THE DWINDLING TUBI (Xanthostemon) TREES OF ISABEL AND CHOISEUL
In an Extra-Ordinary Gazette (No. 136) dated 1st October 2025, two Legal Notices were issued. One by the Director of Environment and Conservation Mr. Joseph Hurutarau [Legal Notice 419] and the second one by Hon Polycarp Paea, the Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology [Legal Notice 420). These Legal Notices were dated 26th September 2025.
Under Legal Notice No. 419, the Director of Environment and Conservation Mr Josef Hurutarau under section 8 of the Wildlife Protection and Management Act 1998 declared Sunrise Investment Ltd as an approved person for purpose of exporting Tubi trees for a period of 12 months having complied with regulation 9 of Wildlife Protection and Management Act 2008 (Legal Notice No. 78 of 2008). The Director of Environment and Conservation under this Legal Notice [LN 419] gave his approval to Sunrise Investment Limited to fell or log Tubi trees (Xanthostemon) for the purposes of exporting Tubi trees for a period of 12 months.
Legal Notice No. 420 also dated 26th September 2025, published in the same Gazette [dated 1st October 2025], Hon Polycarp Paea the Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology grants approval to a management programme submitted by Sunrise Investment Limited.
He did so under section 6 of the Wildlife Protection and Management Act 1998 (No 10 of 1998) taking into account the matters specified in regulation 6 of the Wildlife Protection and Management Regulations 2008. The declaration formally endorses this as an Approved Management Programme under the Act.
These Legal Notices increase the number of times responsible Ministries have given approval for tubi to be felled. This tree species is protected because it occurs in certain parts of Isabel and Choiseul. Whilst the increase in approval notices continues to be a concern of more concern to Transparency Solomon Islands is the company to whom this latest approval is given to Sunrise Investment Limited.
Sunrise Investment Limited is not a stranger to the media, to the courts and also to the Executive Government. This is the very company that produced fake gazette and used that to fell the trees in the first place. This is an investor who was found guilty by the Magistrates Courts of felling tubi illegally. To date no one in authority has charged this investor for felling tubi using a fake gazette, nor has he appealed against the Magistrate Courts decision.
The approval and declaration by Director and Minister defeat all common-sense reasoning and counterproductive to building trust, good governance in Executive Government a very scarce commodity at this point in time
The approved management programme has a number of provisions that are legally binding for Sunrise to comply with. The programme provides that selective harvesting and export will target only Tubi trees in designated blocks of Korona Customary Land Concession Area in Isabel Province, in accordance with an approved harvesting plan. Designated for what mining or logging? Previously such issued Legal Notices were given because of mining.
If so Sunrise Investment Ltd a mining company or in someways connected to or is a shareholder in the mining company that is allocated with the Mining Lease Area designation over the Korona Customary Land.
It does not make any sense to issue such blanket Legal Notices. The Executive Government should be more specific and lock down the felling of the tubi trees where mining operation is actually taking place. It should not be allowed for the entire Mining Lease Area/tenement.
In its current form it is nothing more than allowing investors to enter, occupy and plunder in the name of mining for their own benefit when the trees are not located in the pits they dig.
The case of Ms Ethel Claudia Clency should be a wake-up call for the Executive Government and for customary resource owners. So-called Mining companies are labelling the tenements given to them as Mining Lease Areas without following the legally required Land Acquisition Process, identification of tribal boundaries etc.
With the Mining Lease Area designation given by the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, they have already entered, occupied and plundered the land of its resources, causing huge negative environmental damage. Investors should be required under law to assist owners of these trees to mill the logs rather than taking it for themselves at miserable payment to customary owners of these valuable trees.
It is also a great concern that the logging of the tubi tree is for a period of 12 months. What is in the management plan approved by the Minister will take years for it to be of value to the country and to resource owners.
Nursery and management of these trees will take years on an area that is logged and mined. Looks good in the legal notice but with no monitoring and close supervision by experts who can grow Tubi whether vegetative or seed propagation, the Ministry must be extra vigilant in its decision when it comes to our protected species.
Given the lack of resources as stated by the Environment and Conservation Division of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, to monitor compliance, the Management Plan [LN 420] approved by Hon Polycarp Paea looks good only on paper.
Transparency Solomon Islands (TSI) strongly condemns this decision by the Minister and his Director. It raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to environmental protection, good governance, accountability and climate change.
More concerning and worrying is the company that is approved to fell and export Tubi is Sunrise Investment Limited. Sunrise Investment Limited, is the company previously convicted of illegal felling tubi. In mid-2019 it was at the centre of public outrage, when it was caught illegally felling protected tubi trees on Korona (San Jorge Island).
Sunrise Investment Limited, owned by Mr. Richard Kong Sing Ngea, harvested tubi on San Jorge Island under a fake government gazette notice at that time.
Investigations by the Foreign Investment Division (FID) findings in 2019/2020 revealed that the company breached the Foreign Investment Act by operating in a prohibited investment area, a sector reserved solely for Solomon Islanders under Schedule 2 of the Foreign Investment Regulations 2006, and contrary to Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection and Management Act 1998.
The decision to allow Sunrise Investment Limited to now log tubi and reapprove the company’s operations raises serious concerns about the integrity of the Executive Government, the Minister, and the Director. It appears to be a self-serving act that prioritizes private interests over public welfare and environmental protection.
Moreover, Sunrise Investment Limited has already breached conditions under the Foreign Investment Act 2005 (as amended 2009). Section 23 empowers the Registrar of Foreign Investment to issue a show-cause notice and deregister companies that repeatedly violate licence conditions. Yet, no such action has been taken.
The table lists some of previous gazettes issued for the harvest and export of Tubi and Kauri, the country’s protected species. There may be more but these are the publicly posted ones that TSI is able to sight. As can be seen soon these two species will be logged out with the highest benefit to loggers and almost nothing to customary owners of these resources. Interestingly, the gazette issued 02/05/2018 by Hon Samuel Manetoali, Minister for Forestry & Research gave approval only to constituency (citizen/community?) to enter, cut, fell etc. tubi extracted from nickel mining tenements. Is the Ministry enforcing this? The Gazette issued on 17/01/24 by Hon Stanley Sofu, the Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, then approved the Bulacan International (SI) Management Plan, in relation to harvesting Tubi. Bulacan International is owned by Johnny Sy who owns Solomon Islands Mining Company Limited operating in Choiseul. Is the Ministry monitoring compliance by the company? How many nurseries has the company established since the issuance of this gazette?
If former successive Executive Governments and the current continue to give approval to investors to log and export this protected species, they might as well remove it from its current protected status. The current practice grossly disadvantages customary owners of this valuable tree species. Exploiting all loopholes and weaknesses in our laws, lack of performance in the public sector, the benefits arising from the exploitation of Solomon Islands natural resources are laundered elsewhere.
This practice needs proper scrutiny to protect our tubi trees, protect the interest of resource owners, our biodiversity, our country, ensure maximum benefit to country and people, and above all, investors comply with our laws.
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-TSI Media Release