Amidst the deepening crisis in the Solomon Islands, a Canadian-funded project is helping Solomon Island women to implement a plan for the management and sustainable use of marine resources in their region. The Solomon Islands Women in Fisheries Project, which will focus on the issues facing women in subsistence fishing, as well as specific case study work in one village, is all the more important right now because ongoing strife and economic drain is leading to over-harvesting of marine resources as more people turn to the ocean for food and income.

Sidney, BC -- Amidst the deepening crisis in the Solomon Islands, a Canadian-funded project is helping Solomon Island women to implement a plan for the management and sustainable use of marine resources in their region.

The Solomon Islands Women in Fisheries Project, which will focus on the issues facing women in subsistence fishing, as well as specific case study work in one village, is all the more important right now because ongoing strife and economic drain is leading to over-harvesting of marine resources as more people turn to the ocean for food and income.

The project is being carried out by ECANSI, the Environmental Concerns Action Network of Solomon Islands, and is co-ordinated by the South Pacific Regional Environmental Program (SPREP) based in Samoa. Funding comes from the Canadian government through the Canada-South Pacific Ocean Development Program (C-SPODP).

ECANSI project officer Kristina Fidali says the case study work will focus on shell money production in Langalanga in the Central Malaitan Province. The villagers in Langalanga Lagoon make most of their income from producing shell money and jewelry from shell mollusks obtained in the lagoon.

“Shell money production is a monetary-driven activity widely practiced by the women in the area, and it has led to intense pressure on the resource. We hope to focus on the issues faced by the women in Langalanga and also gather some baseline information that can help us incorporate traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary management and conservation strategies,