A conservationist in Solomon Islands is calling for an investigation into the legality of a logging operation that allegedly destroyed two hectares of mangroves in Malaita province.
Photo: Supplied
John Atitete helps run a conservation initiative in East Are'Are in South Malaita protecting mangroves and marine ecosystems.
Mr Atitete said the Malaysian-owned Mega Logging Company was required to assess the environmental impact of its operation at Rurata in March.
He said it was then meant to inform local communities of their findings by April before starting to log.
Mr Atitete said instead the company starting logging in March and had destroyed the mangroves.
According to the conservationist, the Solomons government needed to investigate.
"I want the ministry concerned that is Environment as well as Forestry to look into this issue, so that they can maybe halt the operation," he said.
"Or maybe they can investigate how much biodiversity there is there and how much it is being affected by the pollution going into that place."
John Atitete said he intended to do his own assessment of the impact of the logging operation.
