Solomon Islands Government

Biodiversity

Solomon Islands is a tropical Pacific Island nation located just south of the equator. Comprised of over 992 islands, it includes seven of the eight island groups of the Solomon Archipelago.

According to Solomon Islands’ National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP), the terrestrial (land) fauna and flora of all the larger islands in the Solomons are renowned for high species diversity and high levels of endemism, with the country’s rainforest eco-region being ranked as “globally outstanding” in a 1998 global analysis of biodiversity.

The biodiversity plan states that, not only do the Solomon Islands boast more restricted range and endemic bird species by area than any other place on earth, it is also home to the World’s largest skink, the World’s largest insect eating bat and hosts some of the World’s largest rats.

In the Marine realm, the Solomon Islands boast the second highest coral biodiversity in the world and was included as part of the Coral Triangle, a scientifically defined area of high species richness spanning almost 6 million square kilometers of the Indo-Pacific. The Coral Triangle is sometimes referred to as the “Amazon of the Seas”, and is considered an epicenter of tropical marine diversity on the planet.

The major threats to the Solomon Islands’ biodiversity are unsustainable logging, inappropriate land use practices and over exploitation of natural resources compounded by; natural disasters, population increase, invasive species, pollution and climate change. The resulting impacts are anticipated to be loss of habitats, extinction of species and degraded ecosystems.

What are ecosystems?

An ecosystem is a community of living things like organisms, plants and animals existing in a specific area and that interact with each other and with nonliving components of their environment (climate, water, soil, sun, weather) as a system. In an ecosystem, each organism plays a specific role. These living and nonliving components are regarded as linked by nutrient cycles and energy flows.

Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend.

Ecosystems management

Climate change, overconsumption, demographic changes and activities and technologies that damage the environment are pushing Solomon Islands and our planet to its limits. Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are essential for improving and sustaining human wellbeing. The biodiversity losses we are now witnessing is diminishing the potential for sustainable development in  the Solomon Islands.

However, biodiversity only affects the function of an ecosystem.

The principles of ecosystem management suggest that rather than managing individual species, natural resources should be managed at the ecosystem level itself.

While there is no single way to effectively manage ecosystems, it is generally agreed that classifying ecosystems into ecologically homogenous units such as forests, coral reefs and mangroves to name a few examples, is an important first step towards effective management.

Community Based Resource Management

More than 80% percent of land in the Solomon islands and More than 90% of inshore coastal areas, islands and islets are under customary tenure. Under customary tenure systems particular groups of people (e.g. family units, clans or tribes) have primary rights to access and use these resources.

These rights are in principle, exclusionary, transferable, and enforceable. In Solomon Islands, community-based approaches build on these customary tenure and use rights as the foundations of efforts to manage resources.

By basing CBRM on the structures and systems that are already in place for governing within a community (e.g. customary tenure, chiefly system, other leadership arrangements etc.) management is more likely to be respected, complied with and fit that community’s particular situation.

In addition, there is currently a lack of financial and human resources at the government level to address resource management issues and enforce legislation in rural and remote community settings. The Solomon Islands Government is taking steps to address these capacity shortcomings; however it is recognized that the geographic expanse of Solomon Islands will always present a big challenge to centralized management (i.e. management by the national government).

Details

Category: Environment & Conservation

Published: 29 July 2016

The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) is responsible, through its Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) for ensuring that development activities are carried out in an environmentally friendly manner within the Solomon Islands.

The Division is responsible for Environmental Impact Assessments and the Issuing of Development Consents for development activities under the Environment Act 1998 and the Environment Regulation 2008.

The aim of these measures is to promote environmentally sound and sustainable development through the identification of appropriate mitigation measures.

They also protect the quality and productivity of the natural environment and play a role in predicting, avoiding, minimizing or offsetting the adverse significant environmental, social and other relevant effects of development proposals.

