Page 4 - IB June 2017

Publisher’s Note

Managing Director / Publisher
Netani Rika
Group Editor-in-Chief
Samisoni Pareti
Netani Rika
Publisher
Top quality air

Design consultant Ilaitia Turagabeci
Main Correspondents SO the Solomon Islands has the clean- remains unspoilt.
est air in the world according to a World It is also about encouraging locals to
Fiji Priya Chand
Health Organization report released last take responsibility for maintaining the
Joe Yaya month. beauty and cleanliness of their villages,

Australia Nic Maclellan In fact the report states that the air in districts and provinces.
the Solomons has the least pollution or Already at least one Solomon Islands
Cook Islands Helen Greig
foreign particles per square inch. provincial governor has decided to ban the
Kiribati Taberannang Korauaba Even New Zealand, long seen as the use of plastic bags in an effort to protect
French Polynesia Nic Maclellan cleanest country in the region does not the environment.
have air as clean as that in the Happy Isles. It is a small but significant step in a
Marshall Islands Giff Johnson
The declaration is a huge boost for the battle to save the Pacific. And what better
New Caledonia Nic Maclellan Solomons which wants to attract more place to start than in the land where 75
New Zealand Jason Brown visitors to its untouched beauty in the years ago brave men and women turned
Niue Naea Michael Jackson islands – inland and also along the coast. the tide of an invasion which was ostensi-
One United Nations official from Indo- bly about the control of natural resources?
Papua New Guinea Sam Vulum
nesia was recently heard commenting at The Battle of Guadalcanal was a turning
Patrick Matbob a regional event that he was pleasantly point in the Pacific in World War II.
Samoa Taina Kami-Enoka surprised by the breath-taking beauty of Today the Pacific stands on the brink of
destinations outside the capital, Honiara. another battle for its very survival as the
Solomon Islands Priestly Habru
And that is the unfortunate truth. forces of development and modernisation
Tonga Iliesa Tora Honiara is a dirty town plagued by traf- threaten the region’s way of life. While
Vanuatu Bob Makin fic congestion, rubbish, mosquitoes and change is inevitable, there is no reason
the ubiquitous betel nut splotches on the why Pacific governments and people
roads and walls. But a flight to any of the cannot determine how and when this will
islands is like stepping into a completely take place.
different world. The Cook Islands as a community duti-
Islands Business is published monthly by Luscious, dense, green forests and fully cleans gardens and the roadside daily
Front Page Limited crystal clear waters lie just 30 minutes in an effort to maintain its desirability as
Editorial & Advertising Offices away from the main island. But to be fair, a tourist destination.
117 Amy Street, even the interior of Guadalcanal is vastly Ultimately the responsibility for main-
PO Box 12718, Suva, Fiji Islands. different to the littered towns. Here, then, taining clean air and water will fall on
Tel: +679 330 3108 Fax: +679 330 1423
is the challenge for tourism operators in our people. That means creating a market
the Solomons and – by extension – every for tourists who care as much about the
Emails
Editorial: editor@islandsbusiness.com country in the region: How do you attract beautiful Pacific as we do.
Subscriptions: subs@islandsbusiness.com visitors to experience an untouched des- The time has come to rethink and re-
Advertising: ukoto@islandsbusiness.com tination without destroying the natural define the commercial deals which are so
beauty? important in a global economy. Like the
Printing:
Universal Printing Press, Lautoka Perhaps the answer lies in identifying Solomon Islands, every Pacific country
a specific type of visitor who will pay top should make a stand to maintain quality
REVEALED NAURU’S POLITICAL DEALS P12 SOLOMON AIRLINE’S COMPLIMENTARY INFLIGHT MAGAZINE www.flysolomons.com dollar to experience untouched beauty of life and the environment. For without
Solomons
ISSUE 68
Delegates Directory and appreciate it enough to ensure that it this we are nothing.
July 2015 FJD $4.60
ILO puts Fiji
on notice
EMBARGO WARNING ILO gives
Fiji time on labour laws P13
Cool Kina
PNG BEYOND
ITS BORDERS
P24 www.islandsbusiness.com
The Games
TOP DOLLARS
FOR WINNERS
P34
Melanesian brothers reject West Papua www.islandsbusiness.com Your region, your website
OUT theCOLD
in
•Australia AU$4.00•Cook Islands NZ$4.50•Federated States of Micronesia US$4.00•Fiji Islands F$4.60•French Polynesia CPF300•Hawaii US$4.50•Kiribati AU$4.00•Marshall Islands US$4.00•Nauru AU$4.00
•New Caledonia CPF300•New Zealand NZ$4.50•Niue NZ$4.00•Palau US$4.50•Papua New Guinea K5.00•Samoa T4.00•Solomon Islands SL$8.00•Tonga P4.00•Tuvalu AU$4.00•Vanuatu Vatu300•
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4 Islands Business, May 2017