A member of the Temotu provincial government in Solomon Islands has defended logging developments in the province.
Photo: Supplied
Landowner concern continues to fester over logging operations on Temotu's Vanikoro Island, run by a Malaysian company, Galego Logging.
Galego's local partner is Vanikoro Lumber Limited which has been accused of not delivering on benefits promised to the local community.
VLL's chief executive is Temotu's deputy premier, Ezekiel Tamoa.
He said while a few locals had reservations about the impact of logging, it was essentially an initiative driven by the people.
"Overall, I think most of the landowners are ok. There's nobody in disagreement. It's the people themselves who wanted to enter into this forestry development."
Mr Tamoa said benefits such as an airstrip and roads were being developed.
