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94-661: The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument was proclaimed a national monument on January 6, 2009, by U.S. President George W. Bush and follows his June 6, 2006, creation of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands . The original area was about 83,000 square miles (210,000 km). It was expanded on September 25, 2014, by U.S. President Barack Obama . The monument covers 490,343 square miles (1,269,980 km), spanning areas to

188-656: A British protectorate , along with the nearby Ellice Islands . They were administered by a resident commissioner based first on Makin Islands (1893–95), then in Betio , Tarawa (1896–1908) and Ocean Island (1908–1942), protectorate who was under the Western Pacific High Commission (WPHC) based in Fiji. Banaba , known to Europeans as Ocean Island, was added to the protectorate in 1900, because of

282-456: A US Embassy . The current U.S. Embassy responsible for Kiribati is located in Suva, Fiji . In November 1999, Kiribati agreed to allow Japan's National Space Development Agency to lease land on Kiritimati (formerly Christmas Island) for 20 years, on which to build a spaceport . The agreement stipulated that Japan was to pay US$ 840,000 per year and would also pay for any damage to roads and

376-435: A parliamentary democratic republic. The executive branch consists of a president ( te Beretitenti ), a vice-president and a cabinet . The president, who is also chief of the cabinet, is directly elected by the citizens, after the legislature nominates three or four persons from among its members to be candidates in the ensuing presidential election. The president is limited to serving three four-year terms, and remains

470-711: A 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati ( ratified in 1983 ). Although the indigenous Gilbertese name for the Gilbert Islands proper is "Tungaru", the new state chose the name "Kiribati", the Gilbertese spelling of "Gilberts", because it was more modern and as an equivalent of the former colony to acknowledge the inclusion of Banaba, the Line Islands, and the Phoenix Islands . The last two archipelagoes were never initially occupied by Gilbertese until

564-493: A cost of 9.3 million Australian dollars. In March 2016, Taneti Maamau was elected as the new President of Kiribati. He was the fifth president since the country became independent in 1979. In June 2020, President Maamau won re-election for a second four-year term. President Maamau was considered pro-China and he supported closer ties with Beijing. On 16 November 2021, the Kiribati government announced it would expose

658-478: A donation of lands acquired by John D. Rockefeller Jr. , for addition to Grand Teton National Park after Congress had declined to authorize this park expansion. Roosevelt's proclamation unleashed a storm of criticism about use of the Antiquities Act to circumvent Congress. A bill abolishing Jackson Hole National Monument passed Congress but was vetoed by Roosevelt, and Congressional and court challenges to

752-532: A factor, with acquisition of land being the main form of conquest. Clans and chiefs began fighting over resources, fueled by hatred and reignited blood feuds, which may have started months, years, or even decades before. The turmoil lasted well into the European visitation and colonial era, which led to certain islands decimating their foes with the help of guns and cannon-equipped ships that Europeans provided to some I-Kiribati leaders. The typical military arms of

846-837: A fifth in the Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument . On June 24, 2016, Obama designated the Stonewall Inn and surrounding areas in Greenwich Village , New York as the Stonewall National Monument , the first national monument commemorating the movement for LGBT rights in the United States . Obama's establishments included several others recognizing civil rights history, including

940-420: A group of seafaring people from Melanesia , who were described as being dark-skinned, frizzy-haired, and short in stature. These indigenous peoples were then visited by early Austronesian seafarers from the west, a place called Matang, orally described as being tall and fair-skinned. Eventually, both groups intermittently clashed and intermingled until they slowly became a uniform population. Around 1300 CE,

1034-659: A hot, equatorial climate. Because the atoll is located within the low-pressure area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 4,000–5,000 mm (160–200 in) of rainfall each year. A recent study in the journal Climatic Change suggests the expanded reserve could make pelagic fish populations in the Pacific more resilient to ocean warming . Researchers found that by 2060, warmer temperatures will attract skipjack tuna from

