A group of local environmental organisations has joined hands to discuss and address environmental issues in the country.
They are members of the Development Service Exchange (DSE), the umbrella body for NGOs in the country.
Their goal is to share information and create space to provide updates on environment and conservation issues in the country.
They include Nature Conservancy, Transparency Solomon Islands and others.
DSE’s general secretary Nancy Jolo said the issue of environment and conservation in the country is a cross-cutting one.
She said the idea behind the initiative is to get all NGOs together to focus on the environment and identify issues they could all work on to address.
“Furthermore is to engage them to share information towards a collective voice against whatever environment issue may arise,” Jolo said.
“Mining for instance has started and may soon replace logging as a form of revenue collection for the country.
“But what our people knew very little of is its impact on the environment, which DSE thinks needs the expertise from our local NGOs.
“That understanding to transpire down to our people requires collective effort and that is what this group is all about,” Jolo said.
TNC director Willie Atu said the importance of producing effective legislation to safeguard the environment is of paramount importance.
“There are so many outdated legislations that need to be amended and aligng to the changing environment issues,” Atu said.
He said whilst environment organisations such as TNC tries its best to protect and conserve environment, the upper hand to making it effective is always the legislature.
Atu said the increasing prospecting licences issued to mineral companies to do offshore exploration, is a real threat to the environment.
By BRADFORD THEONOMI
