FAO Forestry country profiles - forest management

Objectives

The Solomon Islands¿ objectives for forests are stated in the 1994 National Forest Policy. The key elements of the Forest Policy concern the need for sound and sustainable forest management, promotion of greater involvement by forest owners in forestry operations, increasing levels of domestic processing, and enhancing economic benefits arising from forestry. These aspects are embodied in the Forests Act 1999, which has the principal objectives of:

• ensuring that forest resources are sustainably managed for present and future generations;
• promoting the development of a timber industry that delivers maximum benefits to Solomon Islanders;
• ensuring that forest resources under customary ownership are harvested only after following procedures to determine rightful ownership and ensuring landowners are fully aware of proposed harvesting.

A National Environment Strategy was developed in 1991. Forestry issues and raising public awareness of the important roles of the forestry sector were accorded high priority in this strategy.

The overall objectives of the Forestry Division are to:

• implement the revised National Forest Policy including the enactment of a new Forests Bill;
• manage the forest resources for the benefit of Solomon Islands and its people to ensure maximum revenue capture for economic recovery;
• to restructure the Forestry Division and upgrade its Scheme of Service aimed at producing a smaller but highly motivated and effective work force;
• develop resources through supporting family-based reforestation programmes.