Photo credit: Logging on the Solomon Islands, by Tony Morris. (Used under Creative Commons license)
Corrupt government practices led to a Malaysian logging company receiving a license to log primary forests in the Solomon Islands, according to residents of Nende Island, Mongabay reports.
The residents, known as the “Nende Five,” who were imprisoned in a state jail for six months after being accused of burning logging machines, have also alleged that Xiang Lin SI Ltd, logged outside of its concession area.
They say they were not consulted over the logging of their land and that the company began extracting timber without first getting consent from the majority of residents.
The protesters told Mongabay they tried to stop the logging through legal channels, but that after heavy equipment was destroyed last year, they were taken into custody. They say they’re innocent.
Their trial, which is expected to start again in June, has been adjourned 29 times for lack of evidence. Meanwhile, deforestation continues on Nende, Mongabay reports.
Read more about this topic and see pictures on the Mongabay website, here.
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Learn more about this topic at the Global Landscapes Forum conference in Bonn, Germany, 22-23 June 2019.
Read Landscape News stories from the 18th session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues here
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