location: Solomon Islands

location: Solomon Islands

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New database unveils the role of Asian hornbills as forest seed dispersers
- Equipped with bulky beaks and impressive wingspans, hornbills are vital long-distance seed dispersers in tropical forests. But while a lot is known about the eating habits of hornbills, many mysteries still remain.
- A new study has compiled an open-source, publicly available database of Asian and New Guinean hornbill frugivory and seed dispersal research.
- The new resource aims to help researchers, students and conservation organizations pinpoint knowledge gaps so that they can target their efforts and limited resources.
- The new frugivory database could also prove useful for reforestation projects, many of which increasingly recognize the importance of planting food plants to attract natural seed dispersers, which in turn helps to further regenerate the forest.

Analysts point to logging and mining to explain Solomon Islands unrest
- In November 2021, Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, was wracked by riots that left three people dead and the city’s Chinatown in ashes.
- The unrest was stoked by the prime minister’s decision to end diplomatic ties with Taiwan and instead side with Beijing, stirring up anti-Chinese sentiment, as well as tensions between Guadalcanal province, where the capital is located, and Malaita, the country’s most-populous province but also one of its least-developed.
- However, some analysts say the true causes of discontent lie in the cozy relationships between officials and the foreign logging and mining firms that are ravaging the country.

Between land and sea: Agrobiodiversity holds key to health for Melanesian tribes
- Residents of Baniata village on the Solomon Islands’ Western province practice an ancient agroforestry system that intercrops 20 edible species and features the ngali nut, a delicacy sold in domestic and international markets.
- The community’s traditionally self-sufficient and biodiverse diet features 132 species, notably the fe’i banana, a Melanesian specialty that contains 100 times the vitamin A of a typical banana.
- The resilient food system and diet is increasingly affected by climate change, imported crops, processed foods, and the loss of traditional knowledge in younger generations.
- This article is one of an eight-part series showcasing Indigenous food systems covered in the most comprehensive FAO report on the topic to date.

Better logging regulations ‘last best hope’ for Solomon Islands, study says
- Kolombangara is one of more than 900 islands that make up the Solomon Islands, where timber is a major export and logging continues at 19 times the sustainable rate.
- The island’s lowland forests have been intensively harvested since the mid-1960s; only the steep forests above 400 meters (1,300 feet) remain largely intact.
- If forests do not have enough time to recover between bouts of logging, scientists say, there will be cascading consequences for timber resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services on which local communities depend.
- They’re calling for improved national forest management policies that regulate reentry logging and incorporate land-use planning; conservation partners are also seeking formal protection of the island’s customary upland natural forests and investigating forest restoration techniques.

Solomon Islands environmental defender faces life sentence for arson charge
- Accused of burning logging machinery belonging to Malaysia-based firm Xiang Lin SI Ltd, the “Nende Five” were taken into custody in 2018.
- In June 2020, three of the five were acquitted based on lack of evidence. However, in July the magistrate decided to uphold charges against the two remaining defendants.
- Jerry Meioko was convicted on charges of larceny and unlawful damage while Clement Tauto became the only defendant to be convicted of arson, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Their convictions were based on confessions, which advocates say were made under duress.
- Meanwhile, logging continues to spread in the Solomon Islands in areas that are home to local communities and claimed as ancestral land, and in forest inhabited by unique, endangered species found nowhere else in the world.

Solomon Islanders imprisoned for trying to stop the logging of their forests
- A group of residents of Nende Island in the Solomon Islands claim corrupt government practices allowed a logging company to get a license to log the island’s primary forests, as well as cropland. Activists also allege the company, Malaysia-based Xiang Lin SI Ltd, logged outside of its concession area.
- The “Nende Five,” as they’ve become known, say they were never given an opportunity to object to the logging of their land, and Xiang Lin proceeded without obtaining the consent of the majority of residents.
- The protesters say they tried to stop the logging through legal processes. When heavy equipment was destroyed last year, the Nende Five were taken into custody. However, they say they’re innocent of the charges against them.
- Their trial has been adjourned 29 times for lack of evidence, and was recently vacated after two days in court due to allegations that the police had not followed due process in obtaining evidence from one of the defendants. The trial is expected to resume in June. Meanwhile, deforestation is ramping up on Nende as logging roads multiply and displace the island’s old growth rainforest.

A new election brings little hope for Solomon Islands’ vanishing forests
- Longstanding allegations of corruption plague forest governance in the Solomon Islands, with residents and NGOs claiming government officials are allowing logging to illegally penetrate primary forests on community and ancestral land.
- Satellite data show several surges in deforestation across the country since the beginning of the year.
- Many were hoping the Solomon Islands’ recent national election would bring needed change. However, Manasseh Sogavare was elected Prime Minster last month, a move observers say is, at best, an extension of the status quo.
- In the meantime, mining companies appear to be moving in to extract mineral resources from areas that have been logged.

