The National Bank of Tuvalu (NBT) is the sole provider in
Tuvalu of banking services involving taking deposits, making loans and engaging in foreign exchange transactions. In 2020, its assets were AUD$128 million, or 160% of the
GDP of Tuvalu.
Her career in national politics began when she won the
August 2011 by-election for the constituency of
Nui, and thus entered
Parliament. The by-election had been caused by the death of her husband, the incumbent
MP and Minister for Works
Isaia Italeli. Pelenike Isaia stated she would aim to continue his work, and she was the candidate endorsed by
Prime MinisterWilly Telavi's government. Italeli's death had deprived the Telavi government of its one-seat majority in Parliament, and when Pelenike Isaia won the by-election, defeating the only other candidate (
Leneuoti Maatusi) by a sixty-two vote majority, her victory secured parliamentary support for Telavi. She was appointed Minister for Home Affairs. (Full article...)
Women in Tuvalu continue to maintain a traditional
Polynesian culture within a predominantly Christian society. Tuvaluan cultural identity is sustained through an individual's connection to their home island. In the traditional community system in
Tuvalu, each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community. The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children. The women of Tuvalu participate in the traditional
music of Tuvalu and in the creation of the
art of Tuvalu including using
cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts. There are opportunities of further education and paid employment with non-government organisations (NGOs) and government enterprises, education and health agencies being the primary opportunities for Tuvaluan women.
The number of women holding positions of Assistant Secretaries in government departments has increased from 20% in 2012 to nearly 50% in 2014. Also at the nine Island Kaupule (Local Councils) the representation of women has increased from 1 in 2012 to 3 in 2014. (Full article...)
The literature review by Miller (2006) found four additional cetaceans reported: orca or
killer whale (Orcinus orca),
spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris),
bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and
sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is found in the lists of both Miller and the IUCN. (Full article...)
Image 8
Location of Tuvalu
Tuvalu, previously known as the
Ellice Islands, is an
island country in
Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of six
atolls and three reef islands (islands made of rocks from
coral skeletons), with a total land area of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Its climate is hot and humid, with annual rainfall varying from 2,500–3,500 mm (98–138 in). The soil is very weakly
developed, consisting mostly of
coral sand and
calcium carbonate-rich
regosols. Vegetation on the islands predominantly consists of
coconuts,
screw palms, Casuarina,
creepers, and grass, although some native forest exists. Previously, the islands were likely covered with Pisonia woodland.
Tuvalu consists of nine separate islands: six
atolls and three
reef islands. An atoll typically consists of several
motus: Tuvalu has a total of 124 islands and islets. Each island is surrounded by a
coral reef. The soils of Tuvalu's islands are usually shallow, porous, alkaline, coarse-textured, with carbonate mineralogy and high
pH values of up to 8.2 to 8.9. The soils are usually deficient in most of the important nutrients needed for plant growth, so garden beds need to be enhanced with
mulch to increase their fertility. Tuvalu's small, widely scattered atolls have a total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) making Tuvalu the
fourth-smallest country in the world.
The sea level at the Funafuti tide gauge has been rising at a rate of 3.9 mm per year, and it has been determined that
rising sea levels are causing more wave energy to be transferred across reef surfaces, which has tended to push more sand onto island shorelines, increasing islands’ land area. Over a recent four-decade period, there was a net increase in the land area of the islets of 2.9% (73.5 ha), although the changes were not uniform: About 74% of them increased in size and about 27% decreased in size. (Full article...)
Image 10
Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific, located North of Fiji and North West of Samoa. The population at the 2012 census was 10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report). Tuvalu has a
written constitution which includes a statement of rights influenced by the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
European Convention on Human Rights. While most
human rights in Tuvalu are respected, areas of concern include
women’s rights and
freedom of belief, as well as diminishing access to human rights in the face of
global warming. The latter has played a major role in the implementation of human rights actions in Tuvalu given its geographical vulnerability and scarce resources. (Full article...)
Maatia ToafaOBE (born 1 May 1954) is a
Tuvaluan politician, representing
Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as
Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister, and foreign minister, from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor,
Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his
Cabinet in the
2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister.
A paopao (from the
Samoan language, meaning a small fishing canoe made from a single log), is the name used by the
Polynesian-speaking inhabitants of the Ellice Islands (now
Tuvalu) for their single-
outrigger canoes, of which the largest could carry four to six adults. The large
double-hulled sailing canoes (lualua and foulua) had ceased to be constructed in the Ellice Islands some time before contact with Europeans.
Donald Gilbert Kennedy, the resident District Officer in the administration of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1932 to 1938, described the construction of paopao and of the variations of single-outrigger canoes that had been developed on
Vaitupu and
Nanumea.
Gerd Koch, an anthropologist, visited the atolls of
Nanumaga,
Nukufetau and
Niutao, in 1960–61, and published a book on the material culture of the Ellice Islands, which also described the canoes of those islands. (Full article...)
Image 51st Lt.
Louis Zamperini, peers through a hole in his B-24D Liberator 'Super Man' made by a 20mm shell over Nauru, 20 April 1943. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 24A portrait of a woman on
Funafuti in 1894 by Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 25Interior of a maneapa on Funafuti, Tuvalu. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 26Polynesia is the largest of three major cultural areas in the Pacific Ocean. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian triangle. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 29The atoll of Funafuti; borings into a coral reef and the results, being the report of the Coral Reef Committee of the Royal Society (1904). (from History of Tuvalu)
The National Bank of Tuvalu (NBT) is the sole provider in
Tuvalu of banking services involving taking deposits, making loans and engaging in foreign exchange transactions. In 2020, its assets were AUD$128 million, or 160% of the
GDP of Tuvalu.
