle shellfish), night fishing using a pressure lamp and diving. Catches comprise surgeon fish, lobsters, octopus, red margined sea perches, scarlet squirrel fish, blue lined snappers and shuttle fish amongst others. Lagoon flat fishing involves collection of sea-worms and a variety of shellfish while lagoon fishing includes diving and spearing for shellfish and other lagoon fish. Ocean fishing comprises long and short lining with catches such as tuna and sharks. Net fishing is carried out during low tides on the ocean and lagoon flats and also setting and leaving nets overnight at certain locations in the lagoon. The common catches in the nets depends to a great extent on where the net fishing was laid out but the common catches include the ‘maebo’, mullet, ‘tewe’, sea perches, trevally, ‘okaoka’, and common mojarra etc.

Canoes are highly priced items as they are hard to make and equally hard to get materials to construct one. The initial frames and planks were imported timber obtained from Banaba, Nauru and South Tarawa while the outrigger is made from local wood

- 29 - particularly those that are light most of the time breadfruit, sea trumpet (‘kanawa’) and the great lettuce tree trunks. Nowadays, canoe frames and planks can be easily acquired from the shops in South Tarawa however, canoes are now being replaced by boats in popularity.

The fishing catches are normally used for subsistence living only and where surplus, they are either shared with neighbors, sold to local consumers, mostly Government council staff or salted and preserved for later consumption, sale and sending to relatives outside the island specially those in South Tarawa. There is not an iceplant as yet on the island however, fish are never wasted as the traditional sharing and preservation systems of salting and sun drying are still practiced when the fish cannot be sold.

3.3.4 Marine Developments

The Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources Development is responsible for marine development nevertheless; Island Councils on individual islands have their own marine developments. The most recent popular development by the Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resource Development (MFMRD) is the promotion of sea cucumber harvesting for income generation purposes. The vastness of its reef and lagoon area has allowed extra earning opportunities for the North Tarawans to be part of development in sea cucumber export and oyster cultivation.

The Fisheries Department in Tanaea is also carrying breeding trials of some marine resources for dissemination throughout the islands of Kiribati as fitting. Mother pearl oysters are being bred in artificial tanks in Tanaea and are presently supplying young oyster shells to Butaritari, Abemama and Onotoa for pearl oyster farming trials on these islands. The first island to have undergone this kind of pearl oyster farming trial was Abaiang and having been a success, it is now being taken to the other islands of Kiribati as required by the Island Council and island community.

Oysters and the white teat-fish (Holothuria sp.) are being bred in artificial tanks for further deployment in the outer island waters (sea) as stocks are slowly depleting on the outer islands with the increase in export of sea cucumbers from Kiribati. A shellfish locally known as the ‘bwaraitoa’ is also being bred simply because it is not abundant in Kiribati waters but has great export potential as the shell is usually processed into buttons.

3.3.5 Issues facing fishing and development of marine resources

Even with the vast reef and lagoon base that is abundant with fish, North Tarawa issues are generally the same as issues on South Tarawa:

• Depleting marine resources in the lagoon and ocean due to overharvesting • Absence of an ice-plant has made salting, their only way of preserving fish • Pollution of lagoon water through mass use of the beaches as a waste area

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3.4 THE ENVIRONMENT

3.4.1 Environmental Issues

Consistent with climate change impacts on the islands, the most threatening environmental issue on the island is coastal erosion, and flooding of land during high sea surges. Other issues also exist in the form of unsafe dumping of rubbish and lack of proper sanitation facilities that will not affect the water lens.

Where drought is an ever-present threat to the Southern islands of Kiribati and North Tarawa, environmental issues are always arising such as increased salinity of wells, dying of tree crops, dusty roads that give rise to other health issues such as coughing and conunctivities etc. These are reoccurring issues on atoll islands located astride the equator and North Tarawa is no exception to these issues. Another disadvantage of it adjoining South Tarawa is the easiness of pests and diseases to reach the people and their tree crops. For example, if there was an outbreak of cholera or dengue fever, the first people to be affected on an outer island would be those in North. In the case of the bwabwai beetle, the last Agricultural record was that it had reached Nabeina but this was in the 1990s and if a review has been carried out since then, the beetle could have reached Buariki for all everyone knows.

