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...)
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Taukelina Finikaso (born 10 January 1959) is a political figure from the
Pacific nation of
Tuvalu. At the
2006 general election, he was elected MP for his home constituency of
Vaitupu. He was educated in Kiribati and Fiji before acquiring a Law Degree at the University of Tasmania and a master's degree in International Law from Sydney University. Finikaso was admitted on 16 October 1987 to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Prior to entering into politics, Finikaso worked as a lawyer and then as a Permanent Secretary under the different ministries of the Government. Finikaso has been a Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Vaitupu from 2006 to 2019. He was not re-elected in the
2019 general election. (Full article...)
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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...)
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Men carve a canoe on
Nanumea Atoll in
Tuvalu. 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...)
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Satellite picture
Niulakita is the southernmost island of
Tuvalu, and also the name of the only village on this island. Niulakita has a population of 34 (2017 Census). The residents of Niulakita have moved to the island from
Niutao. Niulakita is represented in the
Parliament of Tuvalu by the members of the constituency of
Niutao. (Full article...)
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Funafuti is the capital of the
island nation of
Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census). More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 60% of the nation's population. It consists of a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres (66 and 1,312 feet) wide, encircling a large lagoon (Te Namo) 18 km (11 miles) long and 14 km (9 miles) wide. The average depth of the Funafuti lagoon is about 20 fathoms (36.5 meters or 120 feet). With a surface area of 275 square kilometres (106.2 sq mi), it is by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets around the atoll of Funafuti totals 2.4 square kilometres (0.9 sq mi); taken together, they constitute less than one percent of the total area of the atoll. Cargo ships can enter Funafuti's lagoon and dock at the port facilities on
Fongafale.
The capital of Tuvalu is sometimes said to be
Fongafale or
Vaiaku, but, officially, the entire atoll of Funafuti is its capital, since it has a single government that is responsible for the whole atoll. (Full article...)
The Law of Tuvalu comprises the legislation voted into law by the
Parliament of Tuvalu and statutory instruments that become law; certain Acts passed by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom (during the time Tuvalu was either a British protectorate or British colony); the
common law; and
customary law (particularly in relation to the ownership of land). The land tenure system is largely based on kaitasi (extended family ownership). (Full article...)
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The Tuvalu Trust Fund is an international
sovereign wealth fund established to benefit
Tuvalu, a small, central Pacific island nation, by providing income to cover shortfalls in the national budget, underpin economic development, and help the nation achieve greater financial autonomy. The Tuvalu Trust Fund was established in 1987 by the
United Kingdom,
Australia and
New Zealand.
The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2014 Country Report noted the market value of the Tuvalu Trust Fund dropped during the
global financial crisis; however, the IMF 2016 Country Report estimates the total value of the fund had recovered to be
AUD$131 million in 2012. The policy of the Tuvuluan government has been to grow the maintained value of the Consolidated Investment Fund (CIF), from which the government can draw funds for government expenditure; during 2016-2020 the government was able to save an average of 6.6% of GDP into the CIF. (Full article...)
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Tuvaluan woman performing a traditional dance at Auckland's
Pasifika Festival in 2011. 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...)
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Location of Fongafale island in the
Funafuti atoll
Fongafale (also spelled Fogale or Fagafale) is the largest of
Funafuti's islets in
Tuvalu. It is a long narrow sliver of land, 12 kilometres long and between 10 and 400 metres wide, with the South
Pacific Ocean and reef on the east and the protected lagoon on the west. The north part is the
Tengako peninsula, and
Funafuti International Airport runs from northeast to southwest on the widest part of the island, with the village and administrative centre of
Vaiaku on the lagoon side.
On Fongafale, the Funafuti Kaupule is responsible for approval of the construction of houses or extensions to existing buildings on private land, and the Lands Management Committee is the responsible authority in relation to lands leased by government. (Full article...)
Tuvaluannationality law is regulated by the
1986 Constitution of Tuvalu, as amended; the 1979 Citizenship Ordinance, and its revisions; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Tuvalu. Tuvaluan
nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of
jus soli, i.e. by birth in Tuvalu or under the rules of
jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Tuvaluan nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with
citizenship, for rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the
United Kingdom, and thus the Commonwealth, have traditionally used the words interchangeably. (Full article...)
Image 2Polynesia 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 8Martin Kleis (1850–1908) with Kotalo Kleis and their son Hans Martin Kleis. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 9The 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)
Image 10A portrait of a woman on
Funafuti in 1894 by Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 221st 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)