Solomon Islands

Country News and Stories

Nurturing Pacific and Indigenous aquaculture
A session on aquaculture development by Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Australians is being sponsored by ACIAR at the Australasian Aquaculture 2012 conference in Melbourne on Thursday 3 May 2012.

ACIAR'S forestry research in Pacific island countries
Forests and trees have great cultural significance for Pacific island people and provide many benefits for subsistence and livelihoods. In some of the Pacific island countries, such as Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, forests have also been commercially exploited and forest industries are important contributors to the national economies. Forests are held under custom landownership, but governments regulate commercial forestry operations. While timber is important, there are many non-timber forest products, which provide significant cash incomes for people in remote locations.

PNG and Pacific Nuis
Get the latest on ACIAR-supported initiatives in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific in the recent issue of PNG and Pacific Nuis produced by ACIAR’s PNG Country office.

Floristry workshops for Indigenous women
Indigenous women were introduced to floristry at workshops in Darwin and surrounding areas in May- June 2011 as part of an ACIAR project that is using floriculture to improve livelihoods in indigenous Australian and Pacific island communities.

International Year of Forests
To raise awareness of the importance of forests and to strengthen efforts for their sustainable development, the United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests. Together with Governments, organisations and major forest stakeholder groups around the world, the United Nations is promoting four Global Objectives for the improved management, conservation and sustainable development of the world’s forests.

Sea cucumber aquaculture symposium
A research symposium in Nouméa on 15-18 February 2011 has been organised by ACIAR and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to support the development of sustainable tropical sea cucumber aquaculture.

ABC Landline, 26 December
ACIAR-funded projects in East Timor, Solomon Islands and Vietnam will feature on ABC Landline on ABC TV on Sunday 26 December 2010. View stories by reporters Tim Lee from East Timor, Joanna McCarthy from Solomon Islands, and Kerry Staight from Vietnam. All travelled with the assistance of the Crawford Fund.

Celebrating World Fisheries Day
World Fisheries Day, November 21, is celebrated throughout the world by fishing communities. In the Solomon Islands ACIAR has been supporting a program to help the ‘saltwater people’ of Lau Lagoon, Malaita, to take action to look after their marine resources for now and for future generations.

Solomon Islands project featured on ABC Landline
An ACIAR project promoting the growing and eating of sweetpotato in the Solomon Islands was featured on ABC television's Landline program.

Boosting health with coloured fruits and vegetables
The benefit of eating coloured fruits and vegetables that are rich in beta-carotene is being promoted through an ACIAR project to improve people’s health in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

$10 million to boost agribusiness in the Pacific
Australia will provide $10 million over four years to improve marketing opportunities and boost agribusiness in the Pacific through the Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative.

Pacific urged to develop niche markets
A new economic report has warned that the 14 Pacific Island nations and East Timor need to develop niche markets for quality agricultural products to help build economic resilience.

Sharing farm science across the seas
From the jungles of Papua New Guinea to the highlands of Tibet, Australian researchers are working with farmers to save them money and time, and to improve their health and the natural environment surrounding their farms.

Solomon Islands earthquake and tsumani disaster response
The rapid assessment report on April 2007's Solomon Islands earthquake and tsunami disaster and its impact on agriculture and food security is now available for download.