News – June 19, 2008
The Pacific Island News Agency Service reports that the European Union (EU) will provide Euros 2.2 million (US$3.38 million) to support sustainable dredging in Kiribati.
A Contribution Agreement for the Tarawa Aggregate Mining Project was signed by Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) Director Cristelle Pratt, Kiribati’s Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Taberanang Timeon and Finance Secretary Teea Tiira recently.
The project would address the increasing demand of for sand and gravel on South Tarawa, and at the same time would also try to address the problem of coastal erosion that is now becoming a major environmental issue in the capital and the rest of the islands in Kiribati.
A Project Coordinating Committee would be set up with government and SOPAC representatives to act as the management body.
A survey by SOPAC found that households in Tarawa plus small companies and government ministries have removed 70,000 tonnes of sand and gravel from South Tarawa’s fragile coastal line.