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The Republic of Kiribati comprises 33low-lying coral atolls (except Banaba), which are divided into three main island groups; the Gilbert group,the Phoenix group and the Line islands. Its total land area is about811 sq km within an equatorial Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) of some 3.6 million sq km in the Central Pacific. The maximum height above sea-level for Kiribati is 87 m.The population of Kiribati was estimated at 88 600 in19991, of which over 90% live in the Gilbert group,mostly on Tarawa atoll, the capital and commercial centre of Kiribati.Situated in the dry belt of the equatorial oceanic climatic zone, rainfall varies from 1 000 mm to 3 000mm per year. Severe, prolonged droughts are common in the drier islands in the central and southern equatorial region (eg. Gilberts and on Banaba, the Phoenix Islands, and Kiritimati)

Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprises the eastern half of the New Guinea mainland, the world’s largest tropical island, along with an archipelago of additional three islands and 600-odd lesser islets and atolls. It lies in the Southwest Pacific Ocean within an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 3 120 000 sq km and has a total land area of 462 243 sq km. The islands are high islands of volcanic origin with a maximum height of 4 496 m above sea level. PNG has an extensive system of water bodies ranging from deltas, lagoons, rivers, marshes and over 5 000 lakes