Kiribati has been assessed and considered as being at relatively low risk from cyclones, but storms can create major damage to food crops on the islands that are mostly mere strips of rocky coral land between the ocean and a lagoon (SPDRD Case studies of the Pacific 2002). These storms concur mostly with the rainy seasons which are towards the end of the year until the early months of the year and most experienced as strong winds that could uproot or break coconut trees and even known to blow roof houses off. Otherwise, North Tarawa is perfectly sheltered from cyclones just as the rest of the islands in Kiribati apart from Tamana and Arorae in the extreme south of the Gilbert group of islands that have experienced tremors and momentary tornado or strong whirlwinds in 1993 or so. The strong whirlwind experienced in Tamana left a huge dent in the ground and buildings without roofs.

Tarawa is another of the islands that has mangrove forests running along lagoon coasts of the villages from South to North. However, when compared to the Butaritari mangroves, it is humdrum as only one species of mangrove has been identified from the whole lot while there are four mangrove species in the Butaritari mangrove forest. Rhyzophora styloza (common ‘tongo’) is the only mangrove species in North Tarawa and the attempt at introducing the ‘tongo buangi’ (Brugiera gymnorrhiza) South to encourage mangrove plantations ended when new settlers cleared the mangroves without knowing that a mangrove trial had already been in place. Lumnitzera can also be found in Tarawa but not in Northern Tarawa but in the village of Eita in South Tarawa that is supposedly the tree of one of the Kiribati gods, Auriaria. This mangrove tree stands alone in one of the neglected pits of the village of Eita instead of in the lagoon. Of course, at one point in time, the area could have been a passage that has closed and lived on over the centuries.

Rubbish on the other hand, however, now includes a lot of un-degradable commodities that are not easily disposed of and as such provide environmental issues. These include plastic in a lot of forms as well as batteries, aluminum cans and most of the time commodity wrappings such as in noodles, snack foods and nappies amongst others. Without proper disposal systems in place, all these household wastes are being dumped around the house but most of the time on the beaches and in the sea. Where before household wastes such as noodle wrappings and plastic bags were publicized as being best when burned, is not so anymore in the bid to decrease greenhouse gases. Burying the plastic on the hand could suffocate soil fauna and flora alike and thus this was also not encouraged so where to safely dump the rubbish is a conundrum as there are no such disposal systems on the island as yet.

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Without any other options, it is generally a common practice throughout the country for people to dump such wastes on the beach or just leave them lying around and blowing in the wind. Those unable to stand such rubbish still burn them.

3.5 EDUCATION

The data used in this section are derived from the Educational Statistical Yearbook for the years 2004 to 2006, census data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) and SPC 2005 PopGis statistics derived from the NSO data. The National Statistics collects such data during census times while the education data are compiled by head-teachers and submitted to the Statistical Unit of the Ministry of Education every year for database updates.

There are 4 types of schools (not counting pre and tertiary schools) within the formal education system in Kiribati, namely primary, junior secondary, combined junior/senior secondary, and senior secondary and three of these types of school are present on North Tarawa including preschools. The first two types of school, primary and junior secondary are independently located on every island for accessibility by all children of that primary and junior high school age. However, even though pre-schools are not yet included in the Government school system as yet, the Eutan Tarawa Island Council has seen the importance of pre-schools and has established 15 of them in it’s 13 wards throughout the island.

The national/universal junior secondary schooling program started in1998 and by 2002, all islands in Kiribati had one JSS established whence free absorbing of primary school pupils straight into junior secondary school commenced. Classes 1 to Form 3 are free education services by the Government of Kiribati to the nation. The Immaculate Heart College (IHC) is third type of school present on the island and located at the northernof the village of Nootouee. It is a Roman Catholic high school that was established in 1955 to accommodate children of the Roman Catholic interested in high school. It has been a popular and most sought after high school after the King George V and Elaine Bernachhi High School and still is.

Pre-school attendance generally starts at the age of 3 when the children are still learning to talk and continue until the child is 5 years old. At age 6, formal education officially commences at Class 1 in the primary school for the children until they reach Class 6 at the age of 11. At the age of 12, the children then automatically enter Junior Secondary School after completing Class 6 in Primary schools. They remain in JSS for 3 years (Form 1-3) before competing for a place in Form 4 in one of the various Senior Secondary Schools at IHC or others in South Tarawa and the outer islands of the Gilbert group including Kiritimati in the Line group.

