FAO Forestry country profiles - forest management

History

Forest management and silviculture

The original inhabitants of Kiribati were Austronesians, who settled some islands at least 2 000 years ago. Settlers from Tonga and Fiji arrived around the fourteeth century, and consequently, forest and land management practices comprise elements of both Polynesian and Melanesian agroforestry techniques. During pre-European times, trees were an immensely valuable resource on the atolls of Kiribati, fulfilling a variety of cultural, economic and ecological roles. In 1892, Kiribati (then part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands) was declared a British protectorate. Around this time, copra became an important export and coconut plantations were extended to take advantage of this commercial opportunity. The island of Banaba was annexed in 1900 after the discovery of phosphate, and vegetation on the island was destroyed similarly to that of Nauru. Several other islands were also exploited for phosphate. Aside from the expansion of coconut plantations, however, traditional forest management practices throughout most of Kiribati have remained largely intact through the past century.