Nooto-North Tarawa contains relatively pristine and healthy representative coastal wetland ecosystems, including a wide range of coastal habitats such as lagoons, coral reefs, intertidal mudflats, and mangroves that support a high biodiversity and are resource rich, with a wide variety of finfish, turtles, crustaceans, seaweed and other plants. It is one of the few areas where mangroves are found in the whole of Kiribati, with stands of mangrove dominated by a single species, Rhizophora stylosa. The site is an important breeding area for marine species of conservation value such as the globally endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas) which nests and forages at the site, the vulnerable giant clam (Tridacna gigas), and the near threatened bonefish (Albula vulpes).