The mined-out phosphate lands of Nauru, equatorial western Pacific. Issue 3 (2nd April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gale, S. J.
• Is Part Of: Australian journal of earth sciences. Volume 63:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 333
• Page End: 347
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02
• Subjects: Nauru -- Pacific -- Australia -- New Zealand -- mining -- phosphate -- karst -- rehabilitation -- spitzkarren; Earth sciences -- Australia -- Periodicals; Earth sciences -- Periodicals; Geology -- Australia -- Periodicals; Geology -- Periodicals; 559.405
• DOI: 10.1080/08120099.2016.1206621
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0812-0099

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Nauru once possessed the world's purest deposits of rock phosphate, the precursor of the agricultural fertiliser, superphosphate. This resource was almost entirely depleted during the 20th century, mainly destined for Australia and New Zealand, where it played a critical role in the economic, social and demographic development of these nations and their biological transformation to outposts of temperate Northern Hemisphere flora. By the early 1990s, the primary phosphate that had once blanketed the island had been almost completely removed, exposing a dramatic buried landscape of karst pinnacles and transforming Nauru into the world's most environmentally altered nation. Investigations into the rehabilitation of the mined-out area began in 1953, but all rejected the idea of restoration on the grounds of expense. In 1993, Nauru won an out-of-court settlement of A$135 million from Australia for restitution of the phosphate lands. No rehabilitation has yet taken place, however, and the project is unlikely to succeed. The soil stockpiled for the project is inadequate in quantity, in fertility, in elemental composition, in water retention capacity, and contains toxic levels of cadmium. Rainfall is too unreliable to support regular cultivation and the Nauruans possess no tradition of agriculture. One alternative to rehabilitation is to exploit the terrain that has been exhumed from beneath the phosphate overburden. This closely resembles the Nauruan landscape of a quarter of a million years ago, before humans arrived and before phosphate buried the land. Such spitzkarren landscapes elsewhere in the tropics are venerated as landscape wonders and revered as scientific marvels. They are protected by World Heritage status and receive millions of visitors a year. The end of mining in Nauru is meanwhile leading to the re-establishment of an ecologically valuable and visually striking indigenous vegetation. This spectacular new landscape should be preserved, not destroyed, and exploited as a global travel destination.