A leading government official in Solomon Islands admits that the rate of logging in the country is still unsustainable.
Logging tracks run like scars across the face of a tropical rainforest on Malaita in Solomon Islands. Photo: Photo supplied/Edgar Pollard - Patrick Pikacha - Felix Naitoro
The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Research, Vaeno Vigulu, said the rate should be ten to twelve times more sustainable than it currently is.
SIBC reports Mr Vigulu has confirmed that last year a record number of round logs, 2.73 million cubic metres worth, was exported from Solomon Islands.
The government has been warned for many years that the country's forests are being logged to extinction.
Mr Vigulu said the government is trying to reduce the logging rate.