Solomon Islands: Oil stops spilling but environmental toll still being calculated
- On Feb. 5, a Hong Kong-based bulk carrier, the MV Solomon Trader, ran aground off a remote island in the Solomon Islands. It spilled heavy fuel across coastal waters, beaches and a sensitive coral reef system not far from a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- On March 18, the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office reported that salvage experts have finally stabilized the beleaguered ship and stopped the fuel leak.
- An estimated 80 metric tons (88 tons) of heavy fuel oil escaped from the ship, but the government maintains that the full environmental impact of the spill remains to be determined.
- The Solomon Islands government, aided by Australia, began a cleanup operation in early March that continues.

Norway divests from plantation companies linked to deforestation
- This week, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global – the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund – released its 2018 holdings.
- Thirty companies were divested from on the basis that they “impose substantial costs on other companies and society as a whole and so are not long-term sustainable.” These “risk-based divestments” appear to include four plantation companies: Olam International, Halcyon Agri Corp, Sime Darby Plantation and Sipef.
- These companies are involved in the production of commodity crops in tropical areas in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Oceania and have been criticized for destructive land use practices like deforestation.

In the Solomon Islands, making amends in the name of conservation
- The Kwaio people of the Solomon Islands have been working with scientists to protect their homeland from resource extraction and development.
- But violent clashes in 1927 between the Kwaio and the colonial government created a rift between members of this tribe and the outside world.
- To heal those old wounds and continue with their conservation work, a trio of scientists joined the Kwaio in a sacred reconciliation ceremony in July 2018.
- Kwaio leaders say that the ceremony opened the door to a more peaceful future for their people.

Solomon Islands province bans logging in bid to protect environment
- The leaders of Central Island province, part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, have decided not to issue new business licenses to logging and mining companies following a local petition and recent reports detailing the lack of sustainability and legality in the country’s logging sector.
- Local and international organizations have blamed unsustainable and corrupt logging practices for destroying the islands’ sensitive habitats and creating civil strife among the people who live there.
- Provincial governments in the Solomon Islands lack the power to block logging outright, leading Central Island province to take the licensing approach to stop new operations.

Chinese demand wiping out forests in the Solomon Islands: New report
- Logging companies are harvesting timber from the forests of the Solomon Islands at about 19 times the sustainable rate, according to an analysis by the watchdog NGO Global Witness.
- More than 80 percent of the Solomons’ log exports go to China.
- Global Witness is calling on China to build on its efforts to develop its “Green Supply Chain” by requiring companies to verify that the timber they import comes from sustainable and legal sources.

Island logging must go beyond current ‘best practices’ to avoid erosion: New study
- In a new study, a team of ecologists modeled what would happen if companies were allowed to log the forests of Kolombangara Island under several management scenarios, including those designed to minimize soil erosion and protect water quality.
- As the model simulated higher proportions of land clearance, the most stringent methods couldn’t stop the soil erosion that would foul clean water and agricultural land for the island’s people, as well as the habitats of local aquatic plants and animals.
- The Kolombangara Island Biodiversity Conservation Association is spearheading an effort to get intact forests at elevations higher than 400 meters (1,310 feet) designated as a national park on the island.

How a hunger for teeth is driving a bat toward extinction
- Bat teeth are more valuable than paper money on the island of Makira, in the eastern Solomon Islands.
- The use of bat teeth as a currency means that bats on the island are commonly hunted. One species, the Makira flying fox, is found only on the island and is being threatened with extinction due to human pressures.
- In addition to direct hunting, human population growth and logging are also threatening the bats.
- To save the species, researchers recommend developing quotas for sustainable harvesting, as well as an outreach campaign connecting the survival of this key piece of Makiran culture with the need to conserve the bats.

Can the Solomon Islands’ Gold Ridge Mine serve as a new model for resource extraction in the South Pacific?
- After 17 years of foreign ownership and a checkered environmental history, the Solomon Islands’ Gold Ridge mine is now being led by a local landowner-driven joint venture.
- The company saw its first major test in April 2016, when rainfall triggered a spillover from the mine’s tailing dam. However, independent tests found the water quality downstream remained safe.
- Though concerns still remain, the new ownership structure could be a model for mining operations elsewhere in the region.

Giant tree-dwelling rat discovered in the Solomon Islands
- The Uromys vika is the first new rodent species to be described from the Solomon Islands in 80 years.
- The elusive rat was finally discovered when an 18-inch, orange-brown individual fell out of a tree that had been cut down by a logging company.
- The researchers think that the rat should be listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List because the rat appears to be rare, and its rainforest habitat is rapidly being logged away.