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1128-477: A major Alaska lands bill. Congress passed a revised version of the bill in 1980 incorporating most of these national monuments into national parks and preserves , but the act also curtailed further use of the proclamation authority in Alaska. Carter's 1978 proclamations included Misty Fjords and Admiralty Island National Monuments in the U.S. Forest Service and Becharof and Yukon Flats National Monuments in

1222-432: A mass departure occurred from Samoa leading to the addition of Polynesian ancestry into the mix of most Gilbertese people. These Samoans later brought strong features of Polynesian languages and culture, creating clans based on their own Samoan traditions and slowly intertwining with the indigenous clans and powers already dominant in Kiribati. Around the 15th century, starkly contrasting systems of governance arose between

1316-568: A member of the assembly. The cabinet is composed of the president, vice-president, and 13 ministers (appointed by the president) who are also members of parliament . The legislative branch is the unicameral Maneaba ni Maungatabu (House of Assembly). Its members are elected, including by constitutional mandate, a nominated representative of the Banaban people in Rabi Island , Fiji (Banaba, former Ocean Island), in addition to, until 2016,

1410-634: A new embassy in Kiribati and Tonga and reestablish the Peace Corps presence in the region. Law enforcement in Kiribati is carried out by the Kiribati Police Service which is responsible for all law enforcement and paramilitary duties for the island nation. There are police posts located on all of the islands. The police have one patrol boat, the Guardian-class patrol boat RKS Teanoai II . The main prison in Kiribati

1504-525: A precedent for the use of the Antiquities Act to preserve large areas. Federal courts have since rejected every challenge to the president's use of Antiquities Act preservation authority, ruling that the law gives the president exclusive discretion over the determination of the size and nature of the objects protected. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Katmai National Monument in Alaska , comprising more than 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km ). Katmai

1598-503: A size of 408,250 km (157,630 sq mi), which was created by the government of Kiribati . Because the islands are scattered throughout the ocean, the climate is different on each island. Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands have an equatorial climate , with scant rainfall, constant wind, and burning sun. Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef have a tropical climate but are generally dry, with consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation. Palmyra Atoll has

1692-409: Is expected to be the first country to lose all its land territory to climate change . In June 2008, Kiribati President Anote Tong said that the country had reached "the point of no return." He added, "To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that." In January 2012, Anote Tong was re-elected for a third and last successive term. In early 2012,

1786-496: Is generally restricted to scientists and educators. Only Wake Island and Palmyra Atoll have serviceable runways; Jarvis, Johnston Atoll, Baker, and Howland Islands had airstrips in earlier times but they have long been abandoned and are no longer operational. National monument (United States) In the United States , a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by

1880-571: Is geographically, culturally, and historically linked to the people who live in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Kingman, Palmyra, Jarvis, Howland, and Baker are connected to the Republic of Kiribati. Voyaging and culture link all of these islands. Wake has a current transient population of ca. 125 military personnel and contractors. Johnston Atoll had a peak population of 1,100 military and civilian contractor personnel in 2000, but it

1974-625: Is located in Betio , named the Walter Betio Prison. There is also a prison in London on Kiritimati . Male homosexuality is illegal in Kiribati, with a penalty up to 14 years in prison, according to a historical British law; however, this law is not enforced. Kiribati has not yet followed the lead of the United Kingdom, following its Wolfenden report , to decriminalise acts of male homosexuality, beginning with provisions in

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2068-621: Is no longer divided into districts (see Subdivisions of Kiribati ). Kiribati has formal political parties but their organisation is quite informal. Ad hoc opposition groups tend to coalesce around specific issues. There is universal suffrage at age 18. Today the only recognisable parties are the Boutokaan Kiribati Moa Party , former Boutokaan te Koaua , and Tobwaan Kiribati Party . Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Fiji. The first three of these provide

2162-628: Is pronounced / iː ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / ee- KIRR -i-bass . The name Kiribati was adopted upon the country's independence in 1979. It is the Gilbertese rendition of Gilberts, the plural of the English name of the nation's main archipelago, the Gilbert Islands . It was named îles Gilbert ( French for 'Gilbert Islands') in about 1820 by Russian admiral Adam von Krusenstern and French captain Louis Duperrey , after

