Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

to recede and presumably vanish under any foreseeable Beijing-Taipei scenario, there isno reason to think that substantial Chinese aid will not continue to be available.The World Bank Group is opening a country office in SI so as to make its money andadvice more readily accessible, and the Asian Development Bank is paying increasingattention to SI’s situation and needs. The European Union seems uncertain about its longtermrelations with the Pacific, but for the present the EU’s development agencies,including the EIB, are actively engaged and committed to multi-year programmes in SI.All this is positive for commercial investment. It provides assurance that regional andinternational agencies will be physically present in SI, arguing the case and providingresources for better infrastructure and services, trade expertise in key institutions and aregulatory regime that attracts quality investment and assists it to commercial success.3. Land tenureLand in Solomon Islands is held either under customary tenure, or under a system ofregistration of land and defined interests therein established by the Land and Titles Act.By far the greater part of Solomon Islands is customary land, and customary rightscommonly extend to neighbouring reefs and inshore fishing grounds3.1 The registered tenure systemRights of ownership, occupation and use of registered land are recorded in the LandRegister, maintained by the Registrar of Titles, and land boundaries are recorded in theRegistry Map maintained by the Surveyor-General. The system covers about 10% of theland in Solomon Islands. This includes all the urban centres, several hundred parcels ofland in rural areas formerly known as alienated land, a small number of parcels convertedfrom customary tenure by a process known as land settlement, and a growing number ofparcels acquired by the Commissioner of Lands for purposes of development or otherpublic purposes. All land on the register has gone through a process of title and rightsinvestigation before being registered, and the interests in registered land recorded on theLand Register are the subject of indemnity by the government.The principal forms of registered interest are the perpetual estate, fixed term estate, leaseand charge. Rights of way and easements such as access to water and other natural assetsare also registrable as encumbrances on the registered right to occupy and use the land.a) a perpetual estate broadly corresponds to a freehold interest in European usage.The perpetual estate in a parcel of land can only be held by the Commissioner ofLands or by a Solomon Islander (as defined in the Land and Titles Act), acompany at least 60% owned by Solomon Islanders, and certain other limitedclasses of persons. Broadly speaking, ‘government land’ is held by theCommissioner as perpetual estate, and in coastal parcels the title extends to thehigh-water mark. The Commissioner may transfer the perpetual estate to eligibleperson(s) and may make this subject to payment of premium, rent andperformance conditions.b) a fixed-term estate may only be granted by the Commissioner of Lands, and fornot more than 99 years. It is generally similar to a leasehold interest in European9