Delicate Solomon Island ecosystem in danger of heavy logging
- Foreign and domestic companies are making a push – at times using allegedly unethical means – for the timber found on the island of Nende in the Santa Cruz chain of the Solomon Islands.
- The island’s old-growth forests are home to animals like the Santa Cruz shrikebill, which is found nowhere else on Earth.
- Concerns have been voiced that logging could wreak havoc on the ecosystem, from the watersheds in the mountains down to the coral reefs ringing the island, if large-scale logging is allowed to proceed.

Corruption drives dealings with logging companies in the Solomon Islands
- The old-growth forests on the island of Nende anchor a unique ecosystem that hold creatures found nowhere else and that have supported communities for centuries.
- Logging companies are eager to harvest the island’s timber, which could be worth as much as SI$10 million ($1.26 million).
- Scientists worry that logging would destroy everything from the mountain sources of the island’s fresh water to the reefs where sedimentation as a result of logging could kill coral.
- Conservation groups and sources from within the provincial government have charged that the companies are using coercion and bribes to convince landowners and development organizations to back their plans to log Nende’s forests.

New species of pea-sized crab discovered — inside a mussel
- Scientists have discovered a new species of tiny pea crab within a large date mussel collected in the Solomon Islands.
- The crab has been named Serenotheres janus after Janus, the Roman two-faced god because of a large plate that covers its upper carapace, giving it the illusion of being two-faced.
- S. janus is the second known species within the pea crab genus Serenotheres, members of which parasitize rock-boring mussels of the subfamily Lithophaginae, the researchers write.

Five Pacific islands have already disappeared due to sea level rise
- According to a study published last week in the journal Environmental Research Letters, five reef islands in the Solomon Islands have been completely lost to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, and six more islands have suffered severe erosion.
- This is believed to be the first scientific evidence confirming the impacts climate change is having on Pacific islands.
- Many coastal communities have been forced to relocate to inland villages, often on an ad hoc basis with no support from local government or international climate funds, researchers said.

‘Ghost bird’ photographed for first time ever, euthanized for science
- Killing of the first male moustached kingfisher ever seen by scientists has upset many readers and scientists.
- But Chris Filardis, lead biologist, writes that kingfisher numbers in the region are high, and collection of one male individual will not affect its population.
- The moustached kingfisher habitat may get national recognition for protection in the near future, according to Filardis.

First ever biofluorescent sea turtle discovered in Solomon Islands
- Marine biologist David Gruber said he made the discovery mostly by accident while filming biofluorescent coral off the coast of the Solomon Islands.
- Biofluorescence is commonly used for finding and attracting prey, for defense or for some kind of communication.
- It’s too early to say why the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle would have developed biofluorescence.

PHOTOS: Glowing fish – study finds widespread biofluorescence among fish

Swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum). © PLOS ONE. Biofluorescence is widespread among marine fish species, indicating its importance in communication and avoiding detection, finds a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. The research shows that biofluorescence — a phenomenon where organisms absorb light, transform it, and emit it as a different color — is […]
Beetles in the spotlight: a new species of burying beetle from the Solomon Islands Archipelago

If you thought of the little beetle that you saw the other day as just a ‘regular one’ then this might interest you. Scientists from the University of Alaska discovered Nicrophorus efferens, a new species of burying beetle from Solomon Islands. Studying six adult specimens borrowed from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Hawaii (BPBM), […]
98% of marine fish headed for the aquarium trade die within a year in the Philippines

Almost all wild caught marine fish for the aquarium trade will die within a year of capture, according to WWF. Following months of interviews with Filipino marine exporters and hobbyists, WWF-Philippines have found that roughly 80% of all marine fish die before they are sold, and those that survive long enough to be bought by […]
Solomon Islands’ banks shut down logging company accounts
Banks in the Solomon Islands have shut down bank accounts belonging to several foreign logging companies, reports Business Advantage. The move will make it “almost impossible” to receive payments for timber exports. The banks, which include Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ and Bank of South Pacific, didn’t provide a reason for the decision, but a spokesman […]
Logging endangers UNESCO World Heritage Site in Solomon Islands
A world heritage site in the Solomon Islands is “in danger” due to logging, warns the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The East Rennell area of the Solomon Islands was inscribed on the list of world heritage sites in 1998 for its forests and coral reefs. East Rennell is the world’s largest […]
Pacific islanders are the ‘victims of industrial countries unable to control their carbon dioxide emissions’

With islands and atolls scattered across the ocean, the small Pacific island states are among those most exposed to the effects of global warming: increasing acidity and rising sea level, more frequent natural disasters and damage to coral reefs. These micro-states, home to about 10 million people, are already paying for the environmental irresponsibility of […]
‘Exporting deforestation’: China is the kingpin of illegal logging

