The Solomon Islands' Customary Land Reform Unit says a new system which properly records landownership will help prevent conflicts over contentious resource developments.
The government unit has just held a national seminar which adopted resolutions in reform, management, and administration of customary land in Solomon Islands "as the way forward for resolving land related problems".
A consultant with the unit, Andrew Nori, says they will develop a new system to comprehensively record rightful owners of land.
He says they want to avoid situations such as the current dispute over Australian miner Axiom's exploration license on Isabel.
"In the area of Isabel province that are now the subject of this nickel mining discussions, we will deploy a team of recorders to the area, assist the landowners by discussions to identify where the boundaries are and which tribes own the land. Now when that is finalised, the investor can come in and deal directly with those that are on the record as having ownership of the land."
Andrew Nori
