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Shaping island life
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Sustainable Livelihoods
Shaping island life
Kolombangara is a heavily forested, almost perfectly
round volcanic island in the Western Province of the
Solomon Islands. The untouched oasis welcomes tourists
for adventurous treks and bird watching. For
Kolombangara citizens, the island’s beauty is the key to
improving their quality of life. Most recently former
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Danny Phillip declared
20,000 hectares of the region a conservation area, a
step to protect the island from destructive activities that
were impacting the livelihoods of rural communities.
© 2011 Google
» In December 2008 at a meeting of
leaders, elders and chiefs of Kolombangara
villages, communities and tribes, the
Kolombangara Island Biodiversity
Conservation Association (KIBCA) was
formed. KIBCA now protects Kolombangara
Islands’ rich marine and forest biodiversity
and aims to educate, promote and encourage
sustainable management of natural resources
through viable economic and social ventures
for communities.
Five dedicated Kolombangara residents are
volunteering full-time at the association until
it becomes economically suffi cient. Here,
three of the staff and partners of KIBCA refl ect
on how Australian Volunteer Technical Advisor,
Andrew Cox, has assisted them to achieve
goals in their strategic plan for the island.