Solomon Islands - Forestry

Forests cover about 88.8% of the total area, with about 2,536,000 ha (6,266,000 acres) of timber stands providing an estimated timber yield in 2000 of 872,000 cu m (30.8 million cu ft) of which about 700,000 cu m (24.7 million cu ft) was exported as logs. Exports of forest products were valued at $51.2 million in 2000, 97% of it from logs. Important forest timbers are kuari, balsa, teak, Honduras and African mahoganies, Queensland maple, silky oak, and black bean. Several hundred chainsaw operators and about 40 portable sawmills produce over one-fifth of all sawn timber. Logging at current rates (15–16,000 ha/37–39,000 acres per year) exceeds the estimated maximum sustainable annual cut by three times, which means that logging at current rates will presumably exhaust commercially loggable forests in less than 10 years. Forest preservation and management legislation has been proposed, but there is no long-term viable silvicultural plan in place.