There are several church schools belonging to the Roman Catholics, Kiribati Protestants, Mormons and the SDA respectively that are located mostly in South Tarawa, Kiritimati Island and a few others on the outer islands of Kiribati. The Government, after KGV/EBS located in South Tarawa has two other high schools, Meleangi Tabai High School at Tabuaeran and Teabike High School in Tabiteuea North.

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To teach in primary school, one has to have at least reached Form 5 (minimum qualification) to be eligible to enter the Teacher’s college whereas to teach at junior or senior secondary schools, one has to have at least reached Form 7 in senior high school. Having undergone the required trainings at the Kiribati Teachers College in Bikenibeu and having attained the minimum academic qualifications required by the national authorities to be qualified to give classes at schools (Education Digest 2006), teachers can then enter the education system as qualified teachers. Teacher trainings are given out at the Kiribati Teachers College in South Tarawa that requires a minimum two year intensive training to be qualified or certified to teach classes in schools.

Prevalent on the outer islands in the education system is the recruitment of so called ‘monitors’ (those who have not undergone or attained qualification to become teachers) to assist in teaching the children especially when teachers are lacking due to transfer and traveling problems.

Table 4: Senior secondary schools in Kiribati Name of School School Type Location 1 Chevalier School Senior Secondary (SS) Abemama 2 Church of God High School SS South Tarawa 3 George Eastman High School SS Nonouti 4 Hiram Bingham High School SS Beru 5 Immaculate Heart College SS North Tarawa 6 Kauma High School Combined Junior & Senior (CS) Abemama 7 King George V & Elaine Bernacchi SS South Tarawa 8 Meleangi Tabai High School SS Tabuaeran 9 Moroni High School CS South Tarawa 10 Sacred Heart High School SS South Tarawa 11 St Joseph's College SS Abaiang 12 St. Francis High School SS Kiritimati 13 St.Louis High School SS South Tarawa 14 Stephen Whitmee High School SS Abaiang 25 Teabike College SS Tabiteuea North 16 William Goward Memorial School SS South Tarawa

3.5.1 Number of school children, proportion enrolled in schools Table 5: School enrolment Name of School Location Type No. Percentage Students enrolled 1 BT Uekeraa Buariki and Tearinibai Primary 182 16 2 Nein Tebwaara Nuatabu and Taratai Primary 76 7 3 Ueen Nooto Nootouee Primary 102 9 4 Bwaan Nei Kanna Abaokoro Primary 52 5 5 Aratokotoko Buota Primary 263 24 6 Amoange Marenanuka and Primary 108 10 Tabonibara 7 Nangin Tookato Kainaba Primary 40 4 8 Nuun Teweia Nabeina Primary 79 7 9 Raweaitina Tabiteuea Primary 112 10 10 Maamatannana Abatao Primary 105 9 Total Primary 1119 100 11 EutanTarawaieta Abaokoro Junior 213 Secondary 12 Taborio (Immaculate High School) Nootoue Senior High 202

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A total of 1119 children enrolled in the above 12 primary schools of North Tarawa in 2006 that comprised 507 (45%) females and 612 (55%) males, further clarified in the above chart. 213 teenaged children attended Eutan Tarawaieta JSS while 202 young men and women attended the Immaculate Heart College at Taborio. The JSS students comprised 118 (55%) females and 95 (45%) males while the IHC students had 111 (55%) females and 91 (45%) males.

The chart right illustrates the number of student enrolment in the 10 primary, JSS and senior high schools by gender in 2006. Buota, Abatao, Tabiteuea, Nabeina and Kainaba are islets and therefore have their own individual primary schools. Tearinbai and Buariki share the BT Uekeraa Primary School while Nuatabu and Taratai share Nein Tebwaara Primary School while Marenanuka and Tabonibara share Amoanga Primary School.

The JSS truck transport JSS school children from the northern end village of Buariki and southern village of Tabonibara daily during school days. JSS students from the rest of the island, especially those living on the islets have to stay over at the mainland Abaokoro to attend the JSS as the islets cannot only be accessed by the JSS truck, but they are also too far and risky with tides coming and out for children to walk.