2256-580: The César E. Chávez , Belmont–Paul Women's Equality , Freedom Riders , and Birmingham Civil Rights National Monuments . In December 2017, President Donald Trump substantially reduced the sizes of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments , removing protections on about 2.8 million acres of land where mining could resume. Three lawsuits challenged the legality of this action in federal court, and in October 2021, President Joe Biden reversed

2350-662: The Fish and Wildlife Service , the first to be created outside of the National Park Service. The latter two became national wildlife refuges in 1980. The proclamation authority was not used again anywhere until 1996, when President Bill Clinton proclaimed the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in Utah , after many years of unsuccessful advocacy by conservationists to protect parts of

2444-482: The Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14 . Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign state in 1979. The capital, South Tarawa , now the most populated area, consists of a number of islets, connected by a series of causeways . These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll . Prior to its independence the country exported phosphate , but those mines are no longer viable. Fisheries and

2538-655: The Grand Canyon as a national monument. In response to Roosevelt's declaration of the Grand Canyon monument, a putative mining claimant sued in federal court, claiming that Roosevelt had overstepped the Antiquities Act authority by protecting an entire canyon. In 1920, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Grand Canyon was indeed "an object of historic or scientific interest" and could be protected by proclamation, setting

2632-678: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (in the case of marine national monuments). Historically, some national monuments were managed by the War Department . President Theodore Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to declare Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first U.S. national monument. The Antiquities Act authorized permits for legitimate archaeological investigations and penalties for taking or destroying antiquities without permission. Additionally, it authorized

2726-638: The Republic of Kiribati ( Gilbertese : Ribaberiki Kiribati ), is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean . Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll . The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island , Banaba . Its total land area is 811 km (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean . The islands' spread straddles

2820-622: The Tarawa Climate Change Conference (TCCC) to support the president of Kiribati's initiative to hold a consultative forum between vulnerable states and their partners. The conference strove to create an enabling environment for multi-party negotiations under the auspices of the UNFCCC. The conference was a successor event to the Climate Vulnerable Forum. The ultimate objective of TCCC was to reduce

2914-523: The UNFCCC conferences of the parties (COP). Kiribati is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental organisation of low-lying coastal and small island countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to address global warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward

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3008-498: The crown colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1916. The Northern Line Islands, including Christmas Island ( Kiritimati ), were added to the colony in 1919, and the Phoenix Islands were added in 1937 with the purpose of a Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme . On 12 July 1940, Pan Am Airways' American Clipper landed at Canton Island for the first time during a flight from Honolulu to Auckland . Sir Arthur Grimble

3102-468: The equator and the 180th meridian , making Kiribati the only country in the world located simultaneously in all four hemispheres: the Northern , Southern , Western , and Eastern hemispheres. The International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching 150°W . This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as

3196-403: The federal government by proclamation of the president of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments protect a wide variety of natural and historic resources, including sites of geologic, marine, archaeological, and cultural importance. The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives presidents the power to proclaim national monuments by executive action. In contrast, national parks in

3290-562: The phosphate rock of its soil (discovered in 1900). This discovery and the mining provided a significant amount of revenue, in the form of taxes and duties, to the WPHC. The conduct of William Telfer Campbell , the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts and Ellice Islands of 1896 to 1908, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became

3384-733: The "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence, while Ocean Island and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence . In 1892, local Gilbertese authorities (an uea , a chief from the Northern Gilbert Group, and atun te boti or head of clan ) on each of the Gilbert Islands agreed to Captain Edward Davis commanding HMS Royalist of the Royal Navy declaring them part of

3478-458: The 12 nmi (22 km) refuge boundaries out to the 50 nmi (93 km) MNM boundary (about 100 nmi (190 km) square across) are managed by NOAA. For Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , and Wake Island , fishery-related activities seaward from the 12 nmi (22 km) refuge boundaries out to the 200 nmi (370 km) MNM boundary (U.S. EEZ waters) are managed by NOAA. The land areas at Wake and Johnston Atolls remain under

