Managers

Government forestry activities in the Solomon Islands are administered through the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Conservation. The Forestry Division¿s responsibilities are divided between 4 Sections: Operations (log monitoring), Economics & Marketing, Research & Development, and Policy and Planning. The Operations sector has the greatest direct involvement in forest management, with responsibilities to monitor harvesting operations and check harvesting plans, as well as to monitor log exports, sawmills, and to collect government levies and royalties. Among the duties of the Research & Development sector is extension responsibility for promoting reforestation on customary lands. This sector is also charged with overseeing reforestation of old garden sites and tribal lands that have been logged over in the past. Other duties of the Research & Development sector include improving genetic material of priority species and managing the Herbarium and Botanical Gardens.

A variety of private sector firms have forest management responsibilities including Kolombangara Forest Products Limited (KFPL), a joint venture between the Commonwealth Development Corporation and the Solomon Island government. The company manages plantations for sustained production of logs and sawn timber for export. Principal activities are Forest Management, Logging, Marketing, and Wood Processing. Eagon Pacific Plantations Ltd purchased the Viru plantations in New Georgia in 1995. A number of companies hold logging concessions in the Solomon Islands. Several NGOs are also running forestry projects in the Solomon Islands including the Solomon Islands Development Trust, Greenpeace, Isabel Sustainable Forest Management Trust, Solomon Western Islands Fair Trade (SWIFT) and SOLTRUST.

The principal agents responsible for forest management in the Solomon Islands are, however, customary landowners. Around 88 percent of land in the Solomon Islands is under customary ownership. This comprises a variety of different ownership systems that vary between tribal, clan and individual ownership or rights of use. In general, forest management on customary land is relatively passive and follows traditional subsistence practices, largely centred on agroforestry close to settlements with hunting and gathering in the high forests. Rural communities tend to be reliant on forests for many elements of their livelihood.

Public participation in forest management

The very high proportion of land (particularly forest land) under customary ownership in the Solomon Islands means there is high potential for public participation in forest management. In reality, however, much of the forest in customary hands is relatively inaccessible and management inputs are negligible. Public participation has more ordinarily been in community or clan negotiations with logging companies for harvesting rights. The 1994 Forest Policy specifically targets greater involvement by forest owners in forestry sector operations. Extension is seen as a key to achieving this objective. A number of NGO activities are focused on community-based forest management projects.
last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009