Solomon Islands serious about green economy transition

Solomon Islands serious about green economy transition

Honiara, Solomon Islands, 7 March 2013 - Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo is convinced that vital economic sectors in Solomon Islands should move to a green economy approach.

Following the first Roundtable on Development, Society and Environment PM Lilo believes all stakeholders will create innovative partnerships and ownership of programs and projects.

“This dialogue has enabled us to focus on long term policies, strategies and programs and facilitate dialogues for stakeholders to monitor their application in Solomon Islands.” PM Lilo said while closing the Roundtable on Wednesday afternoon in Honiara.

“As a result of all our efforts, I am sure that we will see signs of sustainable development in all these sectors,” PM Lilo added.

The three day discussions focused on developments in forestry, fisheries, education, tourism and the mineral resources sector.

PM Lilo accepted the recommendations made in the Roundtable discussions, including:
Engaging more with stakeholders including communities other than the public and private sectors;

1. Weak or absence of sound policies, legislation and regulations;
2. The need for enforcement of policies, legislation and regulations;
3. More consultation with landowning groups for easy identification of land and agreement on land usage;
4. The importance of a better understanding of the investment issues in certain locations of major projects, to create conducive investment climates;
5. Greater coordination when designing, implementing and monitoring national projects.

The Roundtable expressed that the country has to shift to a Green Economy model. The Green Economy model abides by at least four principles: (i) maintains and enhances human relationships, (ii) lifts the community and the individual, (iii) is based on equity and fairness, and (iv) enhances the integrity of ecosystems and life-support systems.

The Roundtable also agreed to establish a Green Economy Platform that will take the lead in guiding this process of transition.

The three day Roundtable was the Solomon Islands Government’s initiative to find an effective way to achieve a more inclusive model of development – a development model that benefits all the people of Solomon Islands. It is was attended by over 30 representatives from government, the private sector and civil society from Solomon Islands.

The event was supported by IUCN and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. IUCN’s Regional Office for Oceania is located in Suva, Fiji.

www.iucn.org

About GIZ
The services delivered by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH draw on a wealth of regional and technical expertise and tried and tested management know-how. As a federal enterprise, we support the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. We are also engaged in international education work around the globe. GIZ operates in many fields: economic development and employment promotion; governance and democracy; security, reconstruction, peacebuilding and civil conflict transformation; food security, health and basic education; and environmental protection, resource conservation and climate change mitigation. GIZ operates throughout Germany and in more than 130 countries worldwide. GIZ has been working in the Pacific Region for 35 years. The projects share an office with a service unit in Suva, Fiji while the GIZ country office in Manila in the Philippines is responsible for the region as a whole. A total of 10 seconded and 6 national experts work locally for GIZ. www.giz.de/en

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