Her career in national politics began when she won the
August 2011 by-election for the constituency of
Nui, and thus entered
Parliament. The by-election had been caused by the death of her husband, the incumbent
MP and Minister for Works
Isaia Italeli. Pelenike Isaia stated she would aim to continue his work, and she was the candidate endorsed by
Prime MinisterWilly Telavi's government. Italeli's death had deprived the Telavi government of its one-seat majority in Parliament, and when Pelenike Isaia won the by-election, defeating the only other candidate (
Leneuoti Maatusi) by a sixty-two vote majority, her victory secured parliamentary support for Telavi. She was appointed Minister for Home Affairs. (Full article...)
Women in Tuvalu continue to maintain a traditional
Polynesian culture within a predominantly Christian society. Tuvaluan cultural identity is sustained through an individual's connection to their home island. In the traditional community system in
Tuvalu, each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community. The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children. The women of Tuvalu participate in the traditional
music of Tuvalu and in the creation of the
art of Tuvalu including using
cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts. There are opportunities of further education and paid employment with non-government organisations (NGOs) and government enterprises, education and health agencies being the primary opportunities for Tuvaluan women.
The number of women holding positions of Assistant Secretaries in government departments has increased from 20% in 2012 to nearly 50% in 2014. Also at the nine Island Kaupule (Local Councils) the representation of women has increased from 1 in 2012 to 3 in 2014. (Full article...)
The literature review by Miller (2006) found four additional cetaceans reported: orca or
killer whale (Orcinus orca),
spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris),
bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and
sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). The pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is found in the lists of both Miller and the IUCN. (Full article...)
Image 8
Location of Tuvalu
Tuvalu, previously known as the
Ellice Islands, is an
island country in
Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of six
atolls and three reef islands (islands made of rocks from
coral skeletons), with a total land area of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Its climate is hot and humid, with annual rainfall varying from 2,500–3,500 mm (98–138 in). The soil is very weakly
developed, consisting mostly of
coral sand and
calcium carbonate-rich
regosols. Vegetation on the islands predominantly consists of
coconuts,
screw palms, Casuarina,
creepers, and grass, although some native forest exists. Previously, the islands were likely covered with Pisonia woodland.
Tuvalu consists of nine separate islands: six
atolls and three
reef islands. An atoll typically consists of several
motus: Tuvalu has a total of 124 islands and islets. Each island is surrounded by a
coral reef. The soils of Tuvalu's islands are usually shallow, porous, alkaline, coarse-textured, with carbonate mineralogy and high
pH values of up to 8.2 to 8.9. The soils are usually deficient in most of the important nutrients needed for plant growth, so garden beds need to be enhanced with
mulch to increase their fertility. Tuvalu's small, widely scattered atolls have a total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) making Tuvalu the
fourth-smallest country in the world.
The sea level at the Funafuti tide gauge has been rising at a rate of 3.9 mm per year, and it has been determined that
rising sea levels are causing more wave energy to be transferred across reef surfaces, which has tended to push more sand onto island shorelines, increasing islands’ land area. Over a recent four-decade period, there was a net increase in the land area of the islets of 2.9% (73.5 ha), although the changes were not uniform: About 74% of them increased in size and about 27% decreased in size. (Full article...)
Image 10
Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific, located North of Fiji and North West of Samoa. The population at the 2012 census was 10,837 (2012 Population & Housing Census Preliminary Analytical Report). Tuvalu has a
written constitution which includes a statement of rights influenced by the
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
European Convention on Human Rights. While most
human rights in Tuvalu are respected, areas of concern include
women’s rights and
freedom of belief, as well as diminishing access to human rights in the face of
global warming. The latter has played a major role in the implementation of human rights actions in Tuvalu given its geographical vulnerability and scarce resources. (Full article...)
Maatia ToafaOBE (born 1 May 1954) is a
Tuvaluan politician, representing
Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as
Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister, and foreign minister, from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor,
Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his
Cabinet in the
2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister.
A paopao (from the
Samoan language, meaning a small fishing canoe made from a single log), is the name used by the
Polynesian-speaking inhabitants of the Ellice Islands (now
Tuvalu) for their single-
outrigger canoes, of which the largest could carry four to six adults. The large
double-hulled sailing canoes (lualua and foulua) had ceased to be constructed in the Ellice Islands some time before contact with Europeans.
Donald Gilbert Kennedy, the resident District Officer in the administration of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1932 to 1938, described the construction of paopao and of the variations of single-outrigger canoes that had been developed on
Vaitupu and
Nanumea.
Gerd Koch, an anthropologist, visited the atolls of
Nanumaga,
Nukufetau and
Niutao, in 1960–61, and published a book on the material culture of the Ellice Islands, which also described the canoes of those islands. (Full article...)
Image 51st Lt.
Louis Zamperini, peers through a hole in his B-24D Liberator 'Super Man' made by a 20mm shell over Nauru, 20 April 1943. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 24A portrait of a woman on
Funafuti in 1894 by Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 25Interior of a maneapa on Funafuti, Tuvalu. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 26Polynesia is the largest of three major cultural areas in the Pacific Ocean. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian triangle. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 29The atoll of Funafuti; borings into a coral reef and the results, being the report of the Coral Reef Committee of the Royal Society (1904). (from History of Tuvalu)