Current view: Text account
Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
Vostok is a small, low-lying, coral island of the southern Line Islands.
An important seabird colony.
Non-bird biodiversity: Coconut crabs have been positively identified on the island, although densities are unknown.
Little evidence of recent occupation. Phosphate mining was proposed, although there is no evidence that any extraction actually occurred. A small triangular island with no lagoon, the central portion of the island is occupied by a stand of Pisonia forest which grows to a height of c25m.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
There is a substantial population of pacific rats on the island, particularly underneath the Pisonia woodland. Little evidence that the rats impact significantly on the seabird populations however.
Vostok Island has been a restricted-access Wildlife sanctuary since 1979.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Vostok Island (Kiribati). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/vostok-island-iba-kiribati on 27/12/2024.
