Caroline deserves protection similar to five closed areas on 

 Christmas Island and seven island sanctuaries in the Line and 

 Phoenix Groups (Garnett, 1983). 



Caroline is an important wintering ground for the bristle- 

 thighed curlew, a rare shorebird and candidate for the US Fish 

 & Wildlife Service Endangered Species list. Some subadults 

 remain all year on the atoll. Adult curlews pass through a 

 flightless phase on Pacific islands, and Caroline provides a 

 predator-free environment for this vulnerable phase of the 

 curlew's life history. 



Caroline is exceptional in harboring a robust population of 

 coconut crabs (Subchapter 1.1, Pis. 22, 56). These large 

 invertebrates are abundant in the Cocos plantations of South 

 and Nake and are found in good numbers in the indigenous 

 Pisonia forests on most of Caroline's larger motus. 



Although green turtles are not abundant on the atoll, 

 worldwide populations of these marine reptiles have suffered 

 so greatly from overexploitation that remote, predator-free 

 islands such as Caroline provide important, though small, 

 sanctuaries. Since 1978 the Pacific green sea turtle has been 

 reclassified by the United States Department of the Interior as 

 threatened and the Pacific hawksbill sea turtle as endangered. 



From an archaeological point of view, Caroline houses 

 one intact Tuamotuan marae ( ancient religious site) and another 

 smaller site, partly destroyed by storms. The main site 

 (Subchapter 1.1, Fig. 3, PI. 36), basically undisturbed since the 

 1 870' s, is a relic of prehistoric occupation worthy of protection, 

 being the only one of its kind in the Line and Phoenix Islands. 



Currently Caroline Atoll is owned by the government of 

 the Republic of Kiribati and does not enjoy any legal protection 

 (Garnett, 1983; Government of Kiribati, personal 

 communication). Over the last 50 years it has been leased to 

 private individuals who have scarcely altered the atoll. The 

 benign management of the past is no guarantee for the future, 

 and from October 1989 to the present, pressures to develop the 



atoll have mounted rapidly. Proposed schemes included an 

 airstrip, a blasted channel through the reef, a hotel, a casino, 

 logging, and commercial harvest offish and lobsters. In March 

 1990, commercial harvesting of fish, the taking of coconut 

 crabs, and illegal killing of green turtles began, emphasizing 

 that no island, however remote, is guaranteed protection through 

 isolation. In addition, during the past 2 years Caroline has 

 become more visited than ever before, mostly without the 

 knowledge or consent of the Kiribati government. 



There are many reasons why Caroline is inappropriate for 

 resident tourists or development (remoteness, distance from 

 medical aid, no regular water supply, no passage into the 

 lagoon, etc.; see Kepler. 1990a). Caroline could support a 

 limited number of ship-based ecotourists each year. 



Recommendations for an international preserve began in 

 January 1989. During the 1990 ICBP expedition to the Line 

 Islands, the team leaders discussed conservation matters with 

 Kiribati government officials and key scientists in French 

 Polynesia. Fortunately, documentation was obtained of illegal 

 land clearing and wildlife disturbance during two visits to 

 Caroline (Kepler, 1990a,b,c). The Kiribati government is 

 considering altering their plans for the development of Caroline 

 in favor of wildlife preservation. During summer 1990, French 

 customs officials in Tahiti temporarily banned the exploitation 

 of Caroline by French Polynesian nationals. 



As of December 1 990, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii 

 has restated its interest in establishing a triple-island preserve 

 on Caroline, Vostok, and Flint and has begun discussions with 

 the Kiribati government on Tarawa. The fate of these special 



islands may rest upon the results of these negotiations. 



We have a number of people to thank for their assistance in this 

 project; however, our acknowledgments for Parts 1 and 2 of the 

 manuscript. Ecological Studies of Caroline Atoll. Republic of 

 Kirabati. South-central Pacific Ocean are listed at the conclusion of 

 Part 1 . and are not repeated here. Again, it is our sincere pleasure to 

 (hank these individuals. 



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