Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
war, eight Catalina seaplanes were scuttled in the lake and are visible from the
lake's surface: a lingering testimony of the War. Today, Rennell's main link with
the outside world is a twice weekly Solomon Islands flight service to Honiara,
using a grass airstrip.
As Rennell has been visited by a number of scientific expeditions through the
years, its biology, pedology and geology are reasonably well known. Research
visits have included the American Whitney Expedition in 1928 and 1930, the
American Templeton-Crocker Expedition in 1933, the Danish Rennell Expedition
in 1951, and the British Museum (Natural History) Expedition in 1953, as well as
visits by individual researchers (e.g. Birket-Smith
1956, 1966
; Christiansen
1964
;
Lambert
1941
). Most of these highlighted the uniqueness of the island; but none
really advocated for its preservation. Rennell was probably perceived to be too
remote to worry about its conservation or nature reserve status, and was best
thought to be left
tale quale
. Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands achieved indepen-
dence from Britain in 1978.
Trouble, however, was brewing. Melanesia has long been an area where logging
companies have operated with impunity, often clear-logging entire islands, notably
in the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea.
Because of the complex land tenure systems in Melanesia, and the need for log-
ging companies to identify 'landowners' in order to obtain national government
licences to log, negotiations are often based on expediency and restricted to a few
key individuals, rather than taking place with all legitimate landholders (e.g.
Crocombe and Meleisea
1994
). In this way, a few individuals can undermine the
whole structure of customary land tenure, in return for cash from royalty pay-
ments. Moreover, local communities rarely see any promised infrastructure devel-
opments - such as schools, clinics and drinking wells - other than logging roads
(e.g. Filer
1997
). Presently, only about 25% of the original forest in Melanesia has
survived the loggers, accounting for huge losses in biodiversity, and significant
hardship for the inhabitants.
Indeed, the negative social impacts caused by industrial logging are often over-
looked in assessments of the damage caused by logging, particularly the high num-
bers of people affected, the wide-reaching nature of the problems created in
people's lives and the potential costs in economic and food security terms of replac-
ing the lost benefits provided by forests, inclusive of non-timber forest products
(e.g. Lim and Valencia
1990
). Food is obtained mainly through horticulture and
fishing, supplemented by hunting and collecting. Yams, taro, tannia and sweet
potatoes are key cultigens; while the coconut is an important source of nutrients and
raw material. In general, women take charge of the cooking, gardening, collecting
fruits and herbs, fishing inshore (especially on the narrow reef exposed at low tide),
plaiting, making nets, and caring for young children. The men do the heavy gardening,
catch coconut crabs, fish, make cordage, and are responsible for canoe making, and
house building.
I visited the Solomon Islands numerous times during 1986-1987 as head of
regional projects for the Tourism Council of the South Pacific, and was often asked
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