Talk:Nauru/Archive 1

Various
The Wiktravel:List of World cities with 100K population or more has Yaren in Nauru, but Naru article does not mention it. I'm trying to create at least stubs for as many of those cites as possible, but did not create one for Yaren since I don't know the area. Should someone do that? (WT-en) Pashley 07:09, 25 April 2006 (EDT)
 * I hardly imagine that an island nation of only 21 sq km and a grand total of 13,287 residents could have a city with 100,000. That's 86,713 people more than live in the entire country. -- (WT-en) Andrew Haggard (Sapphire) 03:24, 9 July 2006 (EDT)

"Your visa must be obtained from your local Nauruan embassy before departure."

is that a joke?

Indeed not; there is a A$100 charge for applying (see the official tourism site: http://discovernauru.com)

'Be careful swimming in Nauru' ... Careful of what (currents, sharks, falling doughnuts?)?!?

Otbp?
I notice this article is a Guide. I guess it's debatable how attractive a destination Nauru is, but it's certainly off the beaten path. What do you think? Ikan Kekek (talk) 21:49, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

Updates and information at the Wikipedia article on Nauru
From Nauru:

"Nauru is a phosphate rock island with rich deposits near the surface, which allowed easy strip mining operations. It has some remaining phosphate resources which, as of 2011, are not economically viable for extraction.[6] Nauru boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When the phosphate reserves were exhausted, and the island's environment had been seriously harmed by mining, the trust that had been established to manage the island's wealth diminished in value. To earn income, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and illegal money laundering centre. From 2001 to 2008, and again from 2012, it accepted aid from the Australian Government in exchange for hosting the Nauru detention centre. As a result of heavy dependence on Australia, many sources have identified Nauru as a client state of Australia."

Not all of this is mentioned in the article, but the thing that's really an update is that as of 2011, the phosphate was no longer viable to extract.

This is interesting, too:

"In 1967, the people of Nauru purchased the assets of the British Phosphate Commissioners, and in June 1970 control passed to the locally owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation.[23] Income from the mines gave Nauruans one of the highest standards of living in the Pacific.[38] In 1989, Nauru took legal action against Australia in the International Court of Justice over Australia's administration of the island, in particular Australia's failure to remedy the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining. Certain Phosphate Lands: Nauru v. Australia led to an out-of-court settlement to rehabilitate the mined-out areas of Nauru."

It's open to question whether we want to include these details, but it's worth considering, anyway.

The entire intro to the "Geography" section is interesting:

"Nauru is a 21 square kilometres (8 sq mi)[3] oval-shaped island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, located 42 kilometres (26 mi) south of the Equator. The island is surrounded by a coral reef, which is exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles.[40] The presence of the reef has prevented the establishment of a seaport, although channels in the reef allow small boats access to the island.[41] A fertile coastal strip 150 to 300 metres (490 to 980 ft) wide lies inland from the beach.[40]

Coral cliffs surround Nauru's central plateau. The highest point of the plateau, called the Command Ridge, is 71 metres (233 ft) above sea level.[42]

The only fertile areas on Nauru are on the narrow coastal belt, where coconut palms flourish. The land surrounding Buada Lagoon supports bananas, pineapples, vegetables, pandanus trees and indigenous hardwoods such as the tomano tree.[40]

Nauru was one of three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean, along with Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia. The phosphate reserves on Nauru are now almost entirely depleted. Phosphate mining in the central plateau has left a barren terrain of jagged limestone pinnacles up to 15 metres (49 ft) high. Mining has stripped and devastated about 80% of Nauru's land area, and has also affected the surrounding Exclusive Economic Zone; 40% of marine life is estimated to have been killed by silt and phosphate runoff.[40][43]

There are limited natural fresh water resources on Nauru. Rooftop storage tanks collect rainwater. The islanders are mostly dependent on three desalination plants housed at Nauru's Utilities Agency."

Should more of the facts here be added?

And if we want to add anything more about the Australian detention camp for migrants:

"Amnesty International has described the conditions of the refugees of war living in Nauru, as 'horror'."

And how about this, from "Economy"?

