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The Babatana Rainforest Conservation Project has another protected area under its fold as the Lukulobere Tribe celebrates the official declaration of 563 hectares of forest this week. The declaration event was held in Honiara on 29 July, with a community event in Choiseul to follow. Chief Jeffrey Damusoe Sipuda says…
The Australia-supported Solomon Islands Infrastructure Program is working with government and industry to strengthen the safety and resilience of infrastructure across Solomon Islands. Through targeted workshops with local construction contractors and government agencies, participants engaged in practical demonstrations of national social and environmental safeguard requirements, alongside best practice approaches to…
by Charley Piringi Prime Minister Matthew Wale has announced an ambitious regulatory overhaul of the Solomon Islands’ mineral sector, anchored by the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to secure intergenerational wealth. The comprehensive reform package, which includes seven pending amendments to the Mineral Resources Bill, aims to completely restructure…
For decades, the sound of chainsaws and heavy machinery have been a normal part of life in the rural Solomon Islands. The country’s rich, dense rainforests have been cut down, piled onto ships, and sent overseas, normally to China as the final destination. But in the last two years, the…
The National Government has started compliance checks on all Gold Dealer Licence holders in the country, following the Prime Minister’s recent policy directive on gold dealing operations. The checks are being carried out by the Mines Division of the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE). A statement from…
by Charley Piringi Prime Minister Matthew Wale has vowed that Solomon Islands will never repeat the failures of the logging industry as the GREAT Coalition Government launches sweeping mining reforms. “The failures experienced within the logging industry must never, and will never, be repeated in the mining sector,” PM Wale…
The Pacific COP31 Envoys, endorsed by the Pacific Climate Change Ministers, have now been formally appointed through a joint letter from the COP31 President-Designate and President of Negotiations. Â The Pacific COP31 Envoys are Ms Kristina Eonemto Stege from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Envoy for Oceania focusing…
by Georgina Maka’a Opposition leader Manasseh Sogavare has urged Attorney General Gabriel Suri to stand aside from current investigations into the controversial 33 shipments of bauxite. The Government initiated the investigation, and Suri has ordered the Director of Mines, Christa Tatapu, to provide all documents relating to the shipments. The…
by Ofani Eremae Attorney General Gabriel Suri says he was not involved in the operational aspects of Asia Pacific Investment Development (APID)’s mining activities or the shipment of bauxite from West Rennell when he acted as the company’s lawyer. Suri made the comments as he ordered the Director of Mines…
by Georgina Maka’a & Ronald Toito’ona Once called Solomon Islands’ least developed province, the logging industry was sold as the catalyst for change for Makira-Ulawa province. Instead, with 75% of loggable trees already harvested, the industry has left a legacy of unfulfilled promises. For decades, Makira-Ulawa has been forgotten by…
