Page 11 - IB June 2017

Opinion

Solomons rises again from the ruins of the past

Costly A Tongan RAMSI

Participating Police
Force adviser with
price of colleagues of the
RSIPF on close
personal protection
duties (Photo:
Johnson Honimae/
RAMSI Public Affairs
conflict

required to take unpaid leave. cial stability, and economic development.
by Nathan Page
Due to the conflict, the Solomon Islands In line with global trends, in the Solomon
has seen export revenue drop by 60 per- Islands armed ethnic conflict profoundly
THE United Nations’ Sustainable Develop- cent since 1997. Per capita GDP halved reduced the living standards of Solomon
ment Goals (SDGs) include peace-building between 2000 and 2006, accompanied Islanders and caused possibly irreparable
as part of a changing paradigm of how to with a rise in unemployment. As of 2014, damage to the economy. Subsequently, the
achieve “development.” As a set of guid- the World Bank estimated the cost of the post-conflict environment has yet to see
ing principles that cover a broad range of conflict for Solomon Islands at 134 percent a significant return of previous economic
issues, it is hard to interpret the SDGs as of GDP. indicators, including living standards. In-
17 stand-alone goals; the keys to “sustain- Today, 80 per cent of the population has vesting in institutions capable of establish-
able development” are difficult to isolate. become subsistence farmers or fishers ing law and order and delivering services
Hence why the SDGs have expanded be- outside the cash economy. Fully 70 per is typically much more cost effective than
yond pure economics. In particular, Goal cent of the country’s revenue is provided post-conflict remedial interventions.
16 is “dedicated to the promotion of peace- by exporting non-renewable resources, Yet even now, the causes of the Solomon
ful and inclusive societies for sustainable particularly lumber exports. The recovery Islands’ conflict — uneven access to ser-
development.” in employment from 2003 onward has not vices, economic opportunities, and devel-
Starting in 1978, the Solomon Islands reached pre-conflict levels. Thanks to these opment spending — remain unaddressed.
achieved and sustained peaceful post- setbacks, the Solomon Islands ranked There is no panacea for conflict. How-
colonial independence for two decades. 157th out of 187 countries on the 2014 ever, Goal 16 of the SDGs exemplifies a
But by late 1998, uneven economic devel- UN Human Development Index. paradigm shift in the normative language
opment had aggravated ethnic animosity The Solomon Islands exemplifies all the of development. For the Solomon Islands,
on Guadalcanal Island. Approximately human suffering and social and economic creating effective, accountable, and trans-
1000 firearms were looted from local consequences of conflict. Some costs are parent institutions capable of establishing
police armories and between 2000-2003 quantifiable in terms of loss of life, disabil- rule of law and delivering widespread
ethno-tribal conflict escalated into a civil ity, destruction and displacement, while government services (as articulated in
war. In 1999 economic installations and others are not easily tallied in economic Goal 16) is the first step for development.
infrastructure were also targeted, such terms: the loss of social capital and trust, In the Solomon Islands’ context, “sus-
as Goldridge Mine and Solomon Islands disruption of education, and forgone in- tainable development” requires safeguard-
Plantations Limited’s palm-oil plantation. vestment and trade. Increasingly, insecure ing human beings and their productivity
In the ensuing violence, approximately investment environments are seen as — from individual property rights to public
200 people were killed and 30,000 people major obstacles to development. In short, infrastructure — from the possibility of
were displaced. According to estimates the material foundations for opportunity a new wave of conflict that kills and de-
from Amnesty International, at least 100 are destroyed by violent conflict. stroys opportunity and human potential.
child soldiers took part in the conflict. On average civil wars cost the equivalent The social and economic benefits of a
Rising social disruption affected the of 30 years of GDP growth for a medium fully implemented SDG 16 are one of the
government’s ability to operate effectively. sized country. WDR research shows that most important foundations upon which
By 2000, government expenditure far out- for every three years that a country is af- to build a future development strategy for
stripped revenue. That same year, the dys- fected by major violence, poverty reduction the Solomon Islands.
functional government was overthrown lags behind by 2.7 percentage points. - Nathan Page has a Masters of Development
and all major industries closed or scaled The SDGs directly address violence and Studies from University of Melbourne specialis-
down. Approximately 8,000 jobs were lost conflict as an integrated development ing in conflict and development. Nathan is the
with approximately one-quarter of these in issue. Global lessons and the changing former project coordinator at Pacific Small
the tuna fishing and cannery industry – a discourse on the security-development Arms Action Group. In 2016 he coordinated a
heavy blow in a country with population overlap are on display in the Solomon workshop in Solomon Islands with govern-
of about 233,000 people over 18 years old. Islands, where disarmament is now firmly ment officials on arms control legislation and
Two-thirds of the nation’s teachers were linked to progressive political change, so- procedures.

Islands Business,May 2017 11