3572-566: The 1830s; they included beachcombers , castaways, traders, and missionaries. Dr Hiram Bingham II of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) arrived on Abaiang in 1857. The Roman Catholic faith was introduced on Nonouti around 1880 by 2 Gilbert islanders, Betero and Tiroi, who had become Christians in Tahiti. Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic Missionaries of

3666-517: The 50 nautical-mile boundaries for Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll and Howland and Baker Islands created by the 2009 proclamation. In September 2017, Trump Administration U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended that the U.S. government reduce the monument's boundaries by an unspecified amount. By the end of his term in office, in January 2021, former President Trump had not followed this recommendation. In March 2023, President Biden directed

3760-560: The American West. The reference in the act to "objects of ... scientific interest" enabled President Theodore Roosevelt to make a natural geological feature, Devils Tower in Wyoming , the first national monument three months later. Among the next three monuments he proclaimed in 1906 was Petrified Forest in Arizona , another natural feature. In 1908, Roosevelt used the act to proclaim more than 800,000 acres (3,200 km ) of

3854-705: The British captain Thomas Gilbert . Gilbert and captain John Marshall sighted some of the islands in 1788, while crossing the "outer passage" route from Port Jackson to Canton . Both von Krusenstern's and Duperrey's maps, published in 1824, were written in French. In French, the Northern Islands were until then called îles Mulgrave and Byron Island was not part of them. In English,

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3948-474: The British authorities, and later the Republic Government, resettled Gilbertese there under resettlement schemes. In 1982, the first elections since independence were held. A no-confidence vote provoked the 1983 new election . In the post-independence era, overcrowding has been an issue, at least in British and aid organisations' eyes. In 1988, an announcement was made that 4,700 residents of

4042-477: The I-Kiribati at this time were shark tooth-embedded wooden spears, knives, and swords, and garbs of armour fashioned from dense coconut fibre. They chiefly used these instead of the gunpowder and weapons of steel available at the time, because of the strong sentimental value of the equipment handed down through generations. Ranged weapons, such as bows, slings, and javelins, were seldom used; hand-to-hand combat

4136-540: The Islands, as many as 45 in a given year. Activities included assisting in the planning, design and construction of wells, libraries, and other infrastructure, and agricultural, environmental, and community health education. In 2006, volunteer placement was significantly scaled down due to the reduction of consistent air transportation to the outer islands; it was later ended because the associated ability to provide medical care to volunteers could not be assured. In July 2022, US Vice President Harris announced plans to build

4230-636: The Japanese military in late 1943 involved one of the bloodiest battles in US Marine Corps history. Marines landed in November 1943 and the Battle of Tarawa ensued. Ocean Island , the headquarters of the colony, was bombed, evacuated and occupied by Japan in 1942 and not freed until 1945, after the massacre of all but one of the Gilbertese on the island by the Japanese forces. Funafuti hosted then

4324-558: The Line Islands, including Howland , Jarvis , and Baker islands, thus causing a territorial dispute. That was eventually resolved and they finally became part of Kiribati under the Treaty of Tarawa . After the attack on Pearl Harbor , during World War II , Butaritari and Tarawa, and others of the Northern Gilbert group, were occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1943. Betio became an airfield and supply base. The expulsion of

4418-912: The Pacific Ocean, the largest in the system: the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument , the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument , the Marianas Marine National Monument , and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument . They are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration overseeing the fisheries. President Barack Obama significantly expanded two of them and added

4512-556: The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons . On 20 September 2019, the government of Kiribati restored its diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China and simultaneously stopped its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. China offered a 737 aircraft and ferries to Kiribati for the decision, according to Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu . From 1973 until 2008, a total of almost 500 US Peace Corps volunteers were based on

