Fenua Fala is one of the four inhabited islets that make up the Fakaofo Atoll in

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, an ...

, a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. It serves as the primary residential area for the Fakaofo community, having been established in 1960 to address overcrowding on the traditional village islet of Fale. Life on Fenua Fala is linked to the marine environment and the limited resources available, with broader concerns of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and rising sea-levels.

History

Fenua Fala was established as a new village site on Fakaofo Atoll in 1960. This relocation was initiated due to severe overcrowding on the traditional, smaller islet of Fale, which had been the primary settlement for centuries. The construction of the new village was supported by New Zealand, which significantly expanded the residential space for the community.

Geography

Fenua Fala is one of the islets in

, a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Fakaofo Atoll, the southern most group of islands of Tokelau. It is located about to the west of the original settlement in Fale. The settlement is surrounded by concrete walls to protect it from the sea. The island is low-lying, and is suseptible to

, and rising sea levels. It is surrounded by

coral reefs 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. ...

, which support aquatic life such as

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

giant clam ''Tridacna gigas'', the giant clam, is the best-known species of the giant clam genus ''Tridacna''. Giant clams are the largest living bivalve molluscs. Several other species of "giant clam" in the genus ''Tridacna'' are often misidentified as ...

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

, and fishes.

Demographics

The settlement hosts a population of about 400 individuals. The local administration is taken care by Taupulega, a governing body made up of invited elders from the local community. The settlement hosts the Fakaofo hospital, Tialeniu School and other facilities. It is also the location of Teletok, Tokelau's only telecommunications provider. There are also three churches to cater to its total population, which is made up of 70%

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and 22%

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

References

{{Coord, 9, 22, S, 171, 16, W, display=title, type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Islands of Tokelau Fakaofo