• Solomon Islands: Agrobiodiversity holds key to health for Melanesian tribes
• Solomon Islands: Hawksbill turtle rookery recovers from 150 years of exploitation
• Solomons' organic farming project a blueprint for island communities

• Lush forests laid to waste: How Pacific Islands got hooked on logging
• Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes off Solomon islands: USGS
• Solomon Islands' new Prime Minister resigns

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Solomon Islands: Agrobiodiversity holds key to health for Melanesian tribes
6 December 2021 - Nestled between steep mountains and a sandy shoreline that slopes into the Solomon Sea, the village of Baniata is testimony to resilience and self-sufficiency. Located on the remote southern shore of Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands' Western province, people have lived in Baniata through cyclones and tsunamis in extreme isolation for more than two centuries. Today, eight Melanesian tribes live together in the village in a unique blend of culture and traditions that revolve around nurturing and gathering a rich diversity of foods. (more)

Solomon Islands: Hawksbill turtle rookery recovers from 150 years of exploitation
9 April 2015 - One of the last turtle populations in the world to be legally exploited for the 'tortoise shell' trade is finally recovering after a 25-year conservation effort, say researchers. The Arnavon Islands hawksbill turtle rookery in the Solomon Islands is recovering after decimation from 150 years of exploitation, according to a report in PLOS ONE. The turtle breeding ground on the Arnavons is the largest in the South Pacific. Concern for the turtles led to the establishment of a routine tagging and monitoring programme in 1991. (more)

Solomons' organic farming project a blueprint for island communities
22 November 2011 - An organic farming project on a sandy island in Solomons is teaching youth the importance of farming. The project which is saving residents money they would usually spend at the market began in May last year when residents on the tiny Kwai island were shown how to grow their own fruits and vegetables by adding compost, shell pieces and broken buckets to the previously barren sandy soil. Prior to the organic farming project Kwai's residents would mainly rely on sea resources and markets for food. (more)

Solomon Islands to have Truth and Reconciliation Commission
11 February 2009 - The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Derek Sikua has called on Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to assist in setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that will help foster peace on the Islands, following years of ethnic tensions. Situated just north east of Australia, the Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia made consisting of nearly 1,000 small islands. The retired archbishop, who played an instrumental role in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the late 1990s, will visit the Solomon Islands in April. (more)

Pacific islands look to coconuts to cut oil costs
10 May 2006 - A report by the 20-member South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) has found that if Pacific island countries were to replace 50 per cent of diesel imports with coconut oil, then the region's average import bill would be cut by 10 per cent. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Lush forests laid to waste: How Pacific Islands got hooked on logging
31 May 2021 - If Solomon Islands continues logging at its current rate, natural forests in the country will be exhausted in 15 years. The South Pacific nation, and its neighbour Papua New Guinea, are striking examples of the enormous cost of the logging industry on small island nations. In the last few decades, foreign-owned companies have moved in to the Pacific region, clearing huge swathes of lush forest, exporting vast quantities of timber, and sometimes leaving environmental devastation and social destruction in their wake. (more)

Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes off Solomon islands: USGS
20 December 2016 - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck off the Solomon Islands on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the second powerful tremor in the islands to Australia's north in less than two weeks. It came less than two weeks after a powerful 7.8 earthquake struck off the Solomons, perched on the geologically active 'Pacific Ring of Fire', triggering a tsunami warning for a wide swath of the South Pacific that sent hundreds of villagers rushing to higher ground. (more)

Solomon Islands' new Prime Minister resigns
26 April 2006 - The new Solomon Islands Prime Minister Snyder Rini, whose election last week sparked two days of rioting and looting in the archipelago's capital, resigned today after losing support in Parliament. (more)

Chinese nationals flee Solomon Islands
23 April 2006 - Nearly 90 Chinese refugees fled the troubled Solomon Islands Saturday after a series of riots razed their homes and businesses. (more)