nameatholhu, applied to these islands, which are
examples of this structure. It is this mode of origin
that explains their low elevation.
Projected twenty-first-century sea-level rise result-
ing from global climatic warming could see the com-
plete inundation of Malé Atoll, the capital and most
heavily populated island, if not of the entire archi-
pelago, which has a maximum elevation of just 2 m
above sea level. Even a lesser rise could be sufficient
to jeopardize the continued existence of this society
and its unique culture, along with numerous other
similarly distinctive societies living on low-lying
islands around the world (Nunn 2004). With few
mitigation options open to them, the Maldivian gov-
ernment, with Japanese aid, has undertaken the
biggest project ever seen in the archipelago, the con-
struction of sea walls around the island of Malé.
Okino-Tori-Shima: the strategic economic
importance of a rocky outcrop
As islands disappear under the sea by erosion, sub-
sidence, or sea-level rise, so do their Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ), the 200 nautical mile exten-
sion around a land mass, whereby a nation retains
use rights to undersea resources, primarily fishing
and seabed mining. This aspect of international law
accounts for the interest countries have in claiming
and holding on to desolate chunks of rock in the
ocean.
A prime example of this is shown in the actions of
Japan with regard to Okino-Tori-Shima (also known
as Parece Vela), Japan’s southernmost island,
located some 1750 km south of Tokyo. The island is
a largely submerged atoll, which at high tide con-
sists of just two rocky outcrops jutting slightly more
than 60 cm above the waters of the Pacific (Chang
2000). Typhoons rip through this region annually,
and their destructive impact, alongside regular
wave action, threatened to submerge the atoll
altogether. Because this atoll is the basis for an EEZ
of 400 000 km^2 (larger than Japan itself), of very rich
fishing waters (alongside mineral rights), Japan
could not allow this island to disappear, and in
1988 millions of dollars were spent in constructing
iron and concrete breakwaters to prevent the loss of
the atoll—so far successfully.
By contrast, two uninhabited islands, Tebua
Tarawa and Abanuea (ironically meaning ‘the
beach which is long lasting’), part of the island
nation of Kiribati, were lost in 1999. If sea-level con-
tinues to rise over the twenty-first century, as fore-
cast, then the further loss of territory in this way
will require the recalculation of the EEZ of Kiribati,
which currently constitutes over 3.5 million square
kilometres, almost 5000 times the land area, and
equivalent to over a third of the land area of the
USA (Chang 2000).
These examples serve to illustrate the importance
of the loss of land area to island nations, even when
the area lost is not particularly important in terms
of human habitation.Nauru: the destruction of an island
The island of Nauru (once known as Pleasant Island)
is located in the Pacific Ocean, about 500 km north-
east of New Guinea. It has a total land area of 21 km^2
and a population of about 13 000 as of 2006. The
coast is fringed by a ring of sand, surrounded by a
protective reef, but the interior is formed of guano
deposits that have mixed and solidified with a coral
limestone base. The mining of these deposits has
devastated the island environmentally, and despite
the initial economic returns, has created severe finan-
cial, legal, and cultural problems for the Nauruans.
Guano is a rich source of phosphate, which is nat-
urally scarce and of high value as a key constituent
of fertilizer. Phosphate mining began in 1908 when
the Germans, then in control of Nauru, began to
mine the island’s substantial deposits. Between
World War II and Nauru’s independence in 1968,
Australia became the Administrator of the island.
The mining operation in this period produced
2 million tons yearly, which was mainly exported to
Australia and New Zealand. Phosphate mining has
been concentrated in the central plateau, where the
mining has left behind deep pits and tall pillars,
creating a moon-like scene of barren wasteland,
which now comprises over 80% of the island area,
with the residents living on a narrow strip along the
coast. As a result of the mining, the vast majority of
soil and vegetation has been stripped away, making
agriculture impossible.324 ISLAND REMEDIES: THE CONSERVATION OF ISLAND ECOSYSTEMS