Publication: Public Land Governance in Solomon Islands
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2011-02
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2012-08-13
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In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands suggests that a focus on public land holdings, even when they are relatively small in land area, can yield outsized benefits. Publicly owned land regularly includes economically valuable land and urban land on which development pressure is high. In Solomon Islands, as much as 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may be affected by how effectively urban public land is governed.
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“Williams, Shaun. 2011. Public Land Governance in Solomon Islands. Justice for the Poor Briefing Note; Volume 6, Issue No. 1. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10903 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Public Land Governance in Solomon Islands(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands suggests that a focus on public land holdings, even when they are relatively small in land area, can yield outsized benefits. Publicly owned land regularly includes economically valuable land and urban land on which development pressure is high. In Solomon Islands, as much as 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may be affected by how effectively urban public land is governed.Publication Public Expenditure Review for the Solomon Islands Government(Washington, DC, 2011-06)This policy note assesses how well the Solomon Islands Government budgeting practices have been working over the period of 2006-10 and explores options for improving that process. This note provides a non-technical summary of the initial findings and recommendations. The analysis conducted so far suggests that better results are blocked by problems in matching budgetary allocations to needs and problems with unproductive spending. For example, the Government's spending on schools is above average for the region, yet the Solomon Islands lags behind several of its neighboring countries in school enrollment and literacy. Some of the difficulties in getting good results can be traced to local conditions beyond government control such as its administration and travel costs are increased by the geographic dispersion of the islands. The report concludes that the budget process and the budget formation process both require strengthening and that these are issues well within government control.Publication Women, State Law and Land in Peri-Urban Settlements on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-04)This paper provides a brief overview of the intersection of state and customary laws governing land in peri-urban settlements around Honiara, focusing on their impact upon landowners, particularly women landowners. It suggests that the intersection of customary and state legal systems allows a small number of individuals, predominantly men, to solidify their control over customary land. This has occurred to the detriment of many landowners, who have often found themselves excluded from both decision-making processes and the distribution of financial benefits from the use of land. This contributes to social conflict and undermines the legitimacy of land dealings, and as the Tensions demonstrate, can ultimately lead to violent conflict.Publication Women, State Law and Land in Peri-Urban Settlements on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-04)This paper provides a brief overview of the intersection of state and customary laws governing land in peri-urban settlements around Honiara, focusing on their impact upon landowners, particularly women landowners. It suggests that the intersection of customary and state legal systems allows a small number of individuals, predominantly men, to solidify their control over customary land. This has occurred to the detriment of many landowners, who have often found themselves excluded from both decision-making processes and the distribution of financial benefits from the use of land. This contributes to social conflict and undermines the legitimacy of land dealings, and as the tensions demonstrate, can ultimately lead to violent conflict.Publication Solomon Islands Public Expenditure Review(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-09-30)A Public Expenditure Review (PER) is a diagnostic instrument to analyze public expenditures and revenues, support policy dialogue with government, and inform engagement with other stakeholders. During November 2021 and July 2022, a PER was conducted for Solomon Islands, titled ‘Fiscal reform and the path to debt sustainability’. The PER examines the public finance implications of a large public investment pipeline and declining logging revenues, and identifies the importance of reform for fiscal sustainability and resilient development. On the revenue side, the