4606-603: The Sacred Heart arrived on Nonouti in 1888. The Protestant missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) were also active in the southern Gilberts. On 15 October 1870, Rev. Samuel James Whitmee of the LMS arrived at Arorae , and later that month he visited Tamana , Onotoa and Beru . In August 1872, George Pratt of the LMS visited the islands. In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned

4700-658: The Secretary of Commerce to consider making the monument and additional areas within the U.S. EEZ a National Marine Sanctuary , as well as to study a renaming of the monument, its islands, and their related national wildlife refuges. The following islands form the basis of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument: South of the monument is the Phoenix Islands Protected Area , with

4794-527: The South Seas , which delved into the high chief's character and method of rule during Stevenson's stay in Abemama. The 90th anniversary of his arrival in the Gilbert Islands was chosen to celebrate the independence of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Chance visits by European ships occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries, while those ships attempted circumnavigations of the world, or sought sailing routes from

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4888-401: The U.S. must be created by Congressional legislation. Some national monuments were first created by presidential action and later designated as national parks by congressional approval. The 134 national monuments are managed by several federal agencies: the National Park Service , United States Forest Service , United States Fish and Wildlife Service , the Bureau of Land Management , and

4982-419: The Western Pacific to the protected waters of the monument, away from areas that are heavily fished. Although the islands have no permanent residents, the seven islands that make up the Pacific Remote Islands are stepping stones that connect Hawaii to Micronesia and other Polynesian sea voyaging cultures. The voyage from Hawaii to the neighboring Marshall Islands once included a stop at Johnston Atoll. Wake Atoll

5076-449: The archipelago, particularly the southern part, was often referred to as the Kingsmills in the 19th century, although the name Gilbert Islands was used increasingly, including in the Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877 and in the Pacific Order of 1893. The name Gilbert , already in the name of the British protectorate since 1892, was incorporated into the name of the entire Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC) from 1916 and

5170-505: The area. This was the first national monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management . This action was unpopular in Utah, and bills were introduced to further restrict the president's authority, none of which have been enacted. Most of the 16 national monuments created by President Clinton are managed not by the National Park Service, but by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Landscape Conservation System . President George W. Bush created four marine national monuments in

5264-411: The attorney general, who served as an ex officio member from 1979 to 2016. Legislators serve for a four-year term. The constitutional provisions governing administration of justice are similar to those in other former British colonies in that the judiciary is free from governmental interference. The judicial branch is made up of the High Court (in Betio) and the Court of Appeal. The president appoints

5358-417: The bulk of the country's foreign aid. Taiwan and Japan also have specified-period licences to fish in Kiribati's waters. There are three resident diplomatic missions headquartered in South Tarawa : the Embassies of the Republic of China (Taiwan) until 2019, replaced by People's Republic of China in 2020 and the High Commissions of Australia and New Zealand . Since 2022, there have been talks of opening

5452-435: The changes. The restoration of the monuments has been challenged in court in an attempt to attack the Antiquities Act. President Biden's proclamations establishing and expanding monuments often incorporated consultation with Native American tribes for management and planning. Kiribati Kiribati ( / ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / KIRR -i-bass , Gilbertese: [kiɾibas] ), officially

5546-416: The claim in a 2014 decision . On further appeal, the New Zealand Supreme Court confirmed the earlier adverse rulings against the application for refugee status, but rejected the proposition "that environmental degradation resulting from climate change or other natural disasters could never create a pathway into the Refugee Convention or protected person jurisdiction". In 2017, Kiribati signed the UN treaty on

5640-521: The colony was transferred from Fiji to the new capital of Honiara , to the British Solomon Islands , with the Gilberts' Resident Commissioner still headquartered in Tarawa. Further military operations in the colony occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s when Christmas Island was used by the United States and United Kingdom for nuclear weapons testing including hydrogen bombs . Institutions of internal self-rule were established on Tarawa from about 1967. The Ellice Islands asked for separation from

