Bikenibeu is a settlement in

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

. 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. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...

, part of the

island country An island country, island state, or 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 ...

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

South Tarawa South Tarawa () 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 and Tanaea in the n ...

, 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 T ...

s. The low-lying atoll is vulnerable to

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

. Rapid population growth has caused some environmental problems. Kiribati's main government high school, King George V and Elaine Bernachi School, 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 and Teaoraereke. 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, 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 of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. 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 a global climate phenomenon that emerges from variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Those variations have an irregular pattern but do have some semblance of cyc ...

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 group ...

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, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

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 (biology), 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, ...

Population

As of 1996, South Tarawa was almost continuously settled from the Bonriki International Airport 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 Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

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 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. 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 is compulsory and free from age six to fourteen (year 9). Church missions provide secondary education for year 10–13 pupils who fail to be admitted to KGV/EBS. Preachers of the

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 G ...

. 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 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 –

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

for two terms

References

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

External links