ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 333 KIRIBATI AGROFORESTRY: TREES, PEOPLE AND THE ATOLL ENVIRONMENT BY R R THAMAN ISSUED BY NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. January 1990 KIRIBATI AGROFORESTRY: TREES, PEOPLE AND THE ATOLL ENVIRONMENT BY R R THAMAN INTRODUCTION Agroforestry, the planting and protection of trees and tree-like plants as integral components of a polycultural agricultural system, has always been central to the economic, cultural and ecological stability of the Kiribati society. This paper focuses on Kiribati agroforestry, and on the role trees play as: 1) integral components of polycultural agricultural systems; 2) symbols of stability and cultural wellbeing; 3) sources of a diverse range of subsistence and commercial products, the imported substitutes for which would be either too expensive or unavailable to most people; and 4) ecologically important components of agricultural systems which, if lost, would lead to irreversible environmental degradation and resultant cultural deterioration. Two islands of Kiribati, Tarawa and Abemama serve as case studies of Kiribati village- level agroforestry. The findings are based on a ten-day reconnaissance survey of agroforestry on Tarawa and Abemama in 1984, a subsequent visit in early 1989, and a survey of the available literature. TREES AS SYMBOLS OF ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL STABILITY Although symbols of ecological and cultural stability, forests and trees are rapidly disappearing from the earthscape. As argued by Thaman and Clarke (1987), the replacement of long-lived trees in diversified mixed stands by shorter-lived trees and other types of plants in monocultural stands or by totally artificial landscapes, although yielding undeniable short-term benefits to mankind, severely deteriorates human habitats on the earth. DEFORESTATION IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS Although economically and ecologically precious tropical forests remain on some of the larger Pacific islands, and small areas of mangrove and ubiquitous strand forest have been preserved on others, deforestation in the Pacific is proceeding at a frightening rate. Forests, both primary and secondary, continue to be transformed into degraded savannas and fern-grasslands, mangroves into housing and industrial estates or other lifeless land-sea interfaces, polycultural tree-studded traditional agroforested gardens into monocultural plantations, and urban areas divested of their remaining trees to make way for industrial, commercial, and residential areas or to fuel the cooking fires or erect the squatter housing of low-income families. The trends are the same from the high continental islands of Melanesia to the smallest atoll islets of Polynesia and Micronesia (Thaman and Clarke, 1987). Deforestation has led to severe erosion in Wallis and Futuna, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Hawaii where most of the indigenous forest has been removed, leaving degraded fernlands and grasslands no longer suitable for agriculture (Kirch, 1982:4). Flenley and King (1984) go as far as suggesting that deforestation was responsible for the collapse of the pre-European megalithic culture on Easter Island, '. Reader in Geography, School of Social and Economic Development, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. a view supported by McCoy (1976 in Kirch, 1982:4), who argues that the "radical reduction of forest, shrub, and grassland communities, following over-exploitation and misuse by man", was responsible for a change from open-field cultivation to protected stone garden enclosures (manavai). Similarly, drastic deforestation of the central plateau on the Hawaiian island of Kaho'olawe, due to shifting cultivation and increasing population pressure between AD 1375 and 1600, reportedly led to a "dramatic population crash" and the total abandonment of the interior of the island by 1700 (Hammon, 1980; Kirch, 1982:4). Although, today, some countries and territories have conservation legislation and forestry ordinances, trees are cleared and forest products continue to be shipped off for a fraction of the world market price, while Japan, South Korea, China, and other countries continue to protect their forest resources and to implement major reforestation efforts (Richardson, 1981). The situation is perhaps more critical in Kiribati, where land area is severly limited and useful trees have been removed in historical times to make way for the expansion of coconut plantations for the production of copra for export. The widespread removal of coastal strand species and mangroves for fuelwood and other cultural purposes continues in many areas, and "agrodeforestation" (Thaman, 1989ab), the removal, neglect, or the failure to replant trees as integral parts of the Kiribati agricultural system, continues unabated, almost completely unheeded by policy makers in the agricultural and forestry sectors. As Chambers (1983) argues, trees and tree planting as traditional components of agricultural systems have been ignored in institutionalised rural development because they "fall into the gaps" between the traditional sectoral responsibilities of "agriculture" and "forestry". AGRODEFORESTATION AS AN ISSUE Although deforestation, as such, has received most attention globally, probably of tantamount importance is "agrodeforestation" in the forms of both declining tree planting and the elimination of trees from agricultural and urban landscapes. Trees that have, for generations, provided food, timber, firewood, medicines and served other important cultural and ecological functions, as integral components of polycultural agricultural systems, are increasingly not being replaced or protected by the present generation. Although some countries have increasingly effective systems of forestry reserves, conservation areas, or national parks, few, if any, have legislation or programmes prohibiting the cutting, or promoting the replanting of important or endangered tree species as part of agricultural or other modern-sector development. Thus, agrodeforestation continues, with little or no official rccognition or resistance to it. The situation is not yet beyond hope as it appears to be in some areas of the world because most traditional agroforestry strategies of the Pacific Islands have been preserved, if only in relict form. Nonetheless, increasing agrodeforestation and the gradual disappearance of time-tested agroforestry systems in the face of monocultural expansion of agriculture and commercial livestock production, rapid population growth, demands for fuel, continued urbanization, arid the "commercial imperative" (Tudge, 1977) are the dominant trends that will only be reversed by deliberate planning and action (Thaman and Clarke, 1987). NATURE OF TRADITIONAL AGROFORESTRY IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS In traditional Pacific Island "development", forestry, agriculture, housing, medicine, and the production of a wide range of material goods were not compartmentalized into "sectors"; rather they were generally part of integrated agroforestry systems or strategies tailored to the environmental and societal needs of each island ecosystem. Trees, of course, were major components of such sustainable agroforestry systems (Thaman and Clarke, 1987). In terms of composition and spatial organisation, all traditional agroforestry systems, from the highlands of Papua New Guinea to the smallest atoll countries, exhibited a high degree of interspecies diversity, incorporating a wide range of cultivated and protected indigenous and exotic species, ranging from some 75 species commonly encountered on atolls, such as in Kiribati which have among the poorest floras on earth, to over 300 widespread species species in the larger-island agroforestry systems of Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. Species include not only traditional staple tree crops such as coconuts, breadfruit, and bananas or plantains intercropped with ground staples and supplementary ground crops, but also a wide range of fruit and nut trees and other useful trees and plants which are either deliberately planted, encouraged and protected in the regeneration of fallow regrowth, or spared when clearing new garden plots. Moreover, for most traditional tree cultigens and non-tree understory cultigens, for many recently-introduced cultigens, and for a lesser number of indigenous species found in Pacific island agroforestry systems, there is also a high degree of intraspecies diversity, with a wide range of named, locally differentiable cultivars or varieties. Within a given species, these cultivars have variable yield characteristics and seasonality, thus spreading yield distribution and seasonal surpiuses more evenly. Similarly, as has been found true in other parts of the world, different cultivars have differential resistence to pests and diseases and to tropical cyclone damage, saltwater incursion and salt spray and drought; differential ecological tolerance ranges in terms of adaptability to different soil types, shade and hydrological regimes; and differential utility (for example, in Kiribati some coconut cultivars are used purely as drinking nuts, some for the flesh, and some for the large shells or the coir which can be used for vessels or for rope respectively). Also seen as integral components of the broader village