5734-457: The country was written down in 1952 by Ernest Sabatier in his comprehensive Dictionnaire gilbertin–français . The indigenous name often suggested for the Gilbert Islands proper is Tungaru (see e.g., Ernest Sabatier , 1952–1953, or Arthur Grimble , 1989 ). The rendition Kiribati for Gilberts was chosen as the official name of the new independent state by the chief minister, Sir Ieremia Tabai and his cabinet , on such grounds that it

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5828-493: The environment. A Japanese-built downrange tracking station operates on Kiritimati and an abandoned airfield on the island was designated as the landing strip for a proposed reusable unmanned space shuttle called HOPE-X . HOPE-X, however, was eventually cancelled by Japan in 2003. As one of the world's most vulnerable nations to the effects of global warming , Kiribati has been an active participant in international diplomatic efforts relating to climate change, most importantly

5922-452: The export of copra drive much of the economy. Kiribati is one of the least developed countries in the world and is highly dependent on international aid for its economy. Kiribati is a member of the Pacific Community , Commonwealth of Nations , the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank , and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States , and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999. As an island nation,

6016-501: The far south and west of Hawaii: Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , Palmyra Atoll , and Wake Island . At Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, the terrestrial areas, reefs, and waters out to 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) (radius) are part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. For Baker Island , Howland Island , Kingman Reef , and Palmyra Atoll , fishery-related activities seaward from

6110-429: The first commercial international flight in two years included 36 passengers who tested positive. In 2024, 5,085 Coronavirus Cases were reported which causes 24 deaths and 2,703 were recovered. On 29 January 2023, Kiribati confirmed its intention to rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum , ending a bitter two-year leadership split. The Constitution of Kiribati , promulgated 12 July 1979, provides for free and open elections in

6204-465: The first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994. In 2009, President Tong attended the Climate Vulnerable Forum ( V11 ) in the Maldives , with 10 other countries that are vulnerable to climate change , and signed the Bandos Island declaration on 10 November 2009, pledging to show moral leadership and commence greening their economies by voluntarily committing to achieving carbon neutrality . In November 2010, Kiribati hosted

6298-448: The globe completely within the British Empire. The location of Fanning Island, one of the closest formations to Hawaii, led to its annexation by the British Empire in 1888. Nearby candidates including Palmyra Island were not favoured due to the lack of adequate landing sites. The United States eventually incorporated the Northern Line Islands into its territories, and did the same with the Phoenix Islands , which lie between Gilberts and

6392-453: The government of Kiribati purchased the 2,200-hectare Natoavatu Estate on the second largest island of Fiji, Vanua Levu . At the time it was widely reported that the government planned to evacuate the entire population of Kiribati to Fiji. In April 2013, President Tong began urging citizens to evacuate the islands and migrate elsewhere. In May 2014, the Office of the President confirmed the purchase of some 5,460 acres of land on Vanua Levu at

6486-556: The government to shut down newspaper publishers. The legislation followed the launching of Kiribati's first successful non-government-run newspaper. President Tito was re-elected in 2003 but was removed from office in March 2003 by a no-confidence vote and replaced by a Council of State. Anote Tong of the opposition party Boutokaan Te Koaua was elected to succeed Tito in July 2003. He was re-elected in 2007 and in 2011. In June 2008, Kiribati officials asked Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. Kiribati

6580-401: The islands are vulnerable to climate change and tsunamis. Addressing climate change has been a central part of its international policy, as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States . The name is pronounced / ˈ k ɪr ɪ b æ s / KIRR -i-bass , as -ti in the Gilbertese language represents an [ s ] sound. Similarly, the name of its people, the I-Kiribati,

6674-577: The jurisdiction of the U.S. Air Force, but the waters from 0 to 12 nmi (22 km) are protected as units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The monument is closed to commercial fishing and other resource extraction activities, such as deep sea mining . The monument includes endemic trees, grasses, and birds adapted to life at the equator, the rare sea turtles and whales and Hawaiian monk seals that visit Johnston Atoll, and high-quality coral reefs . U.S. federal law prohibits resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping, and commercial fishing in

