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Tuvalu
is a
Polynesian island nation,
formerly known as the Ellice Islands.
Located in the Pacific Ocean, midway
between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises four
reef islands and five true atolls. Its population of
10,472 makes it the third-least populated sovereign
state in the world, with only Vatican
City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. In
terms of physical size, at just 26 square kilometres
(10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in
the world. Naumaga, Niutao, Niulakita
are reef islands and the six
true atolls are Funafuti, Nanumea, Nui,
Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Vaitupu. Funafuti is
the largest atoll of the nine islands that form the
Tuvalu volcanic chain.
The islets that form the atolls are very low lying: the
highest elevation is just 4.5 metres (15 ft) above sea
level, which gives Tuvalu the second-lowest maximum
elevation of any country (after the Maldives). Because of
this, the islands that make up this nation may
be threatened by any future sea level rise. Under such
circumstances, the population may evacuate to New
Zealand, Niue or the Fijian island of
Kioa. Tuvalu is affected by what is known as a king tide,
which can raise the sea level much higher than normal. In
the future, this may threaten to submerge the nation entirely,
as it is estimated that a sea level rise of
20–40 centimetres (8–16 inches) in the next 100
years could make Tuvalu uninhabitable. The land is very
poor here and the soil is hardly usable
for agriculture. Drinking water is mostly
obtained from rainwater collected on roofs and stored in
tanks. The Islands are subject to westerly gales and
heavy rain from November to March, and the tropical
temperature is moderated by easterly winds from March to November.
 
The first
inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians. In 1568 Spanish navigator Alvaro
Mendaña discovered the islands during his expedition in
the quest to find "Terra Australis". The name Ellice was
applied to all nine islands after the work of British hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876). The
Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a
protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert
and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974, the
Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status
as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became
Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully
independent within the Commonwealth on October
1st 1978. On September 5th 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th
member of the United Nations. Because the country is so
remote, tourism does not provide
much income, just a thousand tourists are estimated to visit Tuvalu
annually. The main island of Funafuti is the focus for
travellers, because of its International Airport, and the only
hotel accommodation.
Tuvalu has almost no natural
resources, and its main income is largely foreign
aid. Almost all of the jobs on the islands that pay a steady
wage are with the government. Subsistence farming
and fishing remain the primary economic activities,
particularly off the capital island of Funafuti. Government
revenue comes largely from the sale of stamps and coins,
fishing licences and worker remittances. Substantial income is
received annually from the Tuvalu
Trust Fund, which was established in 1987 by Australia, New
Zealand, and the United Kingdom and supported also by Japan
and South Korea. The US
government is
also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, with payments from a
1988 treaty on fisheries.
In 1998, Tuvalu began
deriving a novel form of revenue from the use of its country code for "900"
phone lines and from
the sale of its ".tv" Internet
domain name.
Tuvalu and the Web
The .tv domain is currently operated by dotTV, a VeriSign
company. The Tuvalu
government owns twenty percent of the company. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a
contract leasing its internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in
royalties over a 12-year period, so the Tuvalu government receives a quarterly
payment of around $1 million for use of this top-level domain. Countless
websites the world over (including our own!) have now joined
the .tv fraternity.
(Source ~ Wikepedia)
http://www.timelesstuvalu.com
Tuvalu Tourism site ~ notice it's not a .tv!
http://www.janeresture.com/tuvalu2/tuvalu_home_page.htm
Jane's website (She's a local Radio DJ)
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