Capacity Building

Community-Based Organisations in Western and Choiseul Provinces

Funding was obtained in 2002 from the MacArthur Foundation to support a 3-year program focussing on building the capacity of conservation leaders in Western and Choiseul Provinces.

This project aims to build the skills of individual conservation practitioners at the community level in the Solomon Islands as well as establishing a network of community-based organisations dedicated to learning collaboratively and achieving best practices in conservation action.

Project focus
The project focuses on 3 key areas -

participatory design of conservation initiatives,
organisational strengthening and
conservation area management

These have a good fit with the WWF Community Resources for Conservation and Development approach which has been developed in Western and Choiseul Provinces since 1995.

Application GIS CR Mapping

Through a mapping project introduced in 1999, communities in Solomon Islands have continuing access to maps which will assist immensely in the way customary land and sea boundaries are documented.

The GIS facility is designed to bring usable maps to communities to support the management of their resources at village levels. It allows the wishes of local people over access of their land and sea areas to be respected in decision-making at the provincial and national levels. The mapping facilities also support the management and prioritisation of conservation areas by WWF and other partners.

Population and Environment

Seri Hite, previous WWF Country Programme Manager, presenting a lesson on the Solomon Islands natural environment to Grade 6 students at Gizo Community Primary School.
© WWF Solomon Islands / Bruno Manele

WWF is carrying out a project to implement family planning training programs aimed to control population growth and reduce pressure on biodiversity in priority areas.

The family planning training programs include education, counselling and the provision of contraceptive methods.

Project funding has been obtained in mid-2002 to begin work on a project that will address the issue of overpopulation, identified as one of the most important environmental issues in Solomon Islands. The population and environment initiative outlines a practical, responsive and results-oriented approach that will begin to address some of the increasing problems of overpopulation and unsustainable resource use in Solomon Islands.