Investment policy shift of the Solomon Islands national provident fund board, the country's only superannuation scheme

The Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) is managed by its board of directors (BOD) and influenced by government policies. Despite vibrant growth in assets and its investment portfolios, SINPF has yet to fully realize its primary objectives to its members. Its primary objective has been to assist members still in employment with loans to acquire homes, and to provide a lump sum payment or pensions after employment. This study has investigated why the previous BODs have diverted the SINPF primary objective as social benefit to members to more economic benefits. The study has used mainly qualitative information to examine the operations of the fund and BOD over the past decades. We also interviewed current and formers members and employees of the fund to get insight information of the fund. The study has found that the fund has progressively diverted its primary objectives, from direct benefit to members through personal loans and investment options to corporate-focus investment portfolios from which members can benefit, indirectly, only if the institution’s main source of profit is its aggressive corporate investment policy. The study concluded that whilst the BOD is mandated to invest, on behalf of members, the funds received through members’ contributions, they must not compromise the SINPF primary objective to ensure that members benefit directly from these investment initiatives. BODs are obliged to make proper and sound loan assessments when approving loans to these corporate borrowers

Climate Change Adaptation on Small Island States: An Assessment of Limits and Constraints

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-05-11, pub-electronic 2021-05-31Publication status: PublishedSmall Island States (SIDS) are among the nations most exposed to climate change (CC) and are characterised by a high degree of vulnerability. Their unique nature means there is a need for more studies focused on the limits to CC adaptation on such fragile nations, particularly regarding their problems and constraints. This paper addressed a perceived need for research into the limitations of adaptation on SIDS, focusing on the many unique restrictions. To this end, the study identified and described the adaptation limits they have by using a review of the literature and an analysis of case studies from a sample of five SIDS in the Caribbean and Pacific regions (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga). This research’s findings showed that an adaptable SIDS is characterised by awareness of various values, appreciation and understanding of a diversity of impacts and vulnerabilities, and acceptance of certain losses through change. The implications of this paper are two-fold. It explains why island nations continue to suffer from the impacts of CC and suggest some of the means via which adequate policies may support SIDS in their efforts to cope with the threats associated with a changing climate. This study concluded that, despite the technological and ecological limits (hard limits) affecting natural systems, adaptation to CC is limited by such complex forces and societal factors (soft limits) that more adequate adaptation strategies could overcome

Fostering coastal resilience to climate change vulnerability in Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay: a cross-country comparison

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. This paper describes a comparative study of four different cases on vulnerability, hazards and adaptive capacity to climate threats in coastal areas and communities in four developing countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon and Uruguay. Coastal areas are vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR), storm surges and flooding due to their (i) exposure, (ii) concentration of settlements, many of which occupied by less advantaged groups and (iii) the concentration of assets and services seen in these areas. The objective of the paper is twofold: (i) to evaluate current evidence of coastal vulnerability and adaptive capacity and (ii) to compare adaptation strategies being implemented in a sample of developing countries, focusing on successful ones. The followed approach for the case evaluation is based on (i) documenting observed threats and damages, (ii) using indicators of physical and socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptive capacity status and (iii) selecting examples of successful responses. Major conclusions based on cross-case comparison are (a) the studied countries show different vulnerability, adaptive capacity and implementation of responses, (b) innovative community-based (CBA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and (c) early warning systems are key approaches and tools to foster climate resilience. A recommendation to foster the resilience of coastal communities and services is that efforts in innovative adaptation strategies to sea-level rise should be intensified and integrated with climate risk management within the national adaption plans (NAPAs) in order to reduce the impacts of hazards

Transformation of rural communities: Lessons from a local self-initiative for building resilience in the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is vulnerable to negative impacts from climate change, where people’s livelihoods and their well-being are threatened, especially the viability of isolated communities. Realising the increasing risks from climate change on communities, government, in partnership with aid-donor partners, has invested millions of dollars in climate change projects, through mitigation and adaptation strategies. As a form of adaptation, the government invests in programmes aimed at increasing the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable communities through landscape and seascape projects across the rural communities. Focusing on the “transformation concept” as a long-term adaptation strategy and enlargement of climate engineering and ecological resilience concepts, the paper discusses why building resilience from transformation of rural communities, as well as from landscape and seascape projects, would benefit communities and relevant authorities. This paper describes the findings of a study on two rural villages, Keigold and Mondo, from Ranogha Islands, Western Province, in Solomon Islands, where 80% of households decided to relocate from their old village “Mondo” to their new home “Keigold” after an earthquake in 2007, as part of a selfinitiative. The reallocation process can be seen as a case of pro-active community transformation that provides valuable lessons to other rural communities that may be forced to move due to impacts from natural catastrophes, including those explained by climate change risks. Lessons from this experience suggest that policy-makers and non-government organisations should consider and empower local transformation initiatives as a way to building long-term adaptation to climate change

Limits and Barriers to Transformation: A Case Study of April Ridge Relocation Initiative, East Honiara, Solomon Islands

Increasing vulnerability to extreme environmental events (EEEs), exacerbated by climate change, is making adaptation inevitable for rural communities in Small Islands Developing states (SIDs), including the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). Particularly the communities’ located along the coastal areas that are experiencing sea level rise and coastal erosions, storm surges and flooding. Governments and development agencies across the Pacific have begun to implement adaptation policies to climate change at the community level to build resilience. This paper reports what limits and barriers rural household face for long-term adaptation, using community relocation from Mataniko Riverside to April Ridge, East Honiara, Solomon Islands, as a case study. Two hundred forty six (246) families were affected by the flash flood of Mataniko Riverside in April 2014. The Solomon Island government offered flood victims plots of land in an area safe from flooding. As of July 2015, the date of the study, the relocation process had been stalled, with flood victims still waiting for the promised plots of land. Questionnaires, oral interviews and focus group discussions with flood victims identified vulnerability, flood prone area and changing weather patterns as major limits, and government failures and the socioeconomic reality of these households as major barriers to adaptation. The study determined government failures to include a complicated land tenure system, absence of infrastructure development at the new site, inconsistent commitment to ensure completion of the land transfer to the settlers, and the lack of access to credit. Socioeconomic attributes including insufficient income, lack of formal education and skills, and consequential limited livelihood alternatives, also act as crucial barriers. The research findings indicate the need to design a relocation policy that addresses the limits and barriers identified here, specifically the land tenure system, and the financial support available to facilitate the relocation process