Oceania Geography

By | March 27, 2021

According to countryaah, Oceania population is 43,021,460 as of 2021.

Oceania Plant Geography

The small, low coral islands have a species-poor flora with screw palms, coconut palms and other widespread species. By contrast, on larger coral islands and especially on high islands of volcanic origin, such as Hawaii, Fiji and New Caledonia, the species richness is large, and endemic species make up 70-90% of the original flora. Species in the banana and palm families are prominent just like fig species and tree ferns; the bread fruit tree (Artocarpus) is native to the area.

The latest estimates of the number of plant species are for the Pacific Islands approx. 10,700 species. The largest and most peculiar floras occur in Hawaii (about 1000 species), Fiji (about 1500 species) and New Caledonia (about 3200 species). New estimates for Australia and New Zealand include approx. 25,700 species, and the total figure for Oceania is estimated to be approx. 35,000 species.

New Caledonia has a very distinctive flora. endemic conifers. The very primitive family Degeneriaceae (with a single species, Degeneria vitiensis) is endemic in the Fiji Islands. In Hawaii’s flora, there is both an American and a Malaysian element, and significant species formation has occurred on the archipelago itself. Typical of many species developed on oceanic islands are large fruits and seeds and thereby a poor spreading ability.

See Abbreviationfinder for all abbreviations and definitions about Australia.

Country Proportion of HIV-infected adults (15–49 years) (per cent) Proportion of HIV-infected young women (15–24 years) (percent) Proportion of HIV-infected young men (15–24 years) (per cent)
Australia 0.1 (2019) 0.1 (2019) 0.1 (2019)
Fiji 0.2 (2019) 0.1 (2019) 0.1 (2019)
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia Federation
Nauru
New Zealand 0.1 (2019) 0.1 (2019) 0.1 (2019)
Palau
Papua New Guinea 0.9 (2019) 0.3 (2019) 0.2 (2019)
Solomon Islands
Samoa
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Fiji’s geography

Fiji is located in the southern part of the tropics, between the equator and the sun’s southern (Capricorn) turning circle. The largest islands are of volcanic origin, many of the smaller ones are flat coral islands (ancient atolls raised from the sea). The highest peak is the volcano Tomaniivi on Viti Levu, 1323 meters above sea level.

Fiji Climate

Fiji has a tropical ocean climate, where the Southeastern pass moderates the humid heat. The average temperature in Suva (Viti Levu) is 23 °C in July-Aug, and 27 °C in January-March. Average annual rainfall varies in the different islands from 1400 mm in the west to over 5000 mm in the east. Precipitation is consistently greatest on the southeastern coasts, while the northwestern parts of the islands remain in shelter for the southeastern pass. Suva receives 2975 mm of precipitation a year; March is the driest month and July is the driest.

Fiji traditionally experience an average of 10–15 cyclones per decade. Of these, perhaps one has been of hurricane strength. Since 1985, however, both the frequency of the cyclones, as well as the proportion of these with hurricane strength, have increased.

Read more about Plant and wildlife at Fiji.

Plant and wildlife on Fiji

The vegetation follows the climatic pattern of rainforests in the southeast and more sparse forests, reeds and grass in the drier regions.

The only naturally occurring land mammals are bats; The family of flying dogs is represented by several species, including Samoa fly dog, which with wingspan of up to 1.5 meters is one of the world’s largest bat species. Many cats, dogs, pigs and goats occur in a lost state. The indiaman gust (see mangosteen) was introduced to fight the rats that humans had also brought. More than 120 bird species have been observed, 90 of these nesting. The nesting birds include storm birds, tropical birds, frigate birds, soles, herons, kingdoms and terns. Among pigeons, parrots and honey eaters there are many native species. A number of bird species have been introduced in recent times. The endangered Fiji iguan (see iguanas) belongs to a lizard family that is otherwise only found in America and Madagascar. A further 20 reptile species occur on land. In the coastal waters there are delta crocodiles and sea snakes, as well as a rich coral reef fauna.

French Polynesia

In May 2001, the French ruling party, the RPR’s sister party, won the Tahoeraa Huiraatira election as it gained 28 seats in parliament against 13 to Tavini Huiraatira. Gaston Flosse was elected prime minister by 29 votes, while Tavini Huiraatira’s Oscar Temaru got 13.

At the beginning of 2002, statistics showed that tourism flow to the islands had dropped by 9.7% following the terrorist attack on New York in September 2001. French Polynesia is the second most important tourist destination in the region after Fiji.

In July 2003, French President Jacques Chirac visited French Polynesia for the first time. While Flosse awaited the French president, the leader of the independence movement, Oscar Temaru organized a demonstration to remind Chirac that he “has a duty to bring French Polynesia to independence and full sovereignty”. Temaru boycotted the official reception at the same time.

Chirac assured the Polynesians that according to. studies by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, that the population will not be affected in the short or long term by the nuclear tests that France has conducted in the area over the years. Still, the president declared that for security reasons, France will continue to monitor radioactivity and geological activity in the atolls.

In October 2004, Temaru lost a vote of confidence in parliament and was replaced by Flosse at the Prime Minister’s post. Temaru called for a general strike in protest at his removal and accused Paris of operating politically against his person. However, it was rejected by France. The removal of the Prime Minister triggered widespread demonstrations in the streets of Papeete.

In February 2005, the incumbent government again lost a vote of confidence and was replaced by Independent Leader Oscar Temaru. Two decades of Flosse government was thus brought to an end.

In July 2005, Paris appointed Anne Boquet as new High Commissioner to replace Michel Mathieu, who took over a similar post in Kanaky. The post was, until Boquet’s arrival, filled in by Jacques Michaut.

The local parliament refused to meet and follow the French government’s representative in nuclear safety, Marcel Jurien de la Graviere, when he visited the French nuclear test area on the Muroroa Atoll in May 2006. In December, President Temaru was replaced with Gaston Tong Sang.

A Danish artist was arrested by French police as he tried to paint the top of Mont Blanc red in protest against the French nuclear test blasts in French Polynesia. The mountain is on the border between Frankring and Italy.

In December 2006, Gaston Tong Sang was elected President of Parliament by 31 votes to 26. He represented the conservative pro-autonomy party Tahoera’a Huiraatira. Already in July 2007, Sang was harshly criticized by Gaston Flosse, the founder of the party Sang himself represented. Flosse criticized Song for being too lenient towards other parties. Others pointed out that Flosse himself wanted to take over the presidential post, and it was revealed that Flosse had held meetings with the opposition on just that. In August, Parliament conducted a distrust vote for the president. Tahoera’a Huiraatira had in vain urged Sang to resign, but he was overthrown during the vote. Members of his own party also voted against him. In September, Oscar Temaru from the UPLD independence party took over the presidential post. Temaru dropped by a distrust vote in April 2008, which brought Sang back on the record. He fell again in February 2009, only to return again in November.

In May 2013, Gaston Flosse was elected President. He had for more than 20 years chaired the Conservative Party, Tahoeraha Huiraatira, who advocated for autonomy but opposed independence. In 2006, he had been sentenced to 3 months suspended prison for corruption. He had abused his political connections in connection with a hotel purchase. The post was taken over by Édouard Fritch in September 2014.

Oceania Geography