BY NED GAGAHE
Opposition Leader Matthew Wale has warned that Solomon Islands’ logging industry is heading towards an inevitable collapse “by default” as forest resources become exhausted, with Government policy still failing to address the crisis.
Speaking during the Committee of Supply proceedings in Parliament yesterday, Wale said the forestry sector is on a downward spiral not because of deliberate policy decisions, but simply because there are no longer enough logs to cut, particularly below 400 metres where the majority of commercial harvesting occurs.
“We continue on this pathway and we are totally unsustainable.
“It seems the industry will reach its end not through leadership or planning, but by running out of trees,” Wale said.
He highlighted that the official sustainable harvest rate is 300,000 cubic metres per year, yet the country has been cutting between 1.6 and 3 million cubic metres annually for years—up to ten times the sustainable limit.
He argued that the Government has shown no political will to take decisive action to reform the sector or invest in alternatives, despite repeated warnings from environmental experts and international partners.
“Downward pressure on harvest rates is being forced by the lack of stock, not by Government policy.
“We are simply letting the industry crash on its own,” Wale said.
Wale urged the Government to shift to value-added processing and take a long-term approach that would deliver more revenue from a smaller, sustainable harvest.
He said short-term pain would lead to mid-term gains if the country commits to processing timber locally instead of exporting raw logs.
In response, Forestry Minister Makario Tagini admitted the situation is dire, stating openly that “there’s no sustainable logging in our country” and confirming that logging remains the nation’s number one revenue source.
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele acknowledged Wale’s concerns and said that it is something that the Policy Evaluation Unit is to work with Forestry and Finance on to prepare a Cabinet paper to outline future options for the sector.
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