Milestones
- Sobehatunga Protected Area: 2026
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 protected area itself was logged 60 years ago but is now a healthy and biodiverse secondary forest worth protecting.
In 2026, Sobehatunga was declared the 9th official protected area in the country. 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 Sobehatunga which originates from the ancestral owners of the land.
1,169 hectaresof rainforest legally protected
949 hectaresof forest eligible for carbon
300 community membersparticipating in the project
"The disadvantage of logging—it destroys every tree and trees store carbon. But the advantage of carbon [project] where we protect, where we don’t clear everything, where we don’t destroy it, this stores the carbon."
Plants and animals
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.
