State community development and Melanesia: the North New Georgia Sustainable Social Forestry and Rural Development Project

Abstract

This paper is about globalisation, the state, and community development and social change in Melanesia. The paper draws on the concept of “the Melanesian way” and also explores the role and influence of the Christian churches, kastom, and nongovernment organisations (NGOs) in Melanesian society. It takes the experiences of the Solomon Islands as its focus and a case study is made of the North New Georgia Sustainable Social Forestry and Rural Development Project – a re-afforestation program established on the island of New Georgia in the late 1990s. Through this case study the emergence of a locally-derived and locally-based approach to resource development is examined.