For four days last November, Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, was on fire. Four people died during violent riots, and the city’s Chinatown was torched, leaving hundreds homeless.…
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…
Kolombangara Island forms a 30-kilometer (19-mile) circle of green in the Solomon Sea. One of more than 900 islands that make up the Solomon Islands, it is fringed by coral…
In June, three environmental defenders from the remote island of Nende celebrated their acquittal from arson charges, along with the many supporters who had attended their trial. But the later…
This is the second story in a two-part series on logging in the Solomon Islands. The first article, which focuses on the country at large and how its governance is…
This is the first story in a two-part series on logging in the Solomon Islands. The second article, which focuses on the island of Nende and how residents of one…
An international effort to halt a massive oil spill from a wrecked ship in a far-flung province of the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific has finally succeeded. But the…
This week, Norway released the 2018 investment holdings of its massive government pension fund. Notably absent were four plantation companies previously listed in the portfolio: Olam International, Halcyon Agri Corp,…
Wearing nothing more than leaves hanging from belts of woven vegetation, the three scientists stand in the rain with little idea of what to expect. They’ve lived and worked with…
Central Island province in the Solomon Islands has blocked new logging and mining operations in an apparent attempt to halt the degradation of the archipelago’s sensitive ecosystems. “With timber on…
Logging in the Solomon Islands, a small country of 667,000 people in the South Pacific, is decimating natural forests there at around 19 times the rate considered sustainable, the watchdog…
For logging on islands to be sustainable, it must adhere to clearly defined parameters that limit the impact on water quality and soil erosion, according to new research in the…
On the island of Makira, in the eastern Solomon Islands, bat teeth are more valuable than paper money. But their use as a currency has contributed to widespread hunting of…
HONIARA, Solomon Islands – In April 2016, thousands of villagers living in the vicinity of the Gold Ridge Mine in the southwest Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands braced themselves…
For a long time, people living on the Vangunu Island in the Solomons spoke about the "vika", a giant rat on the island that lives in trees and cracks open…
This is the first in a two-part series on logging in the Solomon Islands. Read the second part for more discussion on the topic. The Solomon Islands is a country that’s…
This is the second in a two-part series on logging in the Solomon Islands. Read the first part for more discussion on the topic. Several companies are vying for the rights to harvest timber in…
Scientists have discovered a new species of tiny pea crab within a large date mussel collected in the Solomon Islands. Pea crabs — about the size of peas — are…
Sea level rise and other associated impacts of rising global temperatures such as coastal erosion and flooding have long been forecast as some of the most serious challenges that humanity…
Last month, when biologist Chris Filardi from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and his team, were traipsing across Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Archipelago surveying its biodiversity, they…
Scientists have discovered the first ever glow-in-the-dark sea turtle. National Geographic Emerging Explorer David Gruber said he made the discovery mostly by accident: He was filming biofluorescent coral off the…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
