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The Wildlife Conservation Unit and BirdLife International successfully completed baiting operations to eradicate Pacific rats from 13 motu including Motu Upua in the Kiritimati Central Lagoon. Four of these motu were previously rat free (Drum islets) and 3 others (Nimroona islets) had been baited in 2023 but rats (and one cat) were confirmed present likely following a reduction in the water level of the lagoon. The 14-day field mission also strengthened WCUs capability for detecting rats and cats and in the use of tools and practices to eradicate them. A suppression response for cats was initiated on Big Peninsula but requires WCU personnel to have regular access to vehicles to operationalise it. Observations of seabirds confirmed Phoenix Petrel numbers remain high for the Drum and Nimroona islets, but few nesting Red-tailed Tropicbirds were observed and may be attributable to the widespread poaching of these and other seabirds. Access to vehicles enabling reinstatement of regular patrols by WCU personnel is considered critical and could be facilitated through specialist expertise and the provision of parts in making repairs to the existing fleet. Other recommendations include a regular surveillance programme for priority islets to detect and respond to rat incursions.

Field support and training was provided to Government of Kiribati staff at Kiritimati (Christmas Island) during 1-15 November 2023 as part of a Biopama project facilitated by BirdLife/SPREP. This project focused on rat eradication for biodiversity recovery, and associated outcome monitoring and capacity building. Specific objectives (and outcomes) included eradicating Kimoa (Rattus exulans) which had reinvaded Big Nimroona and SW Nimroona motu in 2017 (both motu were baited 6 days apart); confirming the status of invasives and birds on other key motu (checks of other significant motu indicated that Kimoa remain absent and rat-sensitive birds are thriving as a result); monitoring of endangered seabirds revealed that the Kiritimati population of Te Ruru continues to increase, while a large number of smaller motu provide secure nesting for Te Bwebwe ni Marawa; determining island and motu biosecurity needs (detailed biosecurity needs lists were completed and motu surveillance protocols adapted); and some additional training was completed for all.

The KIEP 2021-2036 continues our drive away from the old sector-based approaches and towards more integrated, "source-to-sea" and "island-to-island" approach to environmental management; mainstreaming all of the principles of ecological sustainability; ensuring greater equity in the sharing of environmental benefits, resurrecting, resorting and applying the ancient wisdom of traditional ecological knowledge, and seeking to build a more sustainable, circular, green-blue economy.

South Tarawa’s water resources are highly stressed due to the capital’s small land area, lack of natural water storage, competing land uses, and densely populated urban environment. Kiribati already faces significant challenges from oceanic and meteorological conditions, all to be exacerbated by climate change. Sea level rise is of particular concern. Sea water over topping will increasingly threaten the fresh water stored in the groundwater lenses, and sea level rise will also exacerbate existing seasonal conditions such as heavy rains and king tides4 that affect access to safe water

Waste management issues in Kiribati are governed under general environmental and public health legislation. There is no specific legislation for waste management. A specific law establishes a container deposit scheme (CDS), which is regarded as effective in separating out these containers from other waste streams and promoting their recovery. Some analysis of the national waste situation has been undertaken through the Draft National Solid Waste Strategy 2007, which also covered the period 2008-2011, with biennial reviews. This strategy identifies priorities for different waste streams and provides a basis for assigning tasks for this work to specific institutions.

The purpose of the national climate change and disaster risk finance assessment is to assist the Government of Kiribati to make informed decisions on measures to improve access to and management of climate change and disaster risk resources.

Waste management issues in Kiribati are governed under general environmental and public health legislation. There is no specific legislation for waste management. Another important law establishes a container deposit scheme (CDS) which is regarded as effective in separating out these containers from other waste streamers and promoting their recovery.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP) retained Golder Associates New Caledonia Sarl (Golder) to perform contemporary used oil audits in Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu to establish volumes of lubricating, hydraulic and transmissions oils imported into each country and the volume of used oil produced, and stored or otherwise disposed of. The major sources of used oil are power generation and moto vehicles. Used oil contains high levels of heavy metals and some amounts of more toxic chemicals.

The study of marine sediments provides useful information in marine, environmental and geochemical research about pollution of the marine environment (Calace et al. 2005). Urban developments and industrial activities contribute to the introduction of significant amounts of contaminants (among them trace metals) into the marine environment and affect directly the coastal systems where they are often deposited (Angelidis 1995; Dassenakis et al. 2003). The growing apprehension about the potential effects of sediment toxicity poses to marine fauna and flora and the risk posed to the environment by the contaminants accumulated by the sediments have aroused an increase in research interests in marine sediments (Vernet 1991; Calace et al. 2005).

The very productive lagoon fisheries of Tarawa atoll changed greatly in recent decades as human development and intensive harvesting increased. Tarawa typifies the increasingly common condition of resource depletion and marine community structure change with expanding human activities and population growth. Fisheries-dependent reports have documented the change in fisher landings for nearly two decades. A comparison of fisheries-independent data collected during 1992-93 with data collected in 1977 allowed for documentation of large changes in important finfish resources in Tarawa Lagoon. The historically important bonefish (Albula glossodonta), like other important fishery species, demonstrated declines in catch-per-unit effort (CPUE), proportion of catch, mean length and weight (1977: 46.4 cm, 1.31 kg; 1992-93: 37.6 cm and 0.84 kg), and sex ratio (1977: 0.71:1 [F:M]; 1992-93: 0.15:1). Beach seine sampling of bait fishes demonstrated a major shift in species composition between 1977 and 1992- 93, with severe depletion of some preferred species. These results suggest declining abundance in locally important fish species and large changes in species composition within Tarawa Lagoon.