GEOSCIENCE DIVISION
Map Cook Islands Federated Sates of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Nauru Niue Papua New Guinea Republic of Marshall Islands Republic of Palau Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu
Country
Population
Land Area
Climate
Water resource
Water consumption
Country Cook Islands Cook Islands
Population 21,750 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 236.7 km2
Climate
Water resource
Water consumption
Country Federated Sates of Micronesia Federated Sates of Micronesia
Population 107,862 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 702 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 4,928 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Fiji Fiji
Population 918 675 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 18,270 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2000 - 3000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Kiribati Kiribati
Population 107,817 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 811 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: South of the equator: 1,300 mm Tarawa: 2,000 mm Northernmost islands: over 3,200mm Eastern Line Islands: less than 1,000 mm
Water consumption
Country Nauru Nauru
Population 11,528 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 21 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2,090 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Niue Niue
Population 1,625m(GoN statistics 2006)
Land Area 260 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2,180 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea
Population 5,795,887 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 462,840 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall:1000-80000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Republic of Marshall Islands Republic of Marshall Islands
Population 20,842
Land Area 458 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3,700 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Republic of Palau Republic of Palau
Population 61,815(July 2007 est.)
Land Area 11,854.3 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: Southern attols: 4,000mm Northern attols:2,000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Samoa Samoa
Population 214,265
Land Area 2,944 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3,000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Solomon Islands Solomon Islands
Population 566,842
Land Area 28,450 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall:1500-5000 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Tonga Tonga
Population 116,921
Land Area 748 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: Varies from north and south of tonga with an estimated average of 2500 mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Tuvalu Tuvalu
Population 11.992 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 26 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 3000mm per annum
Water consumption
Country Vanuatu Vanuatu
Population 211,971 (July 2007 est.)
Land Area 12,200 km2
Climate
Water resource Avg Rainfall: 2000 - 4000 mm per annum
Water consumption
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Focusing attention on Pacific challenges in achieving safe water and sanitation for all on World Water Day 24 March, 2017

22 March 2017

Suva, Fiji – Today the Pacific marks World Water Day, a day designated to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of fresh water resources to sustainable development.

However today, like every other day of the calendar, more than a million Pacific Islanders will wake to the task of collecting drinking water from a polluted stream or well, and to the challenge of finding a safe and private place in the bush or on the beach to go to the toilet.

According to the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Director-General, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, this is not just an issue of hardship and inconvenience. Lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation poses a serious health risk - particularly to children - and a fundamental development constraint for Pacific nations.

“Access to potable water and safe sanitation is a basic human right that many people take for granted,” Dr Tukuitonga said. “However, it is a right currently denied to almost two thirds of Pacific Islanders, notably in the rural areas of Melanesia, in informal settlements surviving on the fringes of the region’s growing urban areas, and on the hundreds of small atolls scattered across the Pacific.”

Dr Tukuitonga noted that all of SPC’s island members have made progress towards improving access water and sanitation. “However, in too many cases these efforts are not keeping up with population growth and urbanising populations, let alone the emerging impacts of climate change,” he said.

“Increased collaboration is needed by countries, partners and local communities in order to support the tremendous effort required to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation by 2030.”

The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “Why waste water?” and focuses on ways to reduce the wastage of water and the impact of wastewater on our environment.

Speaking at Tuvalu’s World Water Day celebrations, SPC Water Security Project Manager, Uatea Salesa, acknowledged the role that appropriate technologies, such as composting toilets, can play in conserving scarce drinking water supplies and reducing the impact of wastewater on lagoon environments.

“In many cases, locally-tested solutions already exist, such as sustainable sanitation options, sound groundwater management, and effective rainwater harvesting,” Mr Salesa said. “Local communities are keen to replicate and upscale these solutions, and with the right support of the region’s development partners, there’s no reason why safe and sustainable water and sanitation can’t be a reality for all Pacific Islanders.”

More information on World Water Day can be found here: www.unwater.org/worldwaterday.