The Impacts of Logging in the Solomon Islands
- Slides: 18
The Impacts of Logging in the Solomon Islands Pic to be taken in Marovo Log pond
INTRODUCTION • Logging in the Solomon Islands means cutting timber trees in a given area to sell to overseas. • The logging industry is mainly run by Asians who own machines and logging businesses. • They make agreements with custom land owners who grant them the rights to harvest trees on their land. • Logging in the Solomon Islands began more than 30 years ago on the Islands of Guadalcanal, Malaita and Western province and later spread to other parts of the country. • Forests are harvested at an alarming rate making a threat to timber supply to the fast growing population of Solomon Islands.
• Forest cover has decreased greatly, • The loss of forest risks economics, and social life. the environment, • The rate of logging means our country will run out of fores. This would be a disaster. • • Although logging can bring cash benefits to the people, it also causes many changes. • It is very important that logging does not badly damage water, soil and forests.
WHY LOGGING IN SOLOMON ISLANDS? • Custom owners see logging their forests gives quick money to meet their immediate needs. • GETTING QUICK AND EASIER MONEY!
MAP OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
Economy Advantages of Logging • Land-owners get royalties, a market for garden crops and sea food • Clearing of land enables land-owners and tribal groups to start agriculture projects –planting of trees, cocoa, betelnut; also tourism, fisheries. • Gain knowledge and skills of management and mechanics from working for companies, so they can run their small businesses , income to manage their families and meet daily needs. • Employment e. g log scaler, security, mechanics, driver, house keeping
Several marine resource sold to companies by villagers to get income Source: Mary Tahu
Economy Disadvantages of logging • Economically land-owners are at a disadvantage –company gets 60%, government 25%, Licensee 3% and landowners (royalty) 12%. By comparison the company and government get the biggest share of every shipment, while the landowners get only a small amount. • The oversea-markets for logs set the prize of the logs while land-owners do not have any say in the price of their logs.
• Goods and services provided by the company are very expensive , putting landowners at disadvantage. • Example, normal price of a 20 kg bag rice in Solomon Islands is $180. The company sell a 20 kg rice at $300. Landowners advance bags of rice and deduct from the royalty, leaving only small amount of royalty for distribution.
Logs piled at a Log Pond and later shipped in barges for export at Marovo lagoon, Western Province Source: Mary Tahu
Social Impacts Advantages of Logging • Widen or extend social relationships with other ethic groups e. g. Asians and government agencies e. g. Ministry of Forestry and Research. • Mixed-marriage with Asians produced mixed race population- ‘half-half’pikininni. • Strengthens custom laws and kinship ties and relationships between families and
Social Impacts Disadvantages of logging • Logging associated with alcoholism causes fighting, disorder and breaking down of social norms and values. • Increased land disputes cause insecurity, disturbance to school and families that hold society together. • Affects family relationship causing ‘coldwar’ divisions, and ‘rich-poor’ gap in
• child sexual abuse and prostitution; • unwanted pregnancies. • Malaysians sometimes take underage girls as second wives, abandoning them when it is time to return home. • Spoiling of sacred and burial sites.
Environmental Impacts • Destruction of environment disturbs forest trees and important habitats ; Greater loss of species e. g canoe trees, carving/medicine trees ; damage to breeding grounds of fish. • Logging causes waste pollution from plastic, tins, iron materials and even oil spill from the broken down machines. • Destruction of water sources makes riverwater undrinkable which implies death of river species.
• Inland soils suffer from erosion and lose nutrients. • Other forms of damage due to overuse of available land e. g Log trucks make ground hard, unsuitable for growing crops • constant risk of foreign pests e. g snails, beetles and weeds etc. . . • Some people think that history will show logging to be a worse disaster than all cyclones, earthquakes and ethnic tension in our first 40 years as a country
Negative Impacts of Logging to the Environment Water pollution from run offs Soil erosion during heavy rainfall Aerial view of logging tracks in the Western Province Source: (Raomae 2010)
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT LOGGING? ? THINK CAREFULLY • What will we really get in the long term? • Will we really be better off in the future ? • Will our land sea be protected if logging occurs? • How can we be sure that my community gets all the benefits?
THANK YOU
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