What effect does bird droppings have that can make a country rich, but also go into crisis?

Although the land area is only 21 square kilometers, Nauru became rich overnight by selling "bird droppings".

The Republic of Nauru is an island nation in Micronesia in the South Pacific Ocean. With 9,378 inhabitants living on an area of ​​21 square kilometers, Nauru is the smallest country in the South Pacific, the third smallest in the world by area, after Vatican City and the Principality of Monaco.

Nauru is also the smallest republic in the world by area.

According to the Financial Times, Nauru was once one of the wealthiest countries thanks to its rich reserves of phosphate made up of bird droppings. Bird droppings accumulated centuries ago on this island. Phosphate is an important ingredient in fertilizer production.

This tiny island in the South Pacific Ocean was a German colony before World War I. It was then administered by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand until independence in 1968.

Nauru's economy peaked in 1975 thanks to revenue from phosphate mining, when the island's GDP per capita was estimated at $50,000, second only to Saudi Arabia.

However, the nation's wealth lasted only a few decades, then Nauru returned to poverty and everything the island nation experienced seemed like a dream. Now, Nauru has become an illegal money-laundering hub, a tax haven and a refugee camp for the underworld. What exactly happened to this small island nation?

Before becoming rich, Nauru suffered a lot of troubles related to bird droppings. Micronesians and Polynesians were the first peoples to inhabit Nauru, at least 3,000 years ago.

Traditionally, there are 12 clans or tribes in Nauru, represented by a 12-pointed star on the national flag. Also traditionally, the Nauruans trace their ancestry to matriarchy. The inhabitants of the island are engaged in aquaculture: they catch young ibijas, adapt them to freshwater environments, they provide the islanders with a steady source of food.

Nauruan warrior, 1880.

On November 8, 1798, a British ship called the "Snow Hunter" discovered the island for the first time during its voyage. Although the sailors did not leave, British captain John Fearn, a whale hunter, became the first Westerner to set foot in Nauru, the palm trees and swaying beaches on the island giving him a sense of wonder. feeling very peaceful and Nauru was named "Pleasant" - "Pleasant".

From about 1830, the Nauruans had contact with Europeans as whaling ships and merchants replenished their reserves (especially freshwater) at Nauru. Around this time, defectors from European ships began to live on the island.

The islanders traded food for coconut wine and firearms. Firearms were used in the Nauru Tribal War starting in 1878 and lasting 10 years.

However, because of the lack of rich resources and the geographical location of this place of no strategic value, Nauru did not become a colony of any country until the 1888s, Nauru was conquered by Germany. annexed and incorporated into the German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands.

At the time, the German government only authorized a commercial company to purchase desiccated coconut meat so Nauru "survived" through the hustle and bustle of the 19th century without issue, the island nation's natural environment This is also relatively well preserved.

It is often said that before the storm hits the sky will be blue, the sea calm and the scenery seem more beautiful than ever, and for Nauru too, this is just the beginning, the peace before the storm. storm came.

The "wood fossil" that Albert Fuller Ellis found in Nauru.

In 1899, British geologist Albert Fuller Ellis found a "wood fossil" from Nauru in his office in Sydney. Upon examination, he discovered that this was a phosphate rock of extremely good quality. At that time, he thought, if he could find a stable source of mining, it would be the mine that would make him a lot of money.

As a result, in 1901, Ellis landed on the island of Nauru and was shocked to discover that 80% of the rocks on this island nation are rich in phosphates.

The Pacific Phosphate Company began exploiting this resource in 1906 under an agreement with Germany, exporting its first shipment of phosphates in 1907. In the ten years when mineral deposits were first discovered, Nauru exported hundreds of thousands of tons of phosphate.

In 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, Australian troops occupied Nauru. Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain signed the Nauru Islands Agreement in 1919, creating a commission called the British Phosphate Commission, which took over the rights to mine phosphates.

The origin of phosphate comes from the fact that birds especially like to defecate on this island.

So why is this small island so rich in phosphate rock resources? The reason is very simple, their origin comes from the birds especially like to defecate on this island.

Nauru Island is already the only island in the sea within 300 square kilometers, so with the exception of Nauru, there is essentially no other land in the Pacific Ocean where seabirds can rest. As a result, countless species of seabirds have gathered on the island of Nauru to rest and thrive, with their droppings accompanying them.

Seabirds have gathered on the island of Nauru to rest and grow with their droppings.

Over time, these piles of bird droppings form a very thick, hard coating. Although bird droppings are easily washed into the sea by water and rains, Nauru has a very special place.

