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Solomon Islands

Community-based resource management and climate change vulnerability assessments in Solomon Islands – Coral Triangle Support Partnership

The warm tropical waters of the Coral Triangle may host the richest diversity of marine life on this planet. More than 75% of all recorded coral species and at least 3,000 fish species and can be found here. A diverse mix of habitats including river estuaries, mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs sustain this rich marine biodiversity. Resources from this area support livelihoods and provide income and food security for more than 100 million local people, particularly in coastal communities.
 

Planning for climate change using traditional and scientific knowledge

This project uses both traditional and scientific knowledge as part of an assessment of the vulnerability of coastal communities in the Solomon Islands to the potential impacts of climate change, then plans and tests adaptive measures that can be taken.

Gender Inclusive Resource Management

Rural women play a critical but often undervalued role in fishing-reliant families and communities in Solomon Islands. Ranging from direct activities of collecting, processing, preparing and marketing of fish and other marine resources; women also have an indirect influence through household management in accounting for how many fish are supplied to the household. Pivotally women also have the main responsibility for educating young children about food collection, preparation and management. This extends to passing on their knowledge on resource use and traditional management.

Payments for Mangrove Ecosystem Services

Mangroves are key coastal ecosystems that furnish valuable goods and services including water quality control, nursery habitats and storm protection. Additionally like other forests, mangroves have high rates of primary productivity and sequester (i.e., take up) large amounts of atmospheric carbon. Mangroves thus function as critical global sinks for carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas), and their conservation and restoration can play an important role in climate change mitigation in developing countries.

Improving Food Security with Fish Aggregating Devices

In Solomon Islands, as well as in many other Pacific Island Countries and Territories, fish is a major source of protein, especially for rural and coastal people. However, growing populations combined with the effects of climate change and increased fishing pressure on inshore reef fisheries means the gap between fish demand and supply is increasing. If steps are not taken to alleviate this situation, it is predicted that a number of these countries and territories will be unable to meet their nutritional needs from reef fisheries by 2030 (Bell et al. 2009).

Community-Based Fisheries Strategies to Help Vulnerable Island Communities

More than 70% of Solomon Islanders derive their livelihood from subsistence fishing and agriculture. However, the well-being of these people, one third of whom are under the age of 15, is under threat. Faced with one of the highest annual population growth rates in the world, habitat degradation, climate change, and an increasing demand for cash, small-scale fisheries in this South Pacific archipelago are finding it harder and harder to meet the increasing demand for fish.

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