Building organisational capacity in environmental governance
The Western Provincial Government (WPG) of Solomon Islands plays a central role in facilitating development across the province, with a keen focus on climate and environment sustainability. Being highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and natural disasters, the Western Provincial Government ensures that development is pursued in a deliberate, inclusive and environmentally responsible manner. Given the technical nature of the Environment Division and few opportunities to strengthen skills and capacity of staff, the division found it challenging to effectively engage with stakeholders, coordinate inter-agency
efforts and respond to the growing complexity of environmental governance.
According to the provincial Secretary, Patrick Toiraena, VSA volunteer Kirsten Forsyth’s role as a Climate Change and Environment Advisor has helped improve the organisational capacity of the Western Provincial Government and the individual capacities of Jully Kalamana, the Principal Environment Officer. Acknowledging the tricky nature of environmental safeguarding alongside development in the region, the Division had previously faced pushback from local environmental groups on land allocation for development work and its environmental impacts due to communication gaps. According to Patrick, staff are now able to “communicate effectively with interest groups and stakeholders, undertake preliminary environmental assessments, liaise and work with communities and undertake consultations on their community initiatives like Community Based Resource Management. Patrick feels that Jully is now “able to have a more structured approach to community liaison in terms of their community environmental initiatives”. Jully now confidently conducts assessments and community consultations on protected areas and conservation activities.
Jully noted that the Division has begun intentionally aligning its work plans with broader policy goals, ensuring that environmental initiatives support the WPG’s overall development priorities. She has gained a clearer understanding of how linking activities to divisional objectives and policies strengthens both quarterly and annual reporting to key stakeholders. As a result, the Division’s planning and reporting systems have improved, making their work more transparent, policy-driven and responsive to community needs.
Capacity building of staff has been central to this transformation. Patrick feels that the organisation now has stronger “knowledge on budget formulation and conversion of policy objectives to work plan activities…the environment stakeholder grouping for which Jully acts as the focal point has better coordination.” These reforms have positioned the WPG to advocate for environmental resilience and development with confidence to better serve its communities. This has supported the WPG to contribute to stronger provincial governance and more responsive environmental management in Solomon Islands.