Wildlife of
Kiribati

Primary Threats

• Kiribati is among the world's most climate-exposed nations: sea-level rise drives shoreline erosion, inundation and saltwater intrusion into fragile freshwater lenses on atolls; marine heatwaves cause coral bleaching and reef degradation; and ocean acidification reduces coral growth. These impacts undermine natural coastal protection, fisheries productivity, and seabird nesting habitat, and increase reliance on hard coastal defenses that can further stress reef-lagoon systems.
• Pollution is concentrated on densely populated atolls (notably South Tarawa), where limited land and infrastructure lead to solid-waste accumulation, plastic leakage to lagoons and reefs, and sewage/greywater contamination that contributes to eutrophication and reef stress. Leaking septic systems and shoreline dumping can degrade nearshore habitats used for subsistence fishing and reduce water quality in enclosed lagoons.
• Nearshore and lagoon fisheries face pressure from population density and market demand (reef fish, invertebrates such as sea cucumbers), while large-scale industrial tuna fishing in the EEZ creates management and monitoring demands. Kiribati relies heavily on fisheries for food security and revenue, so balancing access, licensing, and sustainability-especially for highly migratory tuna influenced by climate-driven shifts-is a persistent challenge.
• High dependence on local natural resources can deplete key stocks and ecosystem functions on small atolls: harvest of reef fish and invertebrates, occasional overextraction of aggregate/sand for construction, and pressure on limited freshwater lenses. Depletion is amplified on urbanized atolls where alternatives are scarce and imports are expensive.
• Invasive rats, cats, ants, and some invasive plants can severely reduce seabird breeding success and alter native vegetation on small, predator-naïve islands. Invasives are a particular risk for remote bird islands and protected areas where a single introduction can rapidly collapse nesting colonies; prevention and biosecurity are logistically difficult across many scattered atolls.
• Land area is extremely limited and coastal ecosystems are easily displaced. Shoreline erosion and inundation remove beach and strand habitat used by seabirds and turtles; land reclamation and dredging for causeways/borrow pits can damage lagoon edges and seagrass/algal habitats; and settlement expansion compresses remaining natural areas, especially on South Tarawa.
• Coastal protection works, causeways, ports, and land reclamation are often necessary for safety and connectivity but can interrupt water flow in lagoons, increase sedimentation, and damage coral and seagrass habitats. Dispersed islands make environmentally sensitive design and monitoring hard to standardize and enforce.
• Seabird colonies and turtle nesting areas can be disturbed by settlement expansion, egg collecting, light pollution in inhabited areas, and frequent human presence on small islets. Recreational and small-scale tourism is limited compared with other Pacific states, but disturbance around urban centers and accessible islets can still be significant.
• To cope with erosion and flooding, communities may modify shorelines (seawalls, infilling, reef flat extraction) and alter lagoon hydrodynamics (causeways). These actions can reduce natural coastal resilience, exacerbate erosion elsewhere, and degrade reef-lagoon habitats that support fisheries.
• Urban growth is concentrated in South Tarawa, creating intense localized pressure: loss of coastal vegetation, habitat fragmentation, increased waste and wastewater loads, and higher demand for reef resources. The extreme crowding on a narrow atoll intensifies human-environment conflicts even when national population is modest.