Land Tenure in Solomon Islands: Past, Present and Future

• Author: Jennifer Corrin and Graham Baines
• Position: Director, Comparative Law, Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law and Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland/Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, The University of Queensland
• Pages: 57-79

LAND TENURE IN SOLOMON ISLANDS:

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE



Abstract

Since the arrival of foreigners in Solomon Islands the most perplexing question

has been how to balance land as a spiritual and social ideal with land as an economic

base. Law reformers have struggled with the competing aims of retaining land under

customary t enure, whilst oering su cient certainty for it to be us ed for purposes other

than subsist ence gardening and small l ocally owned projects.  e other, related, questio n

has been whether suitable arrangements can be made for customary land to be used as

security for in vestment. is articl e traces the attempts that have b een made to convert

customary l and into a form of tenure that facil itates economic develop ment. It examines

government policies and legislation that have attempted to convert land from a social

framework to a form of property that can be owned and discusses the impact of these

arrangement s on village communities. Wh ilst the focus is on Solomon Isla nds, reference

is also made to initiatives in neighbouring Pacif‌ic Island countries where similar issues

have arisen. e article concludes that, to date, Solomon Islands has failed to f‌ind an

appropriate s ystem that responds to the ne eds of its population.

I. Introduction

[L]and was a n ancestral tr ust committed t o the living for

the benef‌it of themselves and generations yet unborn. Land

thus was t he most valuable herita ge of the whole communit y

and could not be l ightly pa rted wit h. This is bas ed on the belief

that departed ancestors superintended the earthly aairs

of their living descendants, protecting them from disasters

and ensuring their welfare, but demanding in return strict

compliance with time-honoured ethical prescriptions.

Reverence for ancestral spirits was a cardinal point of

* Director, Comparative Law, Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law and

Professor, TC Bei rne School of Law, The Un iversity of Que ensland.

** Research Fellow, Sch ool of Social Scie nces, The Univers ity of Queensla nd.

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tradit ional faith a nd such reverence dict ated the preser vation

of land which t he living sha red with the dead. 1

These words from t he late Sir Gideon Zoleveke captu re the vital sig nif‌icance of

land to SolomonIs landers. Land ha s long been a source of tension , not just between

settlers and the indigenous population,2 but also amongst Solomon Islanders

themselves.3 Since the arr ival of foreigners, the most p erplexing question ha s been

how to balance land as a spiritua l and social ideal with land as an economic base.

Land reform ad vocates and law reformers have s truggled wit h the competing ai ms

of retai ning land under cus tomary tenur e, whilst oering s ucient certai nty for it

to be used for pur poses other than subs istence gardenin g and small loca lly owned

projects, should the community wish to do so. The other, related, question has

been whether su itable arran gements can be made for cust omary land t o be used as

securit y for investment.

This ar ticle traces the at tempts that have been ma de to convert customa ry land

into a form of tenure that facilitates economic development in Solomon Islands.

It examines government policies and legislation that have been employed in an

attempt to c onvert land from a social f ramework to a form of propert y that can be

owned. It a lso discusses the i mpact of these arra ngements on villa ge communities.

The thorny question of how best to resolve land disputes is outside the ambit of

this a rticle but gains some ment ion in areas where it is i nextricably entw ined with

the mai n issues under discus sion. Whilst the foc us is on Solomon Islands, refer ence

is also made to initiatives in neighbouring Pacif‌ic Island countries where similar

issues have ar isen. The art icle concludes that, to dat e, Solomon Islands ha s failed to

f‌ind an appropr iate system th at responds to the needs of it s population.



 

Solomon Islands is made up of 26 main islands and hundreds of small islands

and islets , almost 350 of which a re inhabited . It has a land are a of about 28,000 km2,

around one t hird of the size of Ta smania, s pread out in a 1,360 km l ong, double chain

1 Gideon Zoleveke “Traditional Ownership and Land Policy” in Peter Larmour (ed) Land in

Solomon Islands (Instit ute of Pacif‌ic St udies, Univers ity of South Pac if‌ic, Suva) at 4.

2 For exa mples of disputes be tween Solomon Isla nders and settle rs see Judith Benn ett Wealth of

the Solomons (Universit y of Hawaii Pr ess, Honolulu, 19 87) at 71.

3 See, for example, Toata Molea and Veikila Vuki“Subsistence f‌ishing and f‌ish consumption

patterns of the saltwater people of Lau Lagoon, Malaita, Solomon Islands: A case study of

Funa’afou a nd Niuleni Isla nders”(2008) 18 SPC Women i n Fisheries Bul letin 30. See a lso text at

fns 9 and 10 be low.