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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Solomon Islands: Logging and Palm Oil Plantation Found Not Economic

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4/23/99

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Title: Greenpeace Finds Logging and Palm Oil Plantation not Economic

Source: Greenpeace

Status: Distribute freely with credit given to source

Date: April 14, 1999

Marovo Lagoon: 14th April, 1999: Greenpeace Pacific says there are

parallels between the findings of a Solomon Islands study it released

today and developments in Papua New Guinea. Forests specialist Brian

Brunton says there are some lessons in the report "Islands Adrift" for

Papua New Guinean landowners faced with a choice between industrial

logging and small to medium scale activities.

" In the long term, activities the landowners can control themselves,

and which have minimum impact on their environment, will prove the

most lucrative," said Brunton.

The economic report on Marovo Lagoon area in the Western Province of

Solomon Islands found small-scale cash generating development options

are worth three times those of industrial logging and an oil palm

plantation.

"Going by the report findings, there should be no logging or

plantations allowed in Marovo," said Phillip Pupuka, Greenpeace

Solomon Islands Director.

"Simply, the cash benefits to local people of small-scale activities

like fishing and other marine products, ecotourism, carving and

ecotimber are much greater than those of logging and oil palm, and

there are serious environmental and social risks with industrial

options."

The research, by an independent resource economist from USA and fully

peer-reviewed, found that small-scale options had a Present Value to

landowners of US$29 million compared to US$8 million for industrial

options. It found that further logging, the proposed oil palm

plantation, and any mining would produce potentially extreme

environmental impacts on local marine resources uses (PV US$21

million) such as reef fishing, beche-de-mer, shell fish, and bait fish

for the multi-million dollar tuna fishery, and may exclude enterprises

such as eco-timber and ecotourism altogether.

"We have analysed only part of the values associated with Marovo's

natural resources, so the benefit of small-scale options would be much

greater," said Greenpeace Pacific forest campaign Grant Rosoman.

"It confirms to us that Solomon Islands is rich in local resources,

that they are essential for maintaining and improving the quality of

life of local villagers, and that industrial-scale options are not

appropriate for Melanesia."

"We urge donor governments and regional institutions to review any

support they may be giving to industrial-scale activities in Solomon

Islands, in favour of adopting small to medium scale as the preferred

development option," Mr Rosoman said.

The research involved a village survey to gather information on local

resource values, used information from the Ministry for Forests,

Environment and Conservation to complete the logging analysis, and

based analysis on the palm oil plantation on the Malaysian company

Kumpulan Emas's proposal.

For more information contact:

Phillip Pupuka and Grant Rosoman in Solomon Islands: (677) 20455 or

(677) Brian Brunton in Port Moresby: PH/FAX- 3260560. Samantha Magick

in Fiji: PH- (679) 312861.

Samantha Magick

Political/communications officer

Greenpeace Pacific

Private Mail Bag

Suva

ph: (679) 312861 fx: (679) 312784

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