BY PROFESSOR TRANSFORM AQORAU, VICE CHANCELLOR, SOLOMON ISLANDS NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Mining is not just an economic activity. In a country like Solomon Islands, mining touches land, people, rivers, reefs, food gardens, culture, identity, and the future of our children. That is why, when we talk about “responsible mining,” we must not reduce it to whether a company has a licence, whether royalties are paid, or whether a few jobs are created.
For me, responsible mining means mining that is lawful, transparent, environmentally safe, socially accepted, and nationally beneficial. It means mining that respects customary landowners, protects rivers and reefs, shares benefits fairly, and leaves communities better off — not divided, polluted, and poorer after the minerals are gone.
Responsible mining begins with respect for land and people. In Solomon Islands, land is not just a commodity. It is inheritance, identity, history, spirituality, food security, and the basis of community life. Any mining project that treats landowners as obstacles, or consults only a few individuals while ignoring the wider tribe, women, youth, chiefs, churches and downstream communities, cannot be called responsible.
Responsible mining must therefore be based on genuine free, prior and informed consent. Communities must know what is being proposed, what the risks are, what the benefits are, how long mining will last, what damage may occur, what compensation will be paid, and what happens when mining ends. Consent must not be manufactured through pressure, confusion, secrecy, or promises that are never written down and enforced.
Responsible mining also means environmental protection must come before extraction. Our islands are small. Our rivers are short. Our mountains, forests, gardens, mangroves and reefs are connected. Damage in the hills quickly becomes damage in the streams, the sea, the reef and the village food system. A responsible mining company must prove, before mining begins, that it can manage erosion, waste, sediment, chemicals, tailings, water quality, biodiversity impacts, shipping risks and rehabilitation.
It is not enough for a company to say, “trust us.” Solomon Islands has already seen enough examples where communities are left with disputes, environmental damage, unpaid promises and weak accountability. Responsible mining requires enforceable obligations, independent monitoring, public reporting, strong penalties, and a rehabilitation bond large enough to restore the land if the company fails or walks away.
Responsible mining must also be transparent. The people of Solomon Islands have a right to know who owns the mining company, who benefits from the licence, what payments are made, how royalties are calculated, how minerals are valued, what taxes are paid, and how benefits are distributed. Secret deals, political influence, middlemen, and unclear landowner arrangements are the enemies of responsible mining.
A responsible mining governance regime for Solomon Islands should therefore be built on several clear principles.
First, the law must put landowners and affected communities at the centre of decision-making. No exploration or mining should proceed without proper consultation, independent legal advice for landowners, and clear rules on who has authority to represent customary land groups.
Second, environmental impact assessment must be rigorous, independent and public. Baseline studies on water, forests, reefs, livelihoods and cultural sites should be completed before approval. Monitoring results should be available to communities, not locked away in government offices or company files.
Third, there must be mandatory rehabilitation and closure planning from the start. Every mining project should have a funded closure plan and a rehabilitation bond lodged before extraction begins. The cost of repair must not fall on landowners or taxpayers.
Fourth, benefit sharing must be fair and transparent. Royalties, compensation, community development funds, jobs, scholarships, training, infrastructure and business opportunities should be governed by written agreements that are audited and publicly reported. Women, youth and vulnerable groups must not be excluded from these benefits.
Fifth, the government must have the capacity and independence to regulate. A strong mining regime requires trained inspectors, environmental scientists, lawyers, financial analysts and community liaison officers. Regulators must be properly funded and protected from political interference.
Sixth, there must be grievance mechanisms that work. Communities should have accessible ways to raise complaints, demand information, stop harmful activities, and seek compensation without needing to spend years in court.
Seventh, Solomon Islands must know the true value of its minerals. The state should require proper mineral valuation, export monitoring, beneficial ownership disclosure, tax compliance, and anti-corruption safeguards. We must not export our wealth cheaply while importing poverty, conflict and environmental damage.
Responsible mining does not mean saying no to every mining project. It means saying no to bad mining. It means saying yes only to mining that meets a high national standard — mining that respects our land tenure systems, protects our environment, strengthens our economy, and upholds the dignity of our people.
The real question is not whether Solomon Islands has minerals. We do. The real question is whether we have the governance, discipline and courage to ensure those minerals are developed only on terms that serve the long-term interests of our people.
Mining is temporary. Land is permanent. Rivers, reefs and communities must outlive any mine.
That is why responsible mining in Solomon Islands must mean this: no consent, no mining; no transparency, no mining; no rehabilitation bond, no mining; no fair benefit sharing, no mining; no environmental protection, no mining.
Our resources must be developed in a way that honours the past, protects the present, and safeguards the future.
Disclaimer: The private view expressed in this article is written by Professor Transform Aqorau is the Vice Chancellor of the Solomon Islands National University (SINU). He is a renowned legal and policy expert on ocean governance, fisheries management, and the sustainable use of marine resources in the Pacific. Over the course of his career, Professor Aqorau has held senior advisory roles with the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, and the Solomon Islands Government, among others. He has been instrumental in advancing regional cooperation on tuna fisheries management and is a leading voice on climate ocean policy and governance interlinkages in the Indo Pacific. He holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Wollongong and has published widely on fisheries law, ocean diplomacy, and Pacific regionalism. Professor Aqorau is deeply committed to ensuring that institutions of higher learning contribute actively to sustainable development and climate resilience in the Pacific.
