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

Page 20In addition to licensing under the Fisheries Act, under the 1998 Environment Act pearlfarming operations would require a development consent from the Director of Environment,which may in turn require an environmental impact assessment (EIA). By including an EMPwhich complies with the above requirements and guidelines as part of the project approvaldocumentation, prospective pearl farm investors would not only be demonstrating acommitment to environmentally responsible operations, but may avoid the need for (and costof) a formal EIA.5.7. Cultural sensitivityIt goes without saying that pearl farming operations need to develop in a manner that isreasonably harmonious with Solomon Islands cultures and traditions. While economicdevelopment will always involve change, there is no reason why this cannot take place in aframework of mutual respect and cooperation between commercial pearl farming operationsand local communities. At the very least it will be a requirement for investors to consult withlocal community representatives and stakeholders, and understand their needs andaspirations. Care should be taken to avoid activities that are inappropriate in areas of culturalimportance, such as historically-important sites and tabu areas, or to do things such asdumping of rubbish and waste products in a way that will cause a nuisance to members of thecommunity. Encouraging direct or indirect participation in the industry, as described in thenext section, will also go a long way towards cementing good relations between pearl farmersand local communities.6. COMMUNITY AND SMALLHOLDER PARTICIPATION6.1. GeneralThere are a number of ways in which local Solomon Islanders can benefit from theestablishment of pearl farming operations by a foreign investor. Benefits would primarilyaccrue to people and communities in the immediate area of the pearl farm, and could include:• access payments or royalties in regard to a lease over an area of water and adjacentland where pearl farming operations are carried out;• revenue generated by a shareholding in the company or entity that produces andmarkets the pearls;• employment as labourers and, with appropriate training, as divers and possibly inmanagerial roles on the pearl farm;• collection of wild shell and their sale to the pearl farm during the period of initialestablishment;• collection and processing (cleaning and re-stringing) of spat, and their sale to the pearlfarm;• eventually, small-scale farming pearl farming, with support and assistance (materials,technical advice, seeding and marketing) from the main farm.These options are discussed in more detail in the sections below.6.2. Lease payments and access royaltiesPossible arrangements under which leases over areas of water and adjacent land suitable forpearl farming sites are described in more detail in a companion report to this document(Hughes, 2008). That report provides information on land tenure in Solomon Islands andrecommends that prospective investors consider basing their operations on registered land,which comprises about 10% of land in Solomon Islands, rather than customary land, which