Belobelo (Mbelombelo) Island community-based MPA

This is the most ambitious and challenging of the planned closures. Roviana has four major outer islands while Vonavona has none. Outer-lagoon islands encompass a mosaic of different habitats including reef-drops, grass beds, and mangroves. Belobelo is the largest of all the outer-lagoon islands and is under the jurisdiction of the Saikile District, Roviana Lagoon. The main stakeholders of this island, however, reside at Baraulu, Kalikoqu. Tribal members of the Saikile chiefly district encompassing the villages of Olive, Ha'apai, Nusa Hope, and member of the Baraulu community, who have rights here, use the island for fishing, gleaning, and collecting house-building materials like Archidendron oblongum trees that are gathered on the shores of this island. The most immediate threat to Belobelo is the growing push to harvest lumber from this relatively small island. This would have a devastating impact for both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, including resources such as coconut crabs (Birgus latro). The latter have already been greatly reduced owing to their sale to Malaysian logging camps in Koqu Kalena (Saikile) and Viru harbor (South New Georgia).

Challenges: The integrated coastal-zone management plans to protect Belobelo would encompass terrestrial and adjoining marine ecosystems. The first step is to bring all stakeholders together and discuss possible options to protect the island and establish a moratorium on all harvesting of resources. An alternative to a full closure would be banning all activities in one half of the Island, thus preserving user rights for neighboring communities who may oppose a full closure. The key is to find a compromise between those who want to log and those who want to preserve the island. Once an agreement is reached to ban logging, adjoining marine environments will be closed for a trial period of two years until a lasting agreement can be reached. The PI has worked closely with the major regionally recognized stakeholder of this island since 1992. This elder is willing to establish a dialogue with all stakeholders who have user rights to the island, but has indicated that some alternative economic development must substitute for prospective logging revenues. This poses a thorny situation, since finding sustainable economic cash enterprises that satisfies all parties will be difficult. Nevertheless, there are several options, including the development of balsa planting projects along logging roads near these villages (see Section 4.3.2). Other alternatives are also being considered.

Tombatuni Island near Sasavele village, Kalikoqu, is being considered as an additional/alternative site to establish a permanent MPA. Today, a Munda based diving operation pays the Chief of Kalikoqu access rights to take its divers to this island. The Sasavele community would be amenable to establishing a permanent Marine Protected Area around the Island or at least a section of the Island if eco-tourism such as diving were further encouraged and benefited the community. The Munda area already provides the infrastructure to enhance tourism in Tombatuni though the Agnes Lodge and its diving operation. Future tourist potential will be contingent upon an improvement of the political situation in the Solomon Islands.