In terms of the formulation of effective policies, these measures also provide information for decision-making on the environmental consequences of any proposed developments.

Details

Category: Environment & Conservation

Published: 29 July 2016

Conservation is the act of preserving or protecting natural assets such as plant and animal species, a habitat or an ecosystem service such as mangroves and rainforests for the benefit of current and future generations.

Human consumption and land use practices, as well as other activities bringing about climate change, have all contributed to these natural assets being put under a lot of pressure.

Unsustainable logging and mining practices as well as other development activities have led to diminishing natural rainforests in some parts of the country, increased soil degradation and threats to biodiversity and ecosystems.
Conservation efforts in Solomon Islands are done through legal means, and since the principle of ecosystem management puts forward that biodiversity should be managed at the ecosystem level, the Protected Areas Act 2010 and the Protected Areas Regulations 2012 are the country’s key conservation legislations.

These are supported by the Environment Act 1998 and the Wildlife Protection and Management Act 1998 and their respective Regulations.

Together they give natural assets such as wildlife species, coral reefs and rainforests the legal status they need to be protected from harmful human activities and interests.

All three of these Acts are administered by the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM).

At the International level, conservation efforts are primarily encouraged by Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) such as the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (UNCBD) and supported by other United Nations conventions such as the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ECD is also responsible for implementing the interests of the UNCBD in Solomon Islands and World Heritage listed sites such as the East Rennell World Heritage Site.

Protected Areas

Protected areas are terrestrial and marine areas that are protected under the Protected Areas Act 2010 and its 2012 Regulation.

They include nature reserves, natural parks, nature monuments, resources management areas, closed areas and World Heritage Sites.

Heritage Sites

A World Heritage Site is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monuments or mountains) that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of special cultural or physical significance.

Community Based Resource Management

More than 80% percent of land in the Solomon islands and More than 90% of inshore coastal areas, islands and islets are under customary tenure. Under customary tenure systems particular groups of people (e.g. family units, clans or tribes) have primary rights to access and use these resources.

These rights are in principle, exclusionary, transferable, and enforceable. In Solomon Islands, community-based approaches build on these customary tenure and use rights as the foundations of efforts to manage resources.

By basing CBRM on the structures and systems that are already in place for governing within a community (e.g. customary tenure, chiefly system, other leadership arrangements etc.) management is more likely to be respected, complied with and fit that community’s particular situation.

In addition, there is currently a lack of financial and human resources at the government level to address resource management issues and enforce legislation in rural and remote community settings. The Solomon Islands Government is taking steps to address these capacity shortcomings; however it is recognized that the geographic expanse of Solomon Islands will always present a big challenge to centralized management (i.e. management by the national government).

Details

Category: Environment & Conservation

Published: 29 July 2016

Chemicals and waste management in Solomon Islands is a concern of the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) within the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM).

The Division’s work in this area is guided by the Environment Act 1998 and the Environment Regulation 2008 and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) such as the Waigani Convention and the Stockholm Convention.

In waste management, the ECD often works in close consultation with the Honiara City Council’s Health Division, which is responsible for rubbish collection (solid waste) within the Solomon Islands capital, Honiara and with regional partners such as the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and other donors and NGOs such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Chemical Waste Management

Chemicals are critical to the manufacture of many products and protection of human health, and an important contributor to the GDP and employment. However, without good management practices, chemicals and their hazardous wastes can pose significant risks to human health and the environment especially the poorest members of the global community.

In urban areas, low-income or minority populations are often exposed to hazardous chemicals and associated wastes in their jobs or because they reside in polluted areas.

In rural areas, most chemical exposure and environmental pollution is linked to the misuse of agricultural chemicals and pollution brought by waterways, impacting the natural resources upon which these communities depend.

The sound management of chemicals and wastes is an important to achieving sustainable, inclusive and resilient human development and the United Nations’ post MDG Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Details

Category: Environment & Conservation

Published: 29 July 2016