Sprol

The South Pacific island of Nauru has been strip mined for the past 100 years, leaving the remaining arable land subject to rising sea levels. The 13,000 inhabitants are now entirely dependent on imports and face an uncertain future.

I first heard about Nauru in January of 2003 from an NPR article. Following the collapse of their telecommunications system, the Nauruans showed their anger with the government by burning the presidential house, rioting and looting. I like to think that this is an aberration in the Nauru culture. After all, “mountain people are wise, island people are happy.” But these islanders seemed distinctly unhappy.

In a January 31 speech President Dowiyogo made an impassioned plea for help to the international community, but it was several weeks before anyone in the outside world heard the speech. Australia responded by sending two telephone technicians.

A Stark landscape

The central 90% of Nauru, the world’s smallest independent republic, has been stripped of all vegetation, leaving a barren landscape of ancient coral heads. Before the mining Nauru was a lush tropical island that made a perfect resting and nesting spot for migratory birds.

Nauru is a tiny island, even by South Pacific standards. Measuring only eight square miles, it lies 36 miles south of the Equator and 400 miles from its nearest neighbor. Yet it holds one of the most important economic and ecological lessons of our time. Since the phosphate mining neared completion in 2003, the island has been left with about a single square mile of arable land.

Resources are scare. On most islands in the region rain water is collected from rooftops into cisterns. But the barren center of Nauru now reflects sunlight and drives away or dissipates rain clouds. Petrol is used to power the islands single desalinization plant, as well as the electricity plant. All petrol must be shipped in from Australia or New Zealand. Most of the food consumed by the islanders is also shipped in, with the exception of coconuts and bananas which grow around the island’s only lagoon.

There is a tradition on Nauru that the minimum number of people required for survival is 1,500. Apparently they have no such lore about the maximum number of people possible. The population has swollen to 13,000.

Turning Guano into Gold

Centuries of migrating and nesting birds deposited a layer of guano several meters deep on the central plateau. The guano is rich in phosphate; a nutrient required for agriculture. In 1906 corporations started mining the guano and shipping it out. For the next 68 years Nauru was ruled variously by the Germany, the UK, Japan, and a consortium of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. All of these countries continued to mine and export the phosphate.

In response to an offer from Australia to re-settle the Nauruans on a different island (having destroyed most of Nauru) the Nauruans chose instead to seek independence, which they achieved in 1968. They became a member of the UN in 1999.

With independence came a time of great prosperity. For a while Nauru was the wealthiest nation in the South Pacific, boasting at one point $17,500 per capita GDP (it had dropped to $3,450 by 1999). The government subsidized basic needs such as housing and electricity and provided 95% of the jobs on the island. Health care was free.

The mining continued on the central plateau, mostly out of sight to the people who live on the coastal plane at the edge of the island. The government created a reserve trust with an eye to the day when the phosphate mining would be completed. They had planned to restore the central plateau and provide jobs and education for their citizens.

Nauru Today

Unfortunately a series of bad investment decisions and free spending has left the reserve nearly empty. Without phosphate or cash, Nauru’s government has resorted to any means they can find to generate income. Offshore banking operations provided cover for several illicit Russian companies in the ‘90’s. But the events of 9/11 caused the US government to crack down on such operations.

Even given the limited resources, the Nauruans remain a kind, open-hearted people. They greeted the refugees with flowers and songs, donated clothing and hats to them, and even took some out to lunch. Australia paid $20 million for the refugee housing which provided a temporary boost in income, but as of this writing there are only 35 male refugees left. During the riots of early 2003 the asylum-seekers had to run their refugee camps themselves, the site having been abandoned by the Nauruan officials.

In response to defaults on loans, Australia sent representatives to take over Nauru’s finances in July of 2004. It’s fair to say that the country has been repossessed.

Restore the Land or Move?

A study performed on the feasibility of restoring the interior of the island estimated the cost to be $230 million over 20 years. In 1989 the UN issued a report stating that rising seas will have a serious impact on Nauru in the 21st century. The highest point on Nauru is 61 meters, and there are portions of the island that, if restored, would be habitable when land of the coastal plane is swallowed by the rising sea.

Without the required $230 million (and possibly without 20 years) the Nauruans will be faced with a move to another island and the dissolution of their culture. It’s a harsh lesson; resources do not last forever and once they are gone, entire peoples may disappear as well.

Still, I cannot help but believe that the Nauruans will again survive. They have thrived through hundreds if not thousands of years of isolation, the introduction of diseases and guns (which resulted in tribal wars) from the West, exploitation, exportation and forced labor, exploitation, exploitation, great wealth, and again exploitation. Now they have been left to the wolves of hungry creditors. The spirit of the Nauru community must be strong to have come this far.

Tricia Schmidt

Sources:

• Jane Resture’s Nauru Page
• CIA Fact Book
• The Economist
• NPR, All Things Considered
• Lonely Planet
• Wikipedia
• BBC News
• NauruWire
• Nauru UN Mission
• Photos Courtesy: U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program