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Coastal protection structures in Tarawa Atoll, Republic of Kiribati

  • Special Feature: Original Article
  • Understanding and Managing Global Change in Small Islands
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Abstract

In the context of rapid population growth and urbanization, atoll countries have engaged in reclamation works and in the construction of coastal defences to extend inhabitable areas and reduce the threats posed by coastal erosion and flooding. Despite their major role in asset protection, coastal structures are still poorly documented. However, a better knowledge of the characteristics of these structures (location, type, condition, management status, etc.) would facilitate the establishment of consistent construction and maintenance programmes, and also contribute to a better understanding of shoreline changes. To address this need, this paper provides an assessment of coastal structures on Tarawa Atoll in Kiribati. The results highlight the abundance of structures, mostly seawalls (94.7 % of the total), which stretch along 29 % of the coastline. The protected shoreline decreases from urban (53.9 % at Bairiki) to rural islands (27.3 % at Buota), in proportion to population pressure. The occurrence and height of structures are greater on windward, ocean shores than on lagoon shores. Seawall condition is better in rural islands, compared to urban and semi-urban areas. The observed differences in the characteristics and physical condition of coastal structures mainly reflect differences in the management status of structures and the availability of building materials and funding. More generally, the occurrence and characteristics of coastal structures are strongly correlated to population densities, land-use dynamics and shoreline mobility. At some locations, the failure of coastal protection highlights the seriousness of the problems raised by land-use practices in Tarawa.

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Notes

  1. The coastal structure database of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Fisheries is very incomplete.

  2. Vulnerability is the propensity or predisposition of a community to be adversely affected, in regards to its internal characteristics and as a result of diverse conditions and processes (IPCC 2012).

  3. Exposure refers to the presence of people, livelihoods, infrastructure, etc., that could be adversely affected by physical events and which, thereby, are subject to potential future harm, loss, or damage (IPCC 2012).

  4. Collected in the field with a differential global positioning system (DGPS), and relative to the toe of the lagoon beach.

  5. The coastal structure database of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Fisheries is very incomplete.

  6. See footnote 1.

  7. In an atoll, a hoa is an inter-islet channel.

  8. Cash work allows the purchase of imported materials such as cement. Its proportion is higher in urban settings (37.3 % in Bairiki) than in rural areas (24 % at Bonriki-Temaiku) (GoK 2007b).

  9. Established from the comparison of the 1969 aerial photographs with the 2008 Quickbird satellite image.

  10. I-Kiribati are the people of Kiribati.

  11. Established by diachronic analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery in study areas.

  12. Public building used for meetings and events.

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Acknowledgments

First, the author thanks the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development for granting the research permit. She addresses her warm thanks to Naomi Biribo and Kabure Yeeting for kind welcome and very helpful information and discussions on the current situation of South Tarawa and research topics needing further development. Thanks to Amon Timan for helping to understand recent changes in South Tarawa; to Kaiarake Taburue for explaining the role of Kiribati Adaptation Project II in coastal protection improvement; to Harry Redfern for providing documents and explanations on regulations relating to land reclamation and seawall construction; to Ueantabo Neemia MacKenzie for interesting discussions on coastal risks and social capital; and to the many inhabitants met on coast who kindly provided information on coastal protection. This work was conducted under the GeoKiribati research programme (2010–2013) supported by the CRNS and University of la Rochelle. At LIENSs, special thanks to Cécilia Pignon-Mussaud and Dorothée James for the setting up of the GeoKiribati GIS and to Camille Salmon for coastal protection digitization. Warm thanks to James Johnson for English editing. The author also thanks the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that helped to improve this paper.

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  1. Institut du Littoral et de l’Environnement, UMR LIENSs 7266, University of la Rochelle-CNRS, 2, rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Virginie Duvat

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Correspondence to Virginie Duvat.

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Handled by John Edward Hay, Ibaraki University, Japan.

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Duvat, V. Coastal protection structures in Tarawa Atoll, Republic of Kiribati. Sustain Sci 8, 363–379 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0205-9

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