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Asia and Oceania
Pitcairn Islands (British Overseas Territory) |
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Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
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Country information
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Pitcairn Islands’ Relations with Neighbours
Many Pitcairn Islanders have strong links with New Zealand – some are dual UK/New Zealand nationals. There are also increasing links with French Polynesia, Pitcairn's nearest neighbour and Pitcairn is a member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
Pitcairn Islands’ Relations with the International Community
HMG is responsible for Pitcairn’s external relations.
Relations with the UK
HMG is responsible for Pitcairn’s external relations, defence and internal security. The principal points of contact are Overseas Territories Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Governor’s Office at the British High Commission, Wellington, New Zealand.
UK Development Assistance
Pitcairn is crucially dependent upon certain key items of infrastructure (including the jetty, long boats and boat shed, and the road from the jetty up to the main settlement). A DfID-funded £1.9m project recently repaired the jetty, slipway and the Hill of Difficulty Road. Another major project brought an affordable telephone service, limited television and internet access to the island for the first time. Future development plans are focussed on improving access to the island and reducing its reliance on imported diesel with the use of sustainable energy, principally windpower. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has funded a number of projects aimed at promoting good governance and protection of the environment.
Tourism/Visitors
The dwindling population and the ever-decreasing number of ships stopping at Pitcairn is a concern. There is no airfield. The only access to the island is by cruise and container ships, which travel irregularly between New Zealand and the Americas via the Panama Canal. If there is space available, they may stop at Pitcairn en route. Visitors to the island are then met by the Islanders in their longboats for the last mile into the harbour. It is also possible to charter a yacht from Mangareva in French Polynesia but as this can be enormously expensive, it is beyond the means of the Islanders. Ways of overcoming the isolation are being investigated and a new shipping supply route between French Polynesia and Pitcairn was established in 2006.
All visitors to the Pitcairn are required to obtain entry clearance from the PIO in Auckland unless they are departing on the same vessel as the one they arrived on. In this case ‘permission to land’ can be requested from the Mayor on arrival.
Henderson Island
The conservation of Henderson Island, the best example in the Pacific of a large raised coral atoll, as a World Heritage Site and the control of the environmental impact on all of the islands are being monitored and strengthened.
Read about our work on Pitcairn at the FCO in Action page.
Website: www.government.pn
Email: admin@pitcairn.gov.pn
Country information
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Travel Advice
Travel Advice: Pitcairn Islands
Overseas Territories Department
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
Tel: 020-7008 1500
Fax: 020-7008 2086
Email: otdenquiries@fco.gov.uk
Pitcairn Islands Office
P.O. Box 105 696
Auckland
New Zealand
Tel: 0064 9 366 0186
Fax: 0064 9 366 0187
