The 2011 Tuvalu drought was a period of severe drought afflicting Tuvalu, a South Pacific island country of approximately 10,500 people, in the latter half of 2011. A state of emergency was declared on September 28, 2011; with rationing of available fresh-water. The La Niña event that caused the drought ended in April–May 2012. By August 2012 the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Conditions indicated that the tropical Pacific Ocean was on the brink of an El Niño event. (Full article...)
This timeline of the history of Tuvalu chronologically lists important events occurring within the present political boundaries of the Pacific island state of Tuvalu. This time line is introduced by the theories as to the origins of the Polynesian people and the migration across the Pacific Ocean to create Polynesia, which includes the islands of Tuvalu. (Full article...)
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Tuvalu elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of Tuvalu (Palamene o Tuvalu) has 16 members, elected for a four-year term in 8 double-seat constituencies. Tuvalu is a de facto non-partisan democracy since it does not have political parties. The political system is based on personal alliances and loyalties derived from clan and family connections. It does tend to have both a distinct government and a distinct opposition. The 16 members of the current parliament are elected from eight two-seat constituencies via plurality block voting.
Naama Maheu Latasi, Lady Latasi, OBE (died 16 March 2012) was a political figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu. She stood for election in the constituency of Nanumea in 1989 and was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu. Lady Latasi served as Minister of Health, Education and Community Services in the first Government of Prime Minister of TuvaluBikenibeu Paeniu. She was the first female member of parliament in Tuvaluan history. An amazing feat, that served to both pave the way for other aspiring female members of parliament today, but propelled the movement of gender equality. She served in Parliament from 1989 to 1997. Although she was not re-elected in the first 1993 general election but regained her seat in parliament in the second 1993 general election. (Full article...)
Tuvalu is a Polynesianisland nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia, with a population of 11,192 per the 2017 census. The economy of Tuvalu is constrained by its remoteness and lack of economies of scale. Government revenues largely come from fishing licences (primarily paid under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty); direct grants from international donors (government donors as well as from the Asian Development Bank); and income from the Tuvalu Trust Fund. The lease of its highly fortuitous .tvTop Level Domain (TLD) also contributes revenue. The sale of stamps since the independence of Tuvalu in 1976 has been an important source of revenue for the country and government. However, such revenue has significantly declined in recent years. Tuvalu has hardly any tourism. It has no tour guides, tour operators, or organised activities, and no cruise ships visit.
World Bank Statistics outline that in 2010 Tuvalu produced a bottom-tier ranking Gross Domestic Product of $31,350,804 and Gross National Income of $4,760, compared to other Pacific SIDS states such as Kiribati at $2,010 and the Marshall Islands at $3,640. A large proportion of national income comes from the employment of 15% of adult male Tuvaluans overseas in the maritime industry. The value of these remittances was valued at A$4 million (est. 2006) and on average accounts for 10% of GDP. A UN Report makes reference to the fact that these revenue streams are vulnerable to macroeconomic change while the national budget remains heavily subsidised through international aid and funding schemes such as the Tuvalu Trust Fund with a strong reliance on the importation of food, which was estimated at $15.5 million 2007. (Full article...)
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Fred Whibley, Island trader on Niutao 1898 to 1909 (Fred Whibley c.1888)
Fredrick George Whibley (1855–1919) abandoned a career as clerk in a London bank to escape from the constraints and social expectations of respectability in the Victorian era. He ended up as a copra trader on Niutao in the Ellice Islands in the central Pacific Ocean.
Maatia ToafaOBE (born 1 May 1954) is a Tuvaluan politician, representing Nanumea, who served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He first served as prime minister, and foreign minister, from 2004 to 2006, from the resignation of his predecessor, Saufatu Sopoanga, until the defeat of his Cabinet in the 2006 general election. From 2004 to 2006 he also held the role of foreign minister.
Tuvalu is a very small island country of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). In terms of physical land size, Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km2; Monaco—1.95 km2 and Nauru—21 km2. it is the third-least populated independent country in the world, with a population of 10,507 (2017 Census). Because of the small size of the economy of Tuvalu, its foreign relations are limited to its most important partners. Tuvalu maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand, Australia (which has maintained a High Commission in Tuvalu since 2018), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European Union. (Full article...)
The Constitution of Tuvalu states that it is "the supreme law of Tuvalu" and that "all other laws shall be interpreted and applied subject to this Constitution"; it sets out the Principles of the Bill of Rights and the Protection of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. In 1986 the Constitution adopted upon independence was amended in order to give attention to Tuvaluan custom and tradition as well as the aspirations and values of the Tuvaluan people. The changes placed greater emphasis on Tuvaluan community values rather than Western concepts of individual freedom. The Constitution of Tuvalu Act 2023, further addressed the role of Tuvaluan culture, and also referred to the climate crisis, and Tuvalu’s statehood and national boundaries. (Full article...)
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Sport is an important part of Tuvaluan culture, which sporting culture is based on traditional games and athletic activities and the adoption of some of the major international sports of the modern era.
Image 2The atoll of Funafuti; borings into a coral reef and the results, being the report of the Coral Reef Committee of the Royal Society (1904). (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 10A portrait of a woman on Funafuti in 1894 by Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 11Polynesia is the largest of three major cultural areas in the Pacific Ocean. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian triangle. (from History of Tuvalu)
Image 351st Lt. Louis Zamperini, peers through a hole in his B-24D Liberator 'Super Man' made by a 20mm shell over Nauru, 20 April 1943. (from History of Tuvalu)