Evaluation of Environmental Factors Influencing Revocation of Bauxite Mine Development in the Solomon Islands

抄録

Wagina Island, a small island within the Solomon Islands chain, is located in the South Pacific Ocean, 1700 km northeast of Australia. Wagina Island has an area of 110 km², with 60% of the island (48 km²) containing an economically viable quantity of bauxite. The Solomon Bauxite Limited (SBL) mining company was granted a prospective license over Wagina Island in 2011 and development consent in 2013. In 2018, the residents of Wagina opposed the development of the bauxite mine. In 2019, the Landowners Advocacy and Legal Support Unit (LALSU) within the Solomon Islands Public Solicitors Office (PSO) represented Wagina Island residents in 2018. The Solomon Islands Environment Advisory Committee (EAC) convened in 2018 for the first time since the 1998 introduction of the Environment Act 1998. All grounds presented by LALSU were upheld by the EAC, providing a historic defeat for the bauxite mine development. This study focuses on evaluating the environmental factors that influenced the revocation of the bauxite mine development. The EAC decision was based on: ’(i) legislative procedures for public consultation and publication of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) were not followed; (ii) the EIS did not meet legislative and regulatory requirements; (iii) the decision to issue a development consent is inconsistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and (iv) the unacceptable impacts to the environment, to the residents of Wagina and their livelihoods and on nearby islands and marine environment.’ The decision was a win for the Wagina people and the environment of the Solomon Islands, incorporating an independent legal appeals process and building environmental law capacity in the Pacific region.