Bikenibeu is a settlement in

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

, part of the

island country An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of

South Tarawa South Tarawa ( gil, Tarawa Teinainano) is the capital and hub of the Republic of Kiribati and home to more than half of Kiribati's population. The South Tarawa population centre consists of all the small islets from Betio in the west to Bonriki ...

, which are now linked by

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

s. The low-lying atoll is vulnerable to

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

. Rapid population growth has caused some environmental problems. Kiribati's main government high school,

King George V and Elaine Bernachi School King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School (KGV/EBS) is a government senior high school of Kiribati, located in Bikenibeu, South Tarawa. it has almost 600 students. In 1993 it had a competitive admissions process as there was not enough space for ev ...

, is located in Bikenibeu, as well as the Ministries of Environment and Education.

Location

Bikenibeu is one of the three main urban centres in South Tarawa, the others being

Betio Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll. Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964. ...

and

Teaoraereke Teaoraereke (in Gilbertese, the narrow surface) is a town and settlement in South Tarawa of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which are now linked by causeways, between Bairiki a ...

. Starting in 1963, causeways began to be built between the islands of the atoll to make communications easier. The causeways connected Bairiki to Bikenibeu by 1963, and extended from Bikenibeu to Bonriki by 1964, when flights began from the new airport to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Bikenibeu island lies between the Tarawa Lagoon to the north, with a maximum depth of , and the Pacific Ocean to the south, with a depth of up to . The island has been built from sediments from the lagoon. The process of soil accumulation is driven by the dominant easterly trade winds, and can be reversed during extended periods of westerly winds during

El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an irregular periodic variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, affecting the climate of much of the tropics and subtropics. The warming phase of the sea te ...

s. Bikenibeu is an average of above sea level on the ocean side, and at the lagoon side. Tidal flats on the ocean side extend for . ACLR ( Accelerated Sea-Level Rise) is a serious concern. In a scenario where a sea level rise of occurs, 71% of Bikenibeu would be flooded by a spring high tide. With a rise of the tide would flood the entire island. As of 2000, the lagoon away from the shore was still relatively free of human contaminants. However, the causeways linking the islands of South Tarawa have contributed to increasing pollution in the lagoon. The

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s provide natural protection to the coastline, important if sea levels rise. A 2000 report noted large numbers of dead corals on the reef flats on the ocean side, apparently due to past discharges of sewerage. The causeways and

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

have also affected the reef environment. Other environmental problems caused by the growing population include over-fishing and reduction of useful plants and trees such as

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

Population

As of 1996, South Tarawa was almost continuously settled from the

Bonriki International Airport Bonriki International Airport is an international airport in Kiribati, serving as the main gateway to the country. It is located in its capital, South Tarawa, which is a group of islets in the atoll of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, precisely on ...

through Bikenibeu to Bairiki in the west. In 1996, there were 4,885 people living on Bikenibeu island, with an area of . As of 2005, the population was 6,170, living in 831 households. By 2010, the population had grown to 6,568. Migration and population pressure has caused a number of families to build homes on vacant land, becoming

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

Facilities

In 1953, the decision was made to build facilities for the medical and education departments at Bikenibeu. A permanent hospital was built at Bikenibeu in 1956. Several ministries are based in the settlement. These include the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

,About Us
" Ministry of Education (Kiribati). Retrieved on 6 July 2018. and the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development. The Ministry of Health and the nursing school are now housed in a new hospital in the neighbouring village of Nawerewere that was built in 1991 with aid from Japan. This is the country's main hospital for medicine, surgery and anaesthetics, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and psychiatry, and includes a laboratory, pharmacy and x-ray facility. The general hospital has 160 beds. There is also a dental clinic. A power plant in Bikenibeu provides a mains electrical service; the hospital at Nawerewere is supplied by the grid, and also had back-up power for essential services. After a cholera epidemic in 1977 a reticulated sewerage system was installed, using sea water as the conveyance medium. The King George V school was moved from temporary buildings at

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of ...

and established in a new building in Bikenibeu in June 1953. The Elaine Bernacchi Secondary School for girls opened 1959, named after the wife of the Resident Commissioner at the time,

Michael Bernacchi Michael Louis Bernacchi (1911–1983) was a British colonial administrator, who was the Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands from 1952 to 1961. Bernacchi also served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, and as a dis ...

. Also in the late 1950s, the

Tarawa Teachers' College Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Education in Kiribati Education in Kiribati is free and compulsory from age 6 to 14, which includes primary school through grade six, and Junior Secondary School for three additional grade levels.Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

came to Kiribati in 1954, setting up their first centre in

Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the ...

. The Baháʼí Faith was recognised as a legal religion in 1955. The Baháʼís moved to Bikenibeu in 1957, where they established a centre and housing for resident or travelling teachers. In 1967, the Kiribati Baháʼís set up an independent National Spiritual Assembly with headquarters in Bikenibeu. The

Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati The Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati begins after 1916 with a mention by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, that Baháʼís should take the religion to the Gilbert Islands which form part of modern Kiribati. The first Baháʼís pioneered to t ...

claimed 4,000 members in 1985. There is also a Catholic church dedicated to Saint Peter, and a number of smaller Catholic and Protestant churches and ''

maneaba The heart of any Kiribati community is its maneaba or meeting house. The maneaba is not just the biggest building in any village, it is the centre of village life and the basis of island and national governance. A traditional maneaba is an impos ...

''. Located on the lagoon side of the island, Otintaai is the only hotel in Bikenibeu with modern amenities. Te Umanibong, a cultural centre that features local artefacts, is open weekdays. Bikenibeu Post Office opened on 1 July 1958.

Notable people

Bikenibeu Paeniu Bikenibeu Paeniu, PC (born 10 May 1956) is a politician from Tuvalu. He represented the constituency of Nukulaelae in the Parliament of Tuvalu. He has served twice as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, and now serving as Tuvalu ambassador to Taiwan s ...

–

Prime Minister of Tuvalu The prime minister of Tuvalu is the head of government of Tuvalu. According to Tuvalu's constitution, the prime minister must always be a member of the parliament, and is elected by parliament in a secret ballot. Because there are no political ...

for two terms

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links