Logs smuggled across the border from Myanmar to China. Photo © : EIA. Runaway economic growth comes with costs: in the case of China’s economic engine, one of them has been the world’s forests. According to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), China has become the number one importer of illegal wood […]
Solomon Islands’ export of ‘captive-bred’ birds deemed to be a farce

Over 68,000 birds listed on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) were exported from the Solomon Islands during 2000-2010 according to a recent report by wildlife-monitoring NGO, TRAFFIC. Although the majority of birds were listed as ‘captive-bred,’ the report raises the question of whether these species were not […]
Logging of primary rainforests not ecologically sustainable, argue scientists

Tropical countries may face a risk of ‘peak timber’ as continued logging of rainforests exceeds the capacity of forests to regenerate timber stocks and substantially increases the risk of outright clearing for agricultural and industrial plantations, argues a trio of scientists writing in the journal Biological Conservation. The implications for climate, biodiversity, and local economies […]
New book series hopes to inspire research in world’s ‘hottest biodiversity hotspot’

Pristine coastal vegetation: Misool island, Raja Ampat. Photo by: Dimtry Telnov, 2009. Entomologist Dmitry Telnov hopes his new pet project will inspire and disseminate research about one of the world’s last unexplored biogeographical regions: Wallacea and New Guinea. Incredibly rich in biodiversity and still full of unknown species, the region, also known as the Indo-Australian […]
Beetle bonanza: 84 new species prove richness of Indo-Australian islands

Re-examining beetle specimens from 19 museums has led to the discovery of 84 new beetle species in the Macratria genus. The new species span the islands of Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, tripling the number of known Macratria beetles in the region. “Species of the genus Macratria are cosmopolitan, with the highest species […]
Record number of nations hit all time temperature highs
To date, nineteen nations have hit or matched record high temperatures this year, according to Jeff Master’s Wunder Blog, making 2010 the only year to have so many national records. In contrast, no nation this year has hit a record cold temperature. Over the past decade, which was the warmest on record, 75 nations have […]
Summer from hell: seventeen nations hit all-time heat records
Asian continent sees warmest temperature ever recorded. The summer isn’t over yet, but already seventeen nations have matched or beaten their all-time heat records. According to Jeff Masters’ WunderBlog, Belarus, the Ukraine, Cyprus, Russia, Finland, Qatar, the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Niger, Chad, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan, Colombia, Myanmar, Ascension Island, and the Solomon Islands have all […]
Uninhabited tropical island paradise seeks REDD funding to save it from loggers

Tetepare may be one of the last tropical island paradises left on earth. Headhunting and a mysterious illness drove its original inhabitants from the island two hundred years ago, making Tetepare today the largest uninhabited island in the tropical Pacific. The 120 square kilometer island (46 square miles), long untouched by industry or agriculture, is […]
Six nations pledge to protect the Coral Triangle
Last Friday, six nations signed a pledge launching the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF). Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Malaysia each agreed to protect the Coral Triangle, a region spanning 1.6 billion acres, half the size of the US. The Coral Triangle contains […]
U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation.

U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation U.S. pledges $40M toward coral reef conservation mongabay.com October 23, 2008
China’s log imports fall 19% in first half of 2008 due to high prices

China’s log imports fall 19% in first half of 2008 due to high prices China’s log imports fall 19% in first half of 2008 due to high prices mongabay.com August 27, 2008 PNG remains the largest official source for tropical logs; E.U. log imports also dip. China’s imports of raw logs plunged 18.7 percent by […]
China tropical log imports jump at Jiangsu port
China tropical log imports jump at Jiangsu port China tropical log imports jump at Jiangsu port mongabay.com May 16, 2007 Logs imports through Zhangjiagang Port in Jiangsu Province, China have increased significantly in 2007, reports the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in its bi-weekly update. Port statistics show that log imports in the first quarter […]
New bird species discovered in the South Pacific

New bird species discovered in the South Pacific New bird species discovered in the South Pacific mongabay.com April 19, 2007 University of Florida scientists have discovered a new genus of frogmouth bird in the Solomon Islands. The findings are published in the April edition of Ibis: The International Journal of Avian Science. A new genus […]
Avoided deforestation could send $38 billion to third world under global warming pact

Avoided deforestation help fight third world under global warming pact Avoided deforestation could help fight third world poverty under global warming pact $43 billion could flow into developing countries Rhett Butler, mongabay.com October 31, 2006 An avoided deforestation strategy for mitigating climate change could mean billions for world’s poorest countries while preserving biodiversity and ecosystem […]
Rainforests worth $1.1 trillion for carbon alone in Coalition nations

Rainforests worth $1.1 trillion for carbon alone in “Coalition” nations Rainforests worth $1.1 trillion for carbon alone in “Coalition” nations Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com November 29, 2005 [2006 update] If a coalition of developing countries has its way, there could soon be new forests sprouting up in tropical regions. The group of ten countries, led […]

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