Fig 7: School enrolment and gender

Females Junior and senior students in the 160 147 Males villages of Abatao and Buota, not 140 wishing to leave home, access the 118 120 116 111 junior and senior high schools in 103 100 95 91 South Tarawa easily when 79 80 compared to the distance that they 67 54 62 60 57 would have to walk if they were to 51 50 45 41 41 41 walk to school daily. As it is, most 40 35 38 27 25 19 21 of these junior and senior high 20

No. of No. Studentsenrolled 2005 school students walk to Tanaea, 0 the southern most village of South a a nn ana ara n kato w JSS IHC nn o Tarawa and catch a bus from to kotoko Ka a nt eb Teweia o ei T n Amoange T Uekera gi n B N i Raweaiti Arat amat an Nuu Ueen Nooto school. M N Ne Bwaan Schools

3.5.2. Breakdown of school enrolment at different levels

Table 6: North Tarawa Primary School enrolment by Age, Gender and Class Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Age F M F M F M F M F M F M 5 19 20 6 96 94 6 3 1 7 11 11 72 73 4 8 1 8 1 11 24 61 89 7 4 9 2 2 18 23 48 59 5 4 10 1 1 1 4 6 9 10 44 60 8 5 11 2 2 4 6 12 18 53 61 12 2 8 19 13 1 3 14 2 126 127 92 103 90 128 69 79 61 85 69 90 Source: Education Digest 2006

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Table 7: Eutan Tarawaieta JSS school enrolment by Age, Gender and Form

Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Age F M F M F M 11 6 3 12 17 11 6 2 13 7 15 22 11 1 3 14 1 2 6 9 20 16 15 5 3 20 10 16 6 10 17 1 31 31 39 25 48 39 Source: Education Digest 2006

3.5.3 Teacher:Pupil Ratio

The national teacher pupil ratio was 26 pupils to one qualified/certified teacher in 2006 however, the pupil:teacher ratio in North Tarawa for the 10 primary schools averaged 27:1 and varied between 13:1 at Nangintakoto primary in the village of Kainaba to 37:1 at Raweaitina primary in the village of Tabiteuea as illustrated in the following table:

Table 8: Teacher:Pupil ratio 2005 Teachers Pupil:Teacher School F M Total F M Total Ratio Amoange 41 67 108 4 0 4 27:1 Aratokotoko 116 147 263 6 3 9 29:1 BT Uekera 79 103 182 5 1 6 20:1 Bwaan Nei Kanna 27 25 52 3 0 3 17:1 Mamatannana 54 51 105 4 0 4 26:1 Nangintokato 19 21 40 2 1 3 13:1 Nein Tebwara 35 41 76 2 1 3 25:1 NuunTeweia 41 38 79 3 0 3 26:1 Raweaitina 50 62 112 2 1 3 37:1 Ueen Nooto 45 57 102 3 0 3 34:1 JSS 118 95 213 13 6 19 11:1 IHC 111 91 202 33 6:1 1534 52 30:1 Source: 2006 Education Digest

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3.5.4 Percentage of pupils completing Primary and JSS

Unfortunately, completion of Primary and JSS school data are not available to clarify the completion percentage of the above stated school students and therefore will not be included in the profile.

However, the PoPGis data recorded the level of education completed for 2285 people in North Tarawa aged over 25 in 2005. Of the 2285, 16% had no schooling at all, 0.3% had some form of pre-schooling, 47% had some form or completed primary school, 17% had some form of junior secondary education, 16% had or completed senior secondary school, 2% had had some form of tertiary education, while 0.4% did not state their levels of education.

Table 9: Level of education Total No Pre- Junior Senior Gender 25+ School School Primary Secondary Secondary Graduates NS Males 1078 156 2 478 226 183 28 5 Females 1207 215 4 607 172 181 23 5 Total 2285 371 6 1085 398 364 51 10 % 100 16 0.3 47 17 16 2 0.4

Statistically, according to the SPC PopGis, 2006, 1713 (75%) of the initial 2285 managed to complete Class 9 (83%) and Form 5 (17%). From this 1713, 854 (50%) were males and 859 (50%) were females. 712 (50%) males completed their primary education while 142 (48%) completed their Form 5. On the other hand, 706 (50%) females also completed their primary education while 153 (52%) also completed their senior secondary education at Form 5. There is no record however of tertiary education completion and thus it should be noted that graduates could be those that had some form of tertiary education and in most cases, graduate students living on the outer islands is rare as most can be found in the urban areas or in foreign countries. Graduates most of the time living on the outer islands are KPC ministers and priests.

