Dear Editor,
Harvesting of marine resources such as turtles, beche-de-mer, shark fins and other fish species was traditionally a normal activity for most communities in parts of the country. There was no such law as banning of these resources, which were harvested for food mainly as only small quantity would be sold or traded for basic income.
But after continuously harvesting with the focus now on commercial export and other economic activities, the responsible authourities or Solomon Islands Government had seen it necessary to step in and impose certain rules or laws to regulate and control the over-harvesting of such resources. But whilst this may be good for protecting and managing the day-to-day use of our rare resources to prevent them from unwarranted depletion, it has on the other hand affected the livelihood of certain concerned communities who normally depend on these resources for survival.
Anyway, the issue I wish to raise here is the harvesting and exportation of our forest wildlife such as birds, reptiles, butterflies and so forth. To date, there are still a few individuals seen buying and exporting the also depleting wildlife as means of income and self-employment. This has raised the question of whether there are laws to restrict the exporting of our rare species which could subject to complete extinction if such practices are allowed to continue for a few more years by the responsible authourities to the detriment of our environment, which is a global concern.
The due existence of these wildlife should be our common concern in light of the very vital role they play in the maintenance of the forest flora and fauna and as well as their major contribution in the sustenance of the ecosystem so that the depletion of our wildlife would very much contribute to the noticeable negative impact of climate change. Therefore, I would like to call on the responsible authourities to quickly step in and put an end to the exportation of wildlife which is mainly depended on for human survival just like the marine resources referred to as well.
Thank you.
Steve Taro
Naha 3
East Honiara
