Forest cover map

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Map source: Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, base map: ESRI

The above map is an extract from the Global Forest Cover map produced as part of FRA 2000. Please refer to FRA Working Paper 19 for a background to the production of the map.

The Republic of Kiribati is comprised of many low coral atolls and several raised limestone islands astride the equator. Kiribati includes the Gilbert Islands, Banaba and Phoenix Islands, many of which have been extensively exploited by strip-mining for phosphate. Rainfall is variable but highest in the northern (Gilbert) islands. Remnants of Tournefortia .argentea and Pisonia grandis forests form small groves on some islands, where they were once dominant. The following description of vegetation types is derived from Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg (1998).