6768-645: The larger Fiji islands, 2,000 km away. A move described by Tong as an "absolute necessity" should the country's territory be completely submerged under water. In 2013, attention was drawn to a claim of a Kiribati man of being a "climate change refugee" under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951). However, this claim was determined by the New Zealand High Court to be untenable. The New Zealand Court of Appeal also rejected

6862-479: The main island group would be resettled onto less populated islands. In September 1994, Teburoro Tito from the opposition was elected president. In 1995, Kiribati unilaterally moved the International Date Line far to the east to encompass the Line Islands group, so that the country would no longer be divided by the date line. The move, which fulfilled one of President Tito's campaign promises,

6956-535: The monument areas. Research, free passage, and recreation are allowed. On June 17, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama proposed using his executive powers to expand the marine protected area to 782,000 square miles (2,030,000 km). Sport fishing is exempt, and public comments were solicited. He then signed a proclamation on September 25, 2014, expanding the monument to six times its original size, resulting in 490,343 square miles (1,269,982 square kilometers) of protected area around these tropical islands and atolls in

7050-399: The northern islands, primarily under chiefly rule ( uea ), and the central and southern islands, primarily under the rule of their council of elders ( unimwaane ). Tabiteuea could be an exception as the sole island that is known as maintaining a traditional egalitarian society. The name Tabiteuea stems from the root phrase Tabu-te-Uea , meaning "chiefs are forbidden". Civil war soon became

7144-543: The number and intensity of fault lines between parties to the COP process, explore elements of agreement between the parties and thereby to support Kiribati's and other parties' contribution to COP16 held in Cancun , Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010. In 2013, President Tong spoke of climate-change induced sea level rise as "inevitable". "For our people to survive, then they will have to migrate. Either we can wait for

7238-940: The president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on federal lands as national monuments, "the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected." Presidents have used the Antiquities Act's proclamation authority not only to create new national monuments but to enlarge existing ones. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt significantly enlarged Dinosaur National Monument in 1938. Lyndon B. Johnson added Ellis Island to Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and Jimmy Carter made major additions to Glacier Bay and Katmai National Monuments in 1978. The Antiquities Act of 1906 resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Native American ruins and artifacts (collectively termed "antiquities") on federal lands in

7332-427: The presiding judges. Local government is through island councils with elected members. Local affairs are handled in a manner similar to town meetings in colonial America. Island councils make their own estimates of revenue and expenditure and generally are free from central government controls. There are a total of 21 inhabited islands in Kiribati. Each inhabited island has its own council. Since independence, Kiribati

7426-512: The proclamation authority were mounted. In 1950, Congress finally incorporated most of the monument into Grand Teton National Park, but the act doing so barred further use of the proclamation authority in Wyoming except for areas of 5,000 acres or less. The most substantial use of the proclamation authority came in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter proclaimed 17 new national monuments in Alaska after Congress had adjourned without passing

7520-534: The provisional headquarters of the colony from 1942 to 1946, when Tarawa returned to host the headquarters, replacing Ocean Island. At the end of 1945, most of the remaining inhabitants of Banaba, repatriated from Kosrae , Nauru and Tarawa, were relocated to Rabi Island , a land of Fiji that the British government had acquired in 1942 for this purpose. On 1 January 1953, the British Western Pacific High Commissioner of

7614-537: The rest of the colony in 1974 and granted their own internal self-rule institutions. The separation entered into force on 1 January 1976. In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent state of Tuvalu . The Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Then, in September, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Islands, in

7708-578: The south to north Pacific Ocean. A passing trade, whaling the On-The-Line grounds, and labour ships associated with the coercive labour recruitment practices, known as blackbirding . This recruitment of Kanaka workers in large numbers during the 19th century, had social, economic, political, religious and cultural consequences. More than 9,000 workers were sent abroad from 1845 to 1895, most of them not returning. The passing trade gave rise to European, Indian, Chinese, Samoan, and other residents from

