The High Court has ordered two logging companies to pay $62 million in damages to three communities in Isabel Province.
This was over unlawful logging activities the loggers caused to the communities of Kolomola, Alualu and Tuseli in the Hograno Highlands District.
Justice Augustine Aulanga delivered the ruling on 4 August 2026 after Hograno woman Sandra Thegna brought the case on behalf of her people..
The judgment follows an earlier High Court ruling delivered on May 8, that found Isabel Timber Company Limited and King Solomon Development Limited liable for unlawful logging.
Isabel Timber Company is owned by a group of men from Isabel Province, while King Solomon Development is owned by Malaysians.
The court found the companies breached their logging licence and development consent conditions.
The latest ruling determined how much the communities should receive for the damage.
The court ordered both companies to pay the $62 million jointly. This means the communities can seek the full amount from either company. The two companies will also have to pay the legal costs of the case.
Widespread Environmental Damage
Justice Aulanga found the logging operations caused serious damage to the communities, affecting water sources, gardens, forests and culturally important sites.
He also found unlawful interference with the communities’ customary water rights.
“The companies were found to have polluted water sources and streams within the logging area.
“They also felled and moved logs inside protected buffer zones.
“Their operations also entered several water catchment areas.
“Those areas included the Khou Kolomola Stream and the Pepegu Waterfalls. They also included the Kaipito, Sirakura, Labe, Gonogono and Qwara streams,” Justice Aulanga said.
A government environmental assessment backed the communities’ claims.
“The Ministry of Environment inspected the affected area in January 2024.
“It found extensive logging through rivers and streams.
“It also found sedimentation and pollution affecting the river ecosystem.
“The assessment found damage to village and grave sites.
“It also found destruction of vegetation used by communities for water and gardening.
“The ministry’s findings supported the communities’ independent environmental assessment,” the judge stated.
200 Hectares Damaged
Justice Aulanga accepted an environmental assessment prepared by experts Robson Hevalao and Sebastian Misiga.
“The assessment found about 200.1 hectares had been damaged by logging activities.
“The experts used field inspections, GPS surveys and satellite images.
“They also examined vegetation, wildlife, water systems and fish populations.
“The report documented damage to tambu sites at Gabusiro and Kukufi.
“Those sites include historic graves and places linked to early Christian settlements.”
Justice Aulanga said the damage went beyond physical environmental loss.
“It included cultural and livelihood losses affecting the three communities,” he added.
How The $62 Million Was Calculated
Justice Aulanga accepted the expert assessment as the best evidence of the communities’ losses.
The $62 million award covers three main areas.
The first is $26 million for present resource losses. This covers damaged forests, plants, soil, water, timber and food sources.
The second is $21 million for lost future opportunities. This includes lost biodiversity and potential income from conservation and ecotourism. It also includes the land’s lost capacity to generate future environmental income.
The third is $15 million for rehabilitation. This covers work needed to repair and restore the damaged environment.
Justice Aulanga said the three amounts compensate different types of loss.
He rejected concerns that the communities would receive double compensation.
“The $62 million was not excessive or disproportionate.
“The two companies did not challenge evidence. They did not provide evidence challenging the claimed losses.
“They filed no expert report disputing the environmental assessment.
“They also provided no alternative valuation of the damage.”
Justice Aulanga said this was important when assessing the evidence.
However, he stressed that the claim still had to be proven.
The judge said he did not automatically accept the $62 million simply because the companies were absent.
“I examined the expert report in detail before accepting its findings.
“I found the assessment was based on recognised scientific and mapping methods.
“I also found its methodology had been used in previous Solomon Islands cases.
“I have therefore accepted the report’s valuation of the environmental damage.”
But the court also noted that the companies’ operations appear to have wound down
There’s evidence that King Solomon Development may have stopped operating locally.
Its former lawyer, Lionel Puhimana, told the court the company’s office had been reduced.
He said he understood the company had wound down its operations.
He also said its officers were no longer in the country.
The lawyer said he had received no instructions or payment of outstanding fees.
He subsequently withdrew from representing the companies.
Company Haus records showed Isabel Time Company was already removed, while King Solomon Development is still registered.
Neither company appeared at the August 4 hearing.
This is despite both companies have been properly notified.
“Their absence did not stop the court from assessing the damages,” Justice Aulanga said..
The court nevertheless examined the evidence before making the award.
Justice Aulanga said the damages are awarded to the three communities.
“This ruling does not decide how the $62 million should be divided between the three communities..
“That decision is left to the communities.”
Furthermore, Justice Aulanga said the award is intended to restore the communities as far as money can.
“It aims to place them closer to the position they would have occupied without the unlawful logging.”
The court also stressed that the award is compensation, not punishment.
“It is intended to compensate for proven environmental, livelihood and cultural harm.
“Some cultural losses cannot be restored through money.
“These include damage to ancestral burial and worship sites.
“Such harm nevertheless formed part of the overall assessment,” Justice Aulanga said.
Payment Date Not Fixed
The court did not set a fixed deadline for payment.
It said either side may apply to the court if an order about payment becomes necessary.
The ruling allows the claimant to take steps available under court rules to enforce the award.
The court also said enforcement problems would not change the amount awarded
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