Seeking financial partnership
- 949 hectares of forest eligible for carbon.
- 1,169 hectares of rainforest in the process of being legally protected.
- 300+ community members to receive economic, social and environmental benefits.
The Sobehantunga Forest Carbon project was launched in 2022 with funding support from the Solomon Island Threshold Program and the project has progressed part way through its development phase.
The Viru Harbour community and project developers are now seeking new partners and supporters to help the Sobehatunga Carbon Project reach verification stage by the end of 2026.
Sobehatunga Conservation Area in Solomon Islands’ Western Province is on the verge of being declared a Protected Area — the 9th official Protected Area in Solomon Islands.
Located in Viru Harbour on the coast of New Georgia, Sobehatunga is set against a backdrop of timber plantations and commercial logging operations. The newly formed conservation area itself was logged 60 years ago but is now a healthy and biodiverse secondary forest worth protecting.
For the first time, Viru Harbour’s customary landowners have the option of protecting their forest while supporting community development and livelihoods.
Landowners have formed a team of keen forest rangers and chosen a name for the protected area: Sobehatunga is a name that originates from the ancestral owners of the land.
Nakau and Natural Resources Development Foundation have been working with Viru Harbour landowners to support the development of their community-owned carbon project, with support from 2022 to early 2025 from Solomon Islands Threshold Program.
A survey of plants, animals and insects has shown this secondary lowland forest is an important habitat for wildlife, including some species listed as near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
21 bird species, including the iconic Kolombangara monarch and six flying fox species including the Solomons Flying-fox were recorded. Also found were 119 plant varieties and many important frogs, skinks, geckos, lizards, snakes and insects.