7802-431: The south-central Pacific Ocean. Expanding the monument protected the deep coral reefs, seamounts, and marine ecosystems unique to this part of the world, which are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. Specifically, it expanded the boundaries to the 200 nautical-mile outer limits of the U.S. EEZ around Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, and Jarvis Island while leaving in place

7896-493: The subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy . In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to The New Age newspaper described the maladministration of W. Telfer Campbell and challenged the impartiality of Arthur Mahaffy, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. The anonymous correspondent also criticised the operations of the Pacific Phosphate Company on Ocean Island. The islands became

7990-428: The time when we have to move people en masse or we can prepare them—beginning from now ..." In New York in 2014, per The New Yorker , President Tong told The New York Times that "according to the projections, within this century, the water will be higher than the highest point in our lands". In 2014, President Tong finalised the purchase of a 20 km (7.7 sq mi) stretch of land on Vanua Levu , one of

8084-593: The world's largest marine protected area to commercial fishing. The 2022 Kiribati constitutional crisis started with the suspension of all 5 major Justices of the judiciary of Kiribati . In 2020, Kiribati’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic , consistent with most of the COVID-19 responses of Oceania island nations , was to impose strict limits on tourism and commercial travel. Kiribati reported that it remained essentially COVID-free (two cases) until January 2022 when

8178-615: Was a cadet administrative officer based at Tarawa (1913–1919) and became Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1926. In 1902, the Pacific Cable Board laid the first trans-Pacific telegraph cable from Bamfield , British Columbia, to Fanning Island (Tabuaeran) in the Line Islands, and from Fiji to Fanning Island, thus completing the All Red Line , a series of telegraph lines circumnavigating

8272-519: Was a prominent skill still practised today, though seldom mentioned because of various taboos associated with it, secrecy being the primary one. Abemama 's High Chief Tembinok' was the last of the dozens of expansionist chiefs of Gilbert Islands of this period, despite Abemama historically conforming to the traditional southern islands' governance of their respective unimwaane . He was immortalised in Robert Louis Stevenson 's book In

8366-418: Was evacuated by 2007. From 2010 through 2021, volunteer biologists lived and worked on the island in groups of 5, but since May 2021, the island has had no permanent inhabitants. Four to twenty Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff live at Palmyra Atoll. The four other islands are usually uninhabited. Public entry to the islands is by special-use permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It

8460-474: Was intended to allow businesses across the expansive territory to keep the same business week. This also enabled Kiribati to become the first country to see the dawn of the third millennium , an event of significance for tourism. Tito was re-elected in 1998. In 1999, Kiribati became a full member of the United Nations, 20 years after independence. In 2002, Kiribati passed a controversial law that enabled

8554-550: Was later enlarged to nearly 2,800,000 acres (11,000 km ) by subsequent Antiquities Act proclamations and for many years was the largest national park system unit. Petrified Forest , Grand Canyon , and Great Sand Dunes , among several other national parks , were also originally proclaimed as national monuments and later designated national parks by Congress. Substantial opposition did not materialize until 1943, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming . He did this to accept

8648-530: Was modern, and to comprehend the inclusion of outer islands (e.g., the Phoenix Group and Line Islands), which were not considered part of the Tungaru (or Gilberts) chain. The area now called Kiribati has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples speaking the same Oceanic language , from north to south, including the southernmost Nui , since sometime between 3000 BCE and 1300 CE. The area

8742-419: Was not completely isolated; later, voyagers from Samoa , Tonga , and Fiji introduced some Polynesian and Melanesian cultural aspects, respectively. Intermarriage and intense navigation between the islands tended to blur cultural differences and resulted in a significant degree of cultural homogenization. Local oral historians chiefly in the form of lore keepers suggest that the area was first inhabited by

8836-415: Was retained after the Ellice Islands became the separate country of Tuvalu in 1976. The spelling of Gilberts in the Gilbertese language as Kiribati may be found in books in Gilbertese prepared by missionaries , but with the meaning of Gilbertese ( demonym and language) (see e.g., Hawaiian Board of Missionaries, 1895). The first mention as a dictionary entry of the word Kiribati as the native name of

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