"There are no personal taxes in Nauru. The unemployment rate is estimated to be 90%, and of those who have jobs, the government employs 95%.[3][80] The Asian Development Bank notes that, although the administration has a strong public mandate to implement economic reforms, in the absence of an alternative to phosphate mining, the medium-term outlook is for continued dependence on external assistance.[79] Tourism is not a major contributor to the economy.[81]\

In the 1990s, Nauru became a tax haven and offered passports to foreign nationals for a fee.[82] The inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) identified Nauru as one of 15 "non-cooperative" countries in its fight against money laundering. During the 1990s, it was possible to establish a licensed bank in Nauru for only $25,000 with no other requirements. Under pressure from FATF, Nauru introduced anti-avoidance legislation in 2003, after which foreign hot money left the country. In October 2005, after satisfactory results from the legislation and its enforcement, FATF lifted the non-cooperative designation.[83]

From 2001 to 2007, the Nauru detention centre provided a significant source of income for the country. The Nauruan authorities reacted with concern to its closure by Australia.[84] In February 2008, the Foreign Affairs minister, Dr Kieren Keke, stated that the closure would result in 100 Nauruans losing their jobs, and would affect 10 percent of the island's population directly or indirectly: 'We have got a huge number of families that are suddenly going to be without any income. We are looking at ways we can try and provide some welfare assistance but our capacity to do that is very limited. Literally we have got a major unemployment crisis in front of us.'[85] The detention centre was re-opened in August 2012.[70]"

This might be relevant to some travelers:

"The government has restricted the religious practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses, most of whom are foreign workers employed by the government-owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation."

I won't copy the "Health" section, but it's interesting, too.

I don't propose that we copy wholesale from the Wikipedia article at all, but wouldn't potential travelers want to know a bit more about some of these things? Ikan Kekek (talk) 12:14, 28 February 2017 (UTC)


 * There seem to be contradictions in the Wikipedia article, though. We read that phosphate is no longer viable to mine, but also that there are foreign workers employed by the Nauru Phosphate Corporation. Can anyone resolve this contradiction? Ikan Kekek (talk) 12:20, 28 February 2017 (UTC)

Currency, time and spelling conventions
Below is a proposed infobox to let readers know which formatting conventions to use in Wikivoyage articles. Do you agree with these proposals? If you have direct knowledge of what is most commonly used in the country, please let us know. Ground Zero (talk) 13:55, 6 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Moved to the top of this page. Ground Zero (talk) 13:49, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Making it a Star
So, what does this guide need to become a Star article? Realistically speaking this is a tiny place with a minuscule amount of things to note, could there be anything missing? What changes need to be made to knock this article up to where it deserves to be? SpartanFishy (talk) 02:52, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Unsuccessful star nomination
Swept from Star nominations

I've looked over this article and I'm not sure that it requires anything else to become a star. This little baby nation deserves some love and to have Nauru be the first (non-city) star country would be awesome. Does anybody see something missing? SpartanFishy (talk) 16:26, 19 November 2020 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid I don't think this article is close to star status. A few omissions that jumped out at me: Are there any shopping options besides Capelle & Partner? What's traditional Nauruan cuisine like, and is it possible for a visitor to sample it? Is the ATM reliable, and does it accept foreign cards? How can visitors get a hold of a local SIM card? How can visitors get to Topside to see the "moon landscape"? The map doesn't show most of the POIs. The "Events" subsection provides no information about practical impact of the holidays for travellers or celebrations that they could see or participate in. The "Connect" section makes no mention of internet censorship, which I know was an issue a few years ago; I don't know if it still is.
 * Beyond those, it would be good if someone who's been to Nauru could weigh in. I've read a book about Nauru's history (Paradise for Sale), but I've never been. I suspect someone familiar with the country would notice more omissions than I did. —Granger (talk · contribs) 17:08, 23 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Not yet. It's a good guide status article that could do with more information in some sections, and with some work could be considered, but it is not there yet. --Comment by Selfie City  ( talk  |  contributions ) 15:49, 26 November 2020 (UTC)

Maps
This article has a beautiful static map. Is there a good reason for it to also have a dynamic map? If so, could we prioritize the static map and enable people to switch back and forth between them instead of having them in separate locations on the page? Ikan Kekek (talk) 19:36, 9 July 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ — I added the toggle so readers can switch between the static and dynamic maps -Shaundd (talk) 06:03, 10 July 2021 (UTC)

Time format
I believe, like Australia. Nauru would be using the 12 hour clock, not 24. It only gained independence in 1968, not to forget that the main industry there is the Australian detention centre. So I believe we should use 12, not 24. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 07:45, 10 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I did some more research, and also asked a friend who knows a bit more about the detention centre, and apparently, it's just like any other Pacific Island British colony. So may we change it to 12 hr? (despite the detention centre there) SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 03:32, 13 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Okay. You know more about the place than I do. Ground Zero (talk) 10:08, 13 July 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. I wouldn't normally suggest this, especially being a hater of 12 hr time, but we'd just have to go with what people see. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 10:20, 13 July 2021 (UTC)