The Ministry of Forests and Research (MoFR) is responsible for the overall management of forestry resources in the Solomon Islands. Protected area management falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) who is responsible for implementing the Protected Area Act (2010) and the Protected Area Regulations, both which came into force in 2012.The legal framework for the forestry sector is provided in the Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act [Cap 40] (1969) and the Code of Logging Practice (1996 revised in 2002). The Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act classify forestland into two management types: State Forests and Forest Reserves. State Forests are located on State land and can be leased and used for production purposes, whereas Forest Reserves are managed for preservation and protection purposes and can be declared on any type of land as long as it is in the public interest.  

The Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act focus on extraction and production and do not provide a framework to support sustainable forest management. For example, the law does not support the participation of local communities in decision making processes concerning logging activities taking place on their land once timber rights have been issued, or promote community forest management involving local landowners. In many aspects the Act is out of date and is no longer appropriate to govern the challenges faced by the sector today. Over the years there has been a dramatic expansion in the number of logging operators and scale of extraction which now far exceeds the capacity of the MoFR to maintain oversight and enforcement. In 1977 an amendment was made to the Act that introduced direct dealings between loggers and landholders, facilitating the logging of forests on customary land. This amendment allowed for the distinction between landowners and timber rights owners, which has become very problematic. It was followed by a sharp increase in logging which has continued until today. Several efforts have been made to reflect challenges posed by increased pressure from logging in the law through reforms of the Act, once in 1999 and again in 2004. The 1999 Act was passed by the Parliament but was repealed in 2000 because it was never gazetted (Gay, 2009). The 2004 Bill failed to pass through the legislature (UN-REDD, 2013). The latest Forest Bill (2012) was due to be presented to the Parliament in June 2013 but remains in draft awaiting further amendments. Considering the history of forestry reform so far it remains to be seen whether this Bill will finally replace the Forest Resources and Timber Utilisation Act of 1969. 

Although the MoFR has the mandate to manage the forestry resources of the country, because of the way land and forest ownership is allocated (87% of forest resources are under customary ownership), customary landowners are de facto in control of the majority of forestland. While the government preserves the right to interfere with land matters and acquire land for public purposes, for example to declare forest reserves, this rarely happens for two main reasons. First, acquisition of land requires the government to pay affected landowners compensation and to subsequently manage the area, actions that are extremely difficult within a heavily resource constrained government (SIFMP, 2003). Second, customary rights are strongly upheld by traditional landowners. Any interference on behalf of the government is seen as an infringement on the rights of private ownership and is widely resisted by the affected landowners and in public opinion (ibid; Wairu, 2004). 

In the past these challenges have acted as barriers to the expansion of the protected areas network by the government. However, recent changes in the legal framework, such as the Protected Area Act and Regulations, contains important provisions for community leadership and engagement in Protected Area establishment and operation, which may change the way protection is perceived compared to logging which has been the dominant forest use for so long. If effectively implemented the Protected Area Act may provide more incentives and benefits for communities to get involved with forest protection and management than any other forest related law and more investment is being channeled into this area. 

Despite being an economically important sector, revenues from the logging boom have not led to a reduction in rural poverty levels or improved livelihoods (UN-REDD, 2013). Overall forest management in the Solomon Islands has suffered due to the dominant role of the logging industry. Customary landownership should command a considerable level of bargaining power, however, in reality the benefits of the logging industry has not fallen on the majority but on a limited tribal elite, ‘big men’ and government officials. The current legal framework, weak enforcement and abuse of traditional governance structures have enabled logging companies to make deals with the tribal elite and ‘big men’ without the consent of, or subsequent benefit sharing with other rights holders or community members (GoSI, 2010). This situation has been perpetuated by close ties between tribal elites, ‘big men’, logging companies and politicians which makes reform difficult to implement and has contributed to a limited focus on enforcement, with limited prosecution of companies or individuals found guilty of gross misconduct (Hughes et. al. 2010).

Although there are many challenges to be overcome in the Solomon Islands forestry sector the government is realising that an imminent change is needed. More than half of all commercially exploitable areas have already been logged and little has been done to ensure stocks are replenished. Reforestation and afforestation are therefore an economic priority for the government (GoSI, 2011b). A national reforestation programme is on-going and small scale forestry operations, such as village or farm based plantations, are promoted in the National Development Strategy 2011 – 2020.

In order to address the governance challenges in the forestry sector the government were looking into developing a national Forest Law Enforcement in Governance and Trade (FLEGT) action plan, which would support the national REDD+ process. A country mission was carried out by the EU to the Solomon Islands in 2010 to assess the potential for implementing a FLEGT action plan and Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU, however, in the end this project was not followed through. In June 2012 Solomon Islands joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), however, so far this only applies to the country’s mining sector and it remains to be seen whether this could also be extended to the forestry sector.