Tetepare

Tetepare rises from the depths of the Pacific Ocean like a slumbering dragon. A long, rugged island cloaked in rainforest and fringed with biodiverse reefs, Tetepare is one of the conservation jewels of the Solomon Islands. What makes this island truly extraordinary is that in a country where timber is the primary source of revenue and export earnings, Tetepare remains unlogged. In a country where swathes of forests have been decimated by commercial logging and fragile environments destroyed, Tetepare is real, tangible proof that there is a better way. When the threat of logging loomed over Tetepare less than ten years ago, it was the descendants of the very people who fled the island who came together to save it. The thousands of descendants, spread out across the Western Province, formed an alliance to become the Tetepare Descendants' Association, or TDA. Their goal was to protect and conserve the island for the benefit of all descendants and future generations. Since it formed, the TDA has transformed from a fledgling landowners' organisation, to a world-class community-based conservation organisation responsible for one of the largest integrated land and marine conservation initiatives in the country. Now, we are expanding our conservation program with the help of international donors, and hoping to inspire communities across the Solomons and the Pacific to follow in our footsteps. The Tetepare project, supported by the Sustainable Forestry Conservation Project of the European Union, the WWF and Australian Volunteers International, is a leading example of how a conservation program, proposed and championed by a visionary local community can succeed in Melanesia.