Nauru is the smallest republic in the world, located on the eponymous island in the Pacific. It has land area of 21.3 km ² and a population of 14 thousand people. To the misfortune of the islanders (alas, one can't say otherwise) the phosphorite reserves were discovered on the Island. Phosphate intensive mining has resulted in the destruction of soil cover and most of the island turned into a stone desert (later on, as a result of remediation activities it managed to restore 63% of vegetation cover... read more
