I was getting claustrophobic at the house and I decided to go for a paddle to the logging camp a few kms out towards the open sea. Logging has been a hot topic in the Kia community because, other than selling fish to the local fisheries outpost, it is the only real income source for the locals, especially while the tourism industry is stalling on the launch-pad and the global economy is seriously faltering.
At the base there was a fuel depot, a little mill for selling wood to the local community, and hundreds of huge logs waiting for a ship. I chatted with the men at the fuel depot when I arrived. They weren’t thrilled to be working here but it was the only work that they could get other than fishing (which requires a boat with an outboard now that the reefs close to Kia have been largely cleaned out).
They said it was no worries that I went walkabout so I wandered off up the road. I was accompanied by Mikey, a twenty year old from the provincial capital. His story was straight from the much-advertised fairytale of globalisation. He was working here just for the year so that he could raise money to go to business school next year in Honiara (ie. “primary industry helps people to get a foothold on development, to contribute to the economy and thus, distribute the benefits of economic growth throughout the population via economic trickle down”).
1km up the road, past hundreds upon hundreds of massive hard-wood logs, we arrived at the logging camp. I was immediately offered a seat and so I sat down and within minutes was scratching into the dirt a diagram of a composting toilet – one potential solution to the local waste management problems.
One of the men was particularly interested and I got talking to him about life, art, tea and logging. His opinion on this last subject was overwhelmingly negative; the wages were poor, there were no opportunities for promotion and it was depressing to see the land being brutally stripped bare. But what other work was there? If they wanted money and a place in the globalising world, with all its promises of big outboard motors and leather boots, they would have to work.
This man, turned out to be Mikey’s uncle and the landowner who had sold the logging rights to the Malaysian logging company for whom he now worked. Having taken the money for the logging rights (a pittance that would barely make a dent in the profits to be made from his land) and spread this money throughout his family as is customary here, he would have had enough to buy himself a boat, an outboard motor, and a few hard nights drinking SolBrew before the money ran out.
Although there is no reliable information on the sustainability of logging in the Solomons, it is fairly clear that, with the lack of viable alternative income sources, the log-able timber resources will be all but exhausted within a decade or two. The same can be said of the fisheries if not the mineral deposits which are only just starting to be cleaned out.
It would be nice to say that the timber will be made into outdoor furniture and sold to us in New Zealand, and that by not purchasing these products we can slow the demand for the plunder of the forests over here. Frankly though, the logs at the camp were waiting for a boat that would take them to either Korea or China and most of the timber would probably be sold as building materials in these rapidly growing economies. It is therefore, probably far too late for you or I to make a difference the check-out at Mitre 10.
It is worth noting though, that via RAMSI (the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands), and using NZ taxpayer coin, our government is seeking to secure the philosophy of corporate-led economic development in the Solomons. Indeed, corporate-led economic development is the major focus of NZ foreign affairs and the prevalence of the logging industry is largely a symptom of this philosophy.
From this perspective it doesn’t look hopeful for the Solomons, but I would hate to leave you feeling depressed about the state of the world. The directors of RAMSI would remind us that there is hope to be found in the political leadership of the Solomon Islands. There has been an outpouring of support from the international community into the legal system, and customary land-tenure is gradually being institutionalised. However, on the subject of political leadership, I read in the paper last week that the MP for Malaita has been allowed back into parliament after serving a two year sentence for executing a man in his hospital bed. Even now, this MP is still embroiled in a corruption scandal. So as much as I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
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| Speaking of global, global warming and sea-level rise are very real here. The Arnavons conservation centre at hight tide. |
well said.
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