Kiribati

Kiribati is an island nation in the Micronesian subregion of Oceania, in the central Pacific Ocean. More than half of its permanent population lives on the Tarawa Atoll. The state is made up of 32 atolls and a distant, raised coral island, Banaba. In 1979, Kiribati gained independence from the United Kingdom and became a sovereign state. The capital, South Tarawa, which is now the most populous area, is made up of several islands connected by a series of causeways. Some of the islands are compact, surrounded by fringing reefs, but most of them atolls. The largest atoll is Kiritimati Atoll, in the Line group, which covers 388 square kilometers and almost half of the country's total area. There are three ecosystems in Kiribati: Central Polynesian tropical moist forests, Eastern Micronesian tropical moist forests and Western Polynesian tropical moist forests. The relatively young geological age of the islands and atolls and the high salinity of the soil make Kiribati's flora rather unhealthy. There are about 83 native and 306 introduced plants on the Gilbert Islands, compared to 67 and 283 on the Line and Phoenix Islands. There are a few land mammals in Kiribati, but none are native or endemic. Among these are the Polynesian Rat, dog, cat and pig. There are ninety species of birds recorded in Kiribati, two of which are endemic, and three of which have been introduced by humans. Both the Henderson's Petrel and the Kiritimati Reed-Warbler are listed as endangered species on the IUCN Red List. Two marine turtle species have been identified in Kiribati waters, the Green Turtle and the Hawksbill Turtle.