Create a national park in a biodiversity hotspot

Kolombangara Island in Western Province, Solomon Islands includes one of the best examples of montane cloud forest in the insular Pacific and harbors extremely high rates of terrestrial biodiversity. The presence of endemic, rare species such as the Papua Ebony tree makes it a national and global conservation hotspot.

Rainforest Trust and local partners Solomon Islands Community Conservation Partnership and Kolombangara Island Biodiversity Conservation Association seek to create the 17,412-acre Kolombangara Forest National Park to protect critically threatened biodiversity and ecosystems.

The project will also preserve cultural sites to maintain the heritage and identity of Kolombangara Islanders. And intact forests on the property above 400 meters provide critical ecosystem services, such as clean water for the roughly 6,000 people presently living on the island.

Save endemic species from illegal logging

Of the 85 bird species in the New Georgia Islands, 82 are found on Kolombangara, including 16 island endemics. This includes the Island Thrush, Island Leaf-warbler, Pacific Robin, Kolombangara White-eye and Kolombangara Leaf-warbler. The Vulnerable New Georgia Monkey-faced Bat, endemic to the Solomon Islands and believed extinct on Kolombangara since the 1970s, was recently observed. Kolombangara also hosts diverse, endemic reptiles and amphibians, and species suspected to be new to science.

The Kolombangara forests above 400 meters are under constant threat from illegal logging incursions, with powerful political interests heavily invested in commercial timber extraction. This high-elevation logging causes extreme soil damage, habitat destruction, permanent loss of biodiversity, and affects downstream water quality.

Support indigenous communities

A large proportion of the island’s 6,000 residents trace their ancestry back to one of five major tribal groups. Our partner has consulted with local communities and found that they are opposed to commercial logging and 98 percent of local residents were supportive of creating a protected area for Kolombangara’s upper forests.