agroforestry systems are: 1) secondary or fallow forest areas, indigenous stands of tropical rainforest, and mangrove or coastal strand forest which border or fall within the matrix of active garden or fallow areas; 2) permanent, often sacred, tree groves of primarily planted useful trees in garden areas or surrounding villages; and 3) trecs plantcd in home gardens in nucleated villages or around isolated dwellings. Together these diverse arboreal resources present an image of agroforestry far differcnt and far more polycultural and utilitarian than the predomin:mt view of "modern" agroforesters which commonly sees "agroforestry" as constituting the intercropping of export cash crops such as cocoa, coconuts, coffee or bananas with selected ground or shade crops; cattle under coconuts; the promotion of fuelwood plantations or wood lots; or the intercropping of exotic forest species with export or subsistence ground crops, with virtually no mention of the hundreds of other useful plants and wild animals that arc integral to the traditional systems that they often irreversibly replace. In terms of the more specific utilitarian attributes of individual Pacific agroforestry systems, Table 1 is an attempt to show the multi-functional nature of these systems as well as the value of the individual arboreal components. Although modern agroforesters and horticulturalists may see native forests; silvicultural tree plantings; coconut, oil palm, cocoa, coffee, or banana plantations; or orange, avocado or macadamia orchards in tcrms of their economic value, or, possibly, cven in terms of their ecological, recreational, or nutritional values, it is clear the Pacific island agrof oresters perceived arboreal resources to be far more mu1 ti-purposef ul. In terms of the ecological value of trecs, shade, for example, is critically important to humans, plants, and animals, especially in open savanna lands, in highly reflective low-lying coral island and lagoonal environments, and in villages and urban areas; damage from wind, erosion, and flood are increased when forests are removed; and mangrove and coastal strand forests stabilize tidal-zone soils and reduce the impact of storm surge and ocean salt spray. Soil improvement is another area where trees are of critical importance, especially given the high cost of fossil-fuel-dependcnt inorganic fertilizers and recent concern as to the detrimental impact on soil of long-term use of such fertilizers. In the case of Kiribati, with among the poorest soils on earth, in terms of both available soil nutrients and organic material, this function takes on much greater importance. The value of forests and trees as habitats for plants and animals, many of which are of considerable subsistence and commercial value, cannot be overstated (Thaman and Clarke, 1987). There is no need to examine the importance of timber, except to emphasize that trees are of critical importance in the informal sector in most countries for house construction, fencing, boatbuilding, toolmaking, weaponry, making containers, fishing gear, cooking equipment, and handicrafts (Table 1). Foods from trees are of immense value, whether as staples, supplementary sources, or occasional snacks and famine foods. The nutritional importance of dominant staple tree crops, such as coconut, breadfruit, bananas and plantains, sago palm, and Pandanus spp. and the wide range of fruit and nut trees found throughout the Pacific have been widely stressed elsewhere and need no further mention (Parkinson, 1982; Coyne, 1984; Thaman, 1979, 1982ab, 1983, 1985, Yen, 1980ab). Supplementary foods and snacks are described by Thaman (1976, 1976/77, 1982ab) for Tonga and Fiji and other Pacific Islands and by Clarke (1965, 1977) for a highland Papua New Guinean community. Powell (1976) provides a comprehensive coverage of wild-food use and other important aspects of ethnobotany for the entire island of New Guinea. Table 1. Ecological and cultural functions and uses of trees in agroforestry systems in the Pacific islands, based on fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Western Samoa, Kiribati, and Nauru. ECOLOGICAL Shade Soil Improvement Animal/Plant Habitats Erosion Control Frost Protection Flood/Runoff Control Wind Protection Wild Animal Food WeedIDisease Control Timber(commercia1) Broom Prop or Nurse Plants Timber(subsistence) Parcelisation/Wrapping Staple foods Fuelwood Abrasive Supplcmentary Foods Boatbuilding(canoes) Illumination/Torches Wild/Snack/Emergency Sails Insulation Foods Tools Decoration Spices/Sauces Weapons/Hunting Body Ornamention Teas/Cof f ee Containers Cordage/Lashing Non-alcoholicBeverages Woodcarving Glues/Adhesives Alcoholic Beverages Handicrafts Caulking Stimulants