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Abaiang lies one degree north of the equator and is the closest outer island to Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati. Over 5,000 people live on Abaiang, making it the fourth largest population of any atoll in the nation. The unique culture of Kiribati is evident on Abaiang. Limited external in uences have meant that the traditional way of life and village governance is largely intact.

This report describes, quantifies and, where possible, calculates the economic value of Tonga's marine and coastal resources. Seven key marine ecosystem services are evaluated in detail: subsistence and commercial fishing; minerals and aggregate mining; tourism; coastal protection; carbon sequestration; and research, management and education. Others services are explored as well, including cultural and traditional values associated with the sea, potential future industries and other human benefits that have not yet been analysed or exploited. The scarcity of data about many of these ecosystem services prevents alculation of the total economic value, so the values below should be regarded as minimum estimates. Data gaps are described in detail in this report.