Milestones
- Babatana project launched: 2014
- Sirebe Protected Area: 2019
- Siporae Protected Area: 2020
- Padezaka Proteced Area: 2021
- Vuri Protected Area: 2022
- Lukulobere Protected Area: 2025
On South Choiseul in the Solomon Islands, customary landowners from the Babatana language group are choosing to protect their rainforests and support their communities.
In a region where logging and land-clearing threaten forests, biodiversity and livelihoods, they are using the Nakau Methodology to move away from destructive practices and towards conservation.
Nine Babatana tribes have joined the Babatana project, bringing more than 7,432 hectares of rainforest under legal protection and engaging over 6,000 local community members.
Sirebe, Siporae and Padezaka Tribes are now selling high-integrity credits on the voluntary carbon market.
Vuri, Lukulobere, Garasa, Zoko, Miqusava and Sikatuku Tribes are all in various stages of achieving protected area status and project development.
Plants and animals
The Babatana lands lie along the Kolombangara River and comprise part of the Mount Maetambe Kolombangara River Corridor—a key biodiversity area listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The rainforest is home to 21 frog species and many birds including Midget flowerpeckers, Golden whistlers, Song parrots, Eclectus parrots, Crested cuckoo doves, black and white monarchs, White–billed crows, Blyth’s hornbills, fruit doves, lorikeets and Ultramarine kingfishers.
Choiseul is also home to the highest number of native mammals in the Solomon Islands, including the Giant horseshoe bat, and 14 species of reptiles including the green bellied skink, Pacific black skink and the Solomon red krait.