In the high-temperature environment of the equator, the organophosphorus salts in bird droppings can quickly decompose and leave behind rich amounts of phosphate. Under the action of groundwater, alkalis and phosphates are dissolved and then reacted with calcium carbonate (calcium carbonate is often found in very high reserves on coral reef islands) and various apatites to make the rocks on the island This has extremely high phosphate reserves.

This is also commonly called "guano phosphate rock" - a unique product of the coast or island where many seabirds are concentrated. And you could say that Nauru is an island that grows on bird droppings, that's not entirely wrong.

To say that Nauru is an island growing on bird droppings is not entirely wrong.

Unlike ordinary phosphate ores, guano phosphate ores have an extremely high percentage of phosphorus content, and because it is located close to the ground, compared to other ores, they have a soft texture and are easy to mine. It could be said, therefore, that these guano phosphate ores rewrote the fate of the Nauruans.

At the time after the outbreak of World War I, Australian troops occupied Nauru. Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain signed the Nauru Islands Agreement in 1919, creating a commission called the British Phosphate Commission, which took over the rights to mine phosphates.

At the time after the outbreak of World War I, Australian troops occupied Nauru.

Nauru experienced an influenza pandemic in 1920, with a mortality rate of 18 percent among the indigenous Nauruans. In 1923, the League of Nations granted Australia trusteeship over Nauru, with Great Britain and New Zealand as co-admins. On December 6 and 7, 1940, the German auxiliary cruisers Komet and Orion sank five supply ships in the waters adjacent to Nauru. Komet then shelled the areas of phosphate mining, oil storage, cantilever loading onto ships on the island.

In 1942, the Japanese invaded Nauru and thousands of Japanese soldiers were stationed on the island. Although phosphate mining had ceased, the Japanese military began to suppress and execute the Naurus as soon as they landed.

At that time, 1,200 Nauruan workers were deported to the Chuuk Islands, and nearly half of them were starved, abused, and enslaved to death. At the end of World War II in 1945, less than 600 indigenous Nauruans remained in Chuuk.

Following the end of World War II, the United Nations established a trusteeship regime in Nauru, with Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as trustees. Resource extraction was also immediately restored.

By 1968, more than 35 million tons of phosphate had been sent to fertile lands in countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

However, during this time, Nauru also gradually realized the importance of phosphate rock. Finally, after a series of activities, Nauru also gained independence in 1968.

Flag of the Republic of Nauru.

In fact, at this independent time, the natural condition of two-thirds of the island's phosphate rock was still at pre-mining levels.

During the first year of the restoration of phosphate mineral rights, the volume of ore mined from Nauru exceeded the total output of the German colonial period. Based on rich mineral resources, Nauru can be said to get rich overnight and make it into the list of the richest countries in the world. Nauru's GDP per capita is also second in the world for a short period of time, just behind Saudi Arabia, which is based on oil.

Nauru's GDP per capita is also second in the world for a short period of time.

Although not everyone is rich, every Nauruan is supported by a wide range of government benefits, they have free health insurance, housing and education and never pay taxes. .

And with this money, Nauru has entered a world of play and enjoyment. The people of Naurus spend most of their time entertaining and not worrying about work.

In 1982, the New York Times reported that Nauru was the richest place in the world.

In 1980, only 2,156 out of 7,000 Nauruans were employed, and more than 90% of them were government servants. And the Nauruans have essentially lost their own jobs to foreign workers.

Furthermore, over-exploitation led to the depletion of phosphate resources, and the country's finances began to plunge. Australian economist Helen Hughes estimates that between 1968 and 2002, phosphate ore brought in A$3.6 billion for Nauru with a profit of A$1.8 billion. If properly invested, the value of the trust in 2004 would exceed AU$8 billion and the average Nauruan family would receive an income of AU$4 million. In fact, Nauru's trust was reduced to $30 million in 2004.

In addition, the Nauruan government is also corrupt and very "playful". They bought cruise ships, planes and a large number of hotels abroad to serve their entertainment.

In 2016, author Jonathan Liew wrote in the Telegraph: 'By the end of the century, Nauru was almost bankrupt. The entire center of the island has been ravaged by strip mining. Unemployment is at 90%. Corruption and money laundering become corrupt. Climate change is destroying the fishing industry'.

What lesson does Nauru's story teach us?

The story from a poor country to becoming rich and back to the plight of Nauru is a great lesson for other countries about the unplanned exploitation of natural resources.

That is, instead of looking for breakthrough development, we should pay more attention to sustainable development, protect environmental resources, not waste. A country that wants to develop sustainably in the long run, we must learn how to protect and exploit natural resources in a scientific way.