FAO Forestry country profiles - forest management

Management plans

The Solomon Islands has some requirements for forest management plans, mainly associated with logging concession requirements. The National Code of Practice for Timber Harvesting requires the development of harvesting plans with logging carried out in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. Most concession agreements have been established using a Standard Logging Agreement (SLA), as required under the Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act. SLAs stipulate clear guidelines regulating matters concerning the environment, reforestation, preservation of tambu (taboo) places, control of settlers, and employment opportunities and therefore constitute a management plan. The high proportion of forests under customary ownership and typically passive management means that most forests are not generally managed under any formal plan outside periods of harvesting. Several non-government forestry projects have developed management plans for forest areas encompassed by their projects. For example, the Solomon Islands¿ Development Trust has developed a pro forma plan that can be can be adapted by individual owners to incorporate their own management strategies. The base plan uses mapping, inventory and tree selection coupled with reduced impact logging as a basis for management. Several other programmes have been Forest Stewardship Council certification, which ensure that effective forest management plans are in place.