Generally, among reasons for not attending school at all such as being disabled, poor beyond reason or plain parental ignorance of the importance of education, there is no other apparent reason for children not being able to attend any form of education at all. The Gilbert group trend in the last years of families and parents inviting and sending children to South Tarawa to access schools there that are believed to offer quality training than on the outer islands has slowly been solved through the upgrading of present teacher training and existing teacher qualifications. The establishment of Junior Secondary Schools on the outer islands has also helped considerably in stemming the flow of junior secondary students from the other islands. Another reason for children having left school includes having parents as Government employees being transferred to another location on another island within the country or migrating to the other island in Kiribati or New Zealand under the Pacific Access Category etc.

3.5.5 Number of schools, type and state of facilities

North Tarawa has three types of school not counting the pre-school and these are primary schools, a junior secondary school and a senior high school. The 10 primary schools are strategically located at the most convenient locations for villages to each share a primary school where necessary and individually on the islets where it is a problem walking the reef passages or channels were there a school had not been established.

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Generally throughout the country, the JSS schools, which were all established in the late 1990s are in better/good conditions and adequately furnished while primary schools are generally lacking in status and furniture. Unfortunately, some of these junior secondary schools suffer from vandalism of school properties and thus some can be seen to be in poor condition already. In the EutanTarawaieta JSS, there is a great lack of tables and chairs for the students and thus students also sit on the floor like pupils in primary schools. All classrooms are however, equipped with blackboards, the main teaching instrument for schools on the outer islands. The Immaculate Heart College on the other hand is well equipped with furniture, staff and dormitories for it’s boarding students.

As a legal requirement for all schools, all schools are to be provided with safe and appropriate toilet facilities. The following toilet / person ratios were deemed appropriate for Kiribati conditions including North Tarawa: • 1:40 for girls; • 1:60 for boys; and • 1:25 for teachers in urban schools only (it is assumed that teachers in all other schools will have access to toilets at their quarters).

The establishment of compost toilets for Eutan Tarawaieta JSS has not worked for the school and the compost toilets now stand bare of walls and roofs. Compost toilets are a recent introduction to Kiribati that people still have to adapt to but like new traditions, it is not being taken quickly. One of the reasons that compost toilets has not been working with schools is the fact that toilet paper will be required as no water is used in such sanitation toilets. Toilet paper is something that is not readily available on the outer islands and at times, is a new concept to the outer islanders who are more used to using water to clean themselves.

Teacher living quarters at the different schools are all located around or nearby the school compounds and are maintained by the Council and funded by the Government. Updates or information requiring maintenance work to be carried out is collected annually by officers from the Ministry of Works and Energy who have to include the maintenance costs in the following year’s budget. Funds for local employee quarters maintenance are sent to the Island Council whereas materials are bought and sent to the island council who then supervises maintenance of the school buildings with the islanders as necessary. Otherwise, an officer from the Ministry of Works & Public Utilities travels to the island to supervise maintenance or renovation on Government buildings.

3.5.6 Performance of Pupils in national tests/exams

In the formal education sector, children at pre-school and primary school levels transit to primary and JSS respectively without having to sit entrance examinations. This policy supports the concept of compulsory and accessible education for every child, especially at the early stages of formal education.

With the introduction of preschools, children on North Tarawa are now starting their formal education at the age of three before they attend primary school at the age of 6. Primary school lasts for 6 years at which time, the children enter JSS straight away. At the end of JSS at Form 3 level, students must compete with each other nationally for the limited places available in Form 4 in any of the few Senior Secondary Schools in the country (See Table XX above). The students of Eutan Tarawaieta JSS

- 39 - therefore have to compete with all Form three students all over Kiribati to secure entrance to Form 4 in the senior high schools. With a Roman Catholic senior high school within their vicinity, Eutan Tarawieta JSS students have an option to secure a place in it if one is Catholic. Students from other denominations have also been known to attend this RC school even though they have to attend all Roman Catholic services and functions and likewise for students attending other church schools. For some families, it is cheaper school fee wise to encourage their children to opt for Government schools as the fees are generally lower compared to church owned schools.

The Digest of Education Statistics does not provide information on the performance of pupils in national examinations and consequently, student performances are not included in this profile.

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