Fishing Equipment Fibre/Fabric Narcotics Floats Dyes Masticants Toys Plaited Ware Meat Tenderizer Switch for Children/ Hats Preservatives Discipline Mats Medicines Brush/Paint Brush Baskets Aphrodisiacs Musical Instruments Commercial/Export Fertility Control Cages/Roosts Products Abortif icants Tannin Ritual Exchange Scents/Perf umes Rubber Poisons Recreation Oils Insect Repellents Magico-religious Toothbrush Deodorants Totems Toilet Paper Embalming Corpses Subjects of Mythology Fire Making Dancing Grounds Secret Meeting Sites Source: Adapted from Thaman and Clarke, 1987. It is important to stress, however, that although many tree foods are energy-rich in carbohydrates and/or vegetable fats, it is in other nutritional essentials such as vitamins and minerals and fibre that they often excel in comparison with the ubiquitous root-crop staples and other annual non-arboreal plants. For example mango, papaya, and some Pandanus spp. are excellent sources of provitamin A; Canarium spp., Inocar~usf aaifer, and avocado (Persea americana) of B-complex vitamins; guava, mango, papaya, and Citrus spp. and other lesser known species, such as beach mulberry (Morinda citrifolia) and bush hibiscus spinach (Hibiscus manihot), of vitamin C and/or iron; and most seeds or green leaves (for instance, from Ficus spp., Gnetum anemon, which also provides edible seeds, and Morinna oleifera) are good sources of plant protein and a range of other micronutrients necessary for optimum health (Thaman and Clarke, 1987; Thaman, 1983). Spices and sauces from tree products can also be of great nutritional importance. Wild food and other valuable products are also lost to subsistence communities when the diversity of plants and animals that supplied them disappear along with the forest that served as their habitats (Clarke, 1965; 1977; Thaman 1982a). Deforestation has severely restricted the habitats for wallabies and the valued cassowary bird of Papua New Guinea, and a great number of vertebrate and non-vertebrate wild animal foods and an even greater range of wild plant foods that contribute significantly to the dietary well-being of many Pacific islanders, particularly in the interior of large continental islands. The destruction of mangrove forests is of particular concern for coastal and atoll communities because of their importance in marine and estuarine food chains as well as being favoured habitats or nurseries for a wide range of fin-fish, molluscs, and crustaceans (Thaman, 1982a). The removal of trees such as Pisonia grandis, the favored nesting or rookery species of the black noddy tern (Anous tenuirostris), a delicacy reserved for important feasts in Kiribati and Nauru, also impoverishes traditional food systems. Trees are also important sources of food and fodder for domesticated animals. Pisonia grandis leaves for example, are used as pig feed; Leucaena leucoce~halal eaves and pods are used widely for goats, pigs, and cattle; and coconuts and papaya are abundant and important animal foods throughout the Pacific. In terms of other uses, the arboreal pharmacopoeia is widely known and valued by modern science and industry as well as by local inhabitants, with all parts of the Pacific possessing medicine-producing trees and associated plants. Wrapping materials includes coconut leaves, leaves of Artocar~usa ltilis. Musa cultivars, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Macaranaq spp. Other leaves, notably Ficus spp., serve as effective abrasives. Dyes u., are derived from many sources, Bischofia iavanicq (a major red-brown dye for tapa), Bruauiera spp. and Aleurites moluccana (black), Morinda citrifolia (yellow), and Bixa orellana (red)(Thaman and Clarke, 1987). Perfumes or scents such as sandalwood are well known outside of the Pacific, while less cosmopolitan fragrances are derived from Cananna odorata and other scenting agents that are put into coconut oil from trees such as Pimenta, Plumeria, Pandanus and Gardenia spp., Parinari glaberrima, Aalaia saltatorum, Fagraea berteriana, and Calowhvllum inowhvllum (Thaman and Clarke, 1987). In Tonga, for example, there are over 50 species of sacred or fragrant plants, known as 'akau kakala, which are central to the spiritual and economic fabric of Tongan society and which are planted or protected as integral components of Tongan agroforestry (Thaman, 1986, 1987a). Plants have similar spiritual value in Kiribati, with many featuring in Kiribati legends and cosmogeny and being used for scenting coconut oil and ceremonial body ornamentation (See Table 2). These few examples from Table 1, show the utilitarian diversity and the economic and cultural value derived from trees and agroforestry in the Pacific, values that are rarely acknowledged in planning or project documents, but that would be extremely difficult or impossible to replace with imported substitutes. The elimination of such utilitarian and cultural diversity can only serve to lock Pacific societies more tightly into the vicious circle of economic and cultural dependency. KIRIBATI AGROFORESTRY The non-urban Pacific island agroforestry systems that operate under the most severe environmental constraints and population pressure are found on atolls. Atolls may, in fact, be the most intensively agroforested island type in the Pacific in terms of the relative importance of trees to non-trees within the system. An excellent example of atoll-agroforestry is that practiced in Kiribati, where a wide range of cultivated and protected wild trees and a more limited number of non- tree plants and livestock are raised within a relatively dense and homogeneous matrix of coconut palms. Population pressure is high especially on the main island of Tarawa, where 17,921 people inhabit an area of only 920 ha, with the population density of the most populated islet, Betio, expected to reach densities rivaling Singapore by the year 1990 (Carter, 1984:231). Population densities on Abemama and other outer islands are significantly lower. The only agricultural export from Kiribati is copra, of which 5,682 tonnes valued at $A3,074,536 were exported in 1979 (Pargeter d.,1 984). Environmentally, the atolls and table-reef islands of Kiribati are rarely more than 3 metres in elevation above high-tide level, with the true atolls surrounding large central lagoons. Their highly alkaline calcareous and rocky soils are among the most infertile on earth, with very low water-holding capacity, little organic material, few available soil macro- and micro-nutrients, apart from calcium, sodium, and magnesium, and restricted availability of iron and other micro-nutrients because of the high pH. Rainfall is extremely variable, with extended periods of drought being common. Ground water is brackish to slightly salty and subject to saltwater incursion. The islands, where one is never more than 0.5 kilometres from the sea, are susceptible to inundation by storm surge and tsunamis (seismic sea waves) and the constant effect of humid salt-spray-laden winds. As stressed by Small (1972:5): "all this adds up to a very difficult environment for plants, and produces problems for animals and man." In terms of floristic diversity, as a result of small island size, distance from the Asian continent, relatively ybung geologic age of the islands, and harsh environmental conditions, there are estimated to be only 66 indigenous plant species, found in Kiribati, none of which are endemic, and just under 300 total species, including exotics, ever mostly ornamentals and weeds, which have been reported to grow there (Fosberg and Sachet, 1987; Fosberg d.,1 979, 1982; Thaman, 1987b). It is under these harsh conditions and a paucity of flora to choose from, that the I-Kiribati (people of Kiribati) have evolved their distinctive agroforestry system, which incorporates into a matrix of the superdominant coconut palm (Cocos nucifera): 1) indigenous species (almost exclusively ubiquitous pan-Pacific or pan-tropical, ocean- dispersed species); 2) selected aboriginally-introduced food plants, such as the staple giant swamp taro or babai (Cvrtos~ermac hamissonis) and pandanus or te kaina (Pandanus tectorius); 3) some recently-introduced exotics; and 4) settlements or villages and other urban features (Table 2). Scattered throughout the matrix of the superdominant coconut or te ni (Cocos nucifera) are pandanus or te kaina (Pandanus tectorius), breadfruit or & mai (Artocar~usa ltilis), and the native fig or te bero (Ficus tinctoria), along with a wide number of pantropical strand species, such as Scaevola sericea, Tournefortia arpentea, Guettarda sveciosa, and Pemvhis acidula. Coconut Palms Almost all coconut palms seem to have been planted either deliberately or accidentally by the I-Kiribati. The resultant agroforested landscape takes the form of a real forest, rather than an orderly plantation, because a great proportion of the trees are spontaneous occurrences of different heights and age-classes, rather than deliberately planted, equally-spaced trees of a single age class. On both the seaward and lagoon-side, coconuts lean outward interspersed with pan-tropical strand species, whereas in the higher central portions of the islands they generally form thick stands, with young coconut seedlings and other plants in various stages of growth often forming an almost impenetrable jungle that extends almost from the beach ramparts on the ocean side towards the centre of the islands. In many areas, plants suffer from excessive density, although towards the lagoon side, where most of the settlements and giant taro (babai) pits are found, the "forest" begins to thin out (Catala, 1957:22; Watters and Banibati, 1977:33). Mou1(1957:1), however, found concentrations to be denser along lagoon shores and interspersed with young palms and pandanus on Onotoa atoll in southern Kiribati. Sixteen locally recognized coconut cultivars are divided into two main categories according to whether the mesosperm is edible (te bunia) or non-edible (& ni), the latter term also applying to coconuts in general. Some are favoured for their juicy flesh, the quality and sweetness of their toddy and some for the quality of their fronds, coir from the husk, or wood for use as handicrafts and building materials (Catala, 1957:25-27). Catala (1957:30-34) stressed the "extraordinary resistance of the palm" in Kiribati to prolonged drought and its ability to continue to produce inflorescences, which although incapable of producing commercial value copra, still produced the nutritionally essential toddy. The ability to withstand prolonged drought depends on the nature of soils, the degree of salinity of groundwater, the nature of tides during droughts, and the sporadic occurrence of fire during drought periods. Despite this incredible resistance to drought and increasing salinity, the production of most palms, most notably copra production, is severely affected by drought, although palms around village sites, beside babai pits or in abandoned babai pits, and around inland ponds seem to be affected only minimally by drought because of proximity to the freshwater lens or the presence of greater domestic and organic waste near villages and babai pits. Watters and Banibati (1977:33) reported that, after a prolonged drought in the early 1970s, only 44.2% of mature coconut palms surveyed on Abemama were bearing in 1972. In the terms of tree density, a transect across Bikenibeu islet, Tarawa contained 138 irregularly spaced palms in an area of 5,950 m2, a very high density of 231 per ha (a fully stocked regularly spaced copra plantation in Tonga would have a density of only 157 per ha). In this same area, 11 pandanus trees, most of them concentrated in the mid-island portion or toward the lagoon and village end of the transect, were also inventoried. Nearer to village sites, the density was considerably lower, with fourteen surveys giving an average density of only 155 palms per ha, not counting other important trees. For example, one village, covering an area of some 10,750 m2 had only 100 coconuts, a density of 93 per ha, as well as 36 breadfruit trees. For village areas, the average density ranged from 80 to 150, whereas densities were from 200 to 350 in bush garden areas. The overall estimated density of coconut coverage for the estimated 2,000 ha area of Tarawa Atoll (1,600 ha, after deducting 20% for uncultivated areas under mangrove, swamp, roads, etc.), was 231 in the mid-1950s, thus giving an estimated 369,600 palms for the productive area. Subtracting two trees for every five people (955 trees) for toddy production left a total of 368,645 nut-producing trees, which produced an estimated 23.1 nuts per year, or 8,517,000 nuts available for consumption by humans, animals, for copra production, and for other uses such as making perfume and oil. The estimated annual per capita consumption at the time was four nuts per day for humans and three for pigs (Catala, 1957:40-45). A more recent study by Watters and Banibati (1977:35) suggests that density of coconut palms on rural Abemama was even higher at 321 palms per ha, with densities of bearing palms being 151.8 (given a figure of 47.3% bearing palms). The estimates of nuts per bearing tree of 17.8 was somewhat lower than Catala's, possibly because the survey was conducted after an extended drought. For toddy (karewe) production, which perhaps nowhere has such fundamental importance as in the harsh environment of Kiribati, the flower spathes of selected trees are cut and bound and tapped twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, yielding approximately two coconut shells of liquid per day. A dietary staple for most I-Kiribati households, especially in times of severe drought when palms produce few fruit, fresh toddy is drunk daily by most I-Kiribati. Toddy is also fermented to make a vitamin B-rich (one-third the level found in brewer's yeast) drink (te maninn) of varying alcoholic content, a boiled-down syrup (kamaimai), which can be kept without fermenting, and a solid caramelised form (kareberebe)(Catala, 1957:44- 46). In rural areas, in particular, coconut flesh is the major source of dietary fat and a major source of calories, as well a contributing some iron, fibre, and other nutrients, and is prepared and consumed in countless ways. Toddy is particularly rich in energy and vitamin C and has significant amounts of vitamin B and iron (Pargeter et al., 1984:lO-15). Bayliss-Smith's (1982:62) study of Ontong Java atoll in Solomon Islands, stresses the dietary importance of coconut, which contributed 21% of all calories directly, as well as the copra, which provided the cash to purchase another 25% of the total calories consumed. In addition to its critical dietary importance, the coconut palm is used in a myriad of other ways to produce products of economic and cultural importance, the imported substitutes for which would either be too costly or unobtainable for most I-Kiribati (Table 2). Pandanus After the coconut, the pandanus or te kaina (Pandanus tectorius) is the most important tree of Kiribati agroforestry systems, with almost two hundred different recognized cultivars, many of which may be exclusive to a given village or family (Overy et al., 1982; Luomala, 1953). Catala (1957:51) reports, however, that only 16 names were widely recognised on Tarawa. Because pandanus will grow in very poor or thin soils, it can be found growing almost anywhere on atoll islets. In ecological surveys of pandanus, Catala (1957:52) found that for Tarawa atoll there was an equal density of pandanus, whether it was on the ocean or lagoon side, or, in the interior, although it grew more successfully where coconut density was lower, particularly in marshy areas or along the lagoon edge where pandanus seems to have a definite advantage over the coconut. Moul(1957) also found pandanus present in most vegetation associations on Onotoa atoll. Although natural stands commonly occur in swampy areas, in coastal littoral forests and bush plantations which have been neglected for extended periods, the majority of pandanus in garden lands or around villages or residences are planted and owned by individuals (Luomala, 1953:83). Because pandanus propogated from seeds will rarely reproduce desired characteristics, almost all planted pandanus are started from cuttings, ideally cuttings which already bear the beginnings of adventitious roots. At times, new trees will be mulched with leaves of Guettarda s~eciosao r other plants, and coverered with black topsoil, as well as receiving compost or attention. Frequent tamping around young plants, even after they are fully established, is carried out to obtain low, easy-to-harvest high-yielding trees. Given optimum light availability and care, trees near villages can bear as soon as tens months after planting, whereas they may take up to more than a year in bush gardens (Catala, 1957:53-54). The fruit of pandanus is a very important part of the I-Kiribati diet; the tree also provides raw material for a wide range of plaited ware, construction materials medicines, decorations, parcelisation, perfumes, and other uses, as well as being the I- Kiribati ancestral tree, from which, according to mythology, the progenitors of the I- Kiribati came (Luomala, 1953:83). The fleshy parts or drupes of the ripe fruits are consumed raw, as well as being prepared or included in other dishes in a variety of ways. Some of the commonest preparations are & tangauri, te tuae, and & karababa. & tangauri, a paste made from a mixture of a puree of the fresh fruit and grated coconut, can be eaten fresh or dried in the sun. Te tuae, is prepared by cooking the fruit, removing most of the fibre, and making a paste, which is then spread on leaves and dried in the sun. The dried paste, which is then cut into pieces for further desiccation, will keep for years, constituting a food reserve which can be used on long voyages or prepared at a later time by softening in and/or prepared with coconut milk or grated coconut. & karababa is prepared by cooking the drupes, mashing them and mixing them with grated coconut. The resultant product is then eaten after being spread in the sun for further desiccation, or is further processed into & kabubu by toasting and grinding into flour, which keeps for long periods and which may be eaten straight or prepared as an ingredient in a range of dishes, including & korokoro, in which & kabubu is mixed with kamaimai (toddy molasses)(Catala, 1957:56-58). Pandanus leaves are used in the production of thatching, roofing, a range of fine and everyday mats, hats, sails (in the past), cigarette wrappings, food wrappers, caulking material, and baskets for babai compost. The trunk and adventitious roots are used in house and general construction, with particular cultivars being best for different uses (Luomala, 1953; Catala, 1957; Overy aJ., 1982)(Table 2). Breadfruit