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Labere v Kalena Timber Company Ltd

Country/Territory
Solomon Islands
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Sep 25, 2000
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
High Court
Seat of court
Honiara
Judge
F.O. KABUI
Reference number
Civil Case No. 211 of 2000
Language
English
Subject
Forestry
Keyword
Forest species Management/conservation Biodiversity
Abstract

The plaintiffs represented the Harero Tribe and asked the Court to make orders preventing the defendant from conducting logging operations on the Harero land and that the proceeds of any logging activities on the land be made payable to an interest bearing deposit in any of the commercial banks in Honiara. The defendant was the Kalena Timber Company Ltd.

The defendant had engaged in logging activities after negotiating a timber rights agreement with some owners of the land, though not the Harero tribe. Despite the lack of an agreement, the plaintiffs meant that the defendant had entered their land and felled trees. They also meant that the defendant had not followed the timber rights acquisition procedure set out in the provisions of the Forest Resources and Timber Utilization Act. 

The plaintiffs also claimed that damage had been done to the environment and that the fact that the trees were gone was an irreparable loss. They also meant that the land was damaged and that the rivers in the area had been polluted. There was evidence proving that Harero Land was never intended to be logged, so the plaintiffs had not suffered economic damage.

The Court concluded that it was necessary to prevent further logging in the area as the trees that were left could otherwise be lost. Until further orders from the court, the proceeds of the sale of trees felled within the Harero Land were to be paid into the Court.

Full text
Labere v Kalena Timber Company Ltd.pdf