In the Solomon Islands, an archipelago of some 1,000 islands east of Papua New Guinea, the Museum is partnering with indigenous communities to improve biodiversity conservation within ancient customary lands. This summer, Michael Esbach, Pacific Programs manager in the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC), travelled to several of these islands with CBC Pacific Programs Director Christopher Filardi and CBC Director Eleanor Sterling.
In two slideshows on the Museum’s Flickr stream, Esbach writes about the CBC’s ongoing work helping to improve sea turtle conservation in Tetepare, the largest uninhabited tropical island in the South Pacific, and to develop stewardship models in Kolombangara, a stratovolcano hosting the largest biodiversity reserve in the country. Combining community governance with scientific research, education, and livelihood programs, this project presents an incredible opportunity to maintain indigenous life-ways within some of the largest remaining wild landscapes in the Pacific.