oe tabPRS Chapter 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Nature of the Islands The Marshall Islands, which comprise the eastern part of Micronesia, are about halfway between Hawaii and the Philippi Marshalls consist of 29 coral atolls and 5 coral islands havi land area of only 70 square miles (Figure 1). Each atol2 con many separate islands connected by coral reefs that usually f enclosure around a central lagoon. ‘Th= temperature in the Marshalls averages about 80°F with little seasonal variation. The northern islands receive about 60 in rain annually and the sou‘:hern islands, about three times tha but moisture rapidly drains out of the soil and the islands a tively arid. of amount, rela- The amount of rainfall also varies considerably [from year to year in the northern islands and droughts are common. consist of coconut, pandanus, arrowroot, and bread fruit. crops Fagine conditions are not infrequent because of drought even though and lagoons provide a stable source of marine food (Tobin 196 the reefs 2.2 Normal Economy Prior to World War II, the economy of the Marshalls was based on subsistence crops and fishing, supplemented by the export of dried meat of the coconut). This continues to be the case t most of the islands; however, gover:ment activities at Majuro the missile range on Kwajalein are now major sources of enapl hence, of income for the people in the Marshalls. In 1977, the total population of the islands was estimat 25,000. Of these, 8,000 were at Majuro and 5,000 on Ebye Isl Kwajalein. A portion of the money earned >y Marshallese empl these two centers filters back to the subsistence-based islan sumably, the economy at Enewetak after resettlement will be b subsistence crops and fishing, incomes from relatives employe Majuro and Kwajalein, export crops (initially nonexistent), a support programs insofar as they continue to exist after indegendence. 2.e: Enewetak Atoll Enewetak is a typical atoll (Figure 2); 40 islands surroufd an elliptical lagoon 23 miles long and 17 miles wide. The totalfland area is only 2.26 square miles. eeee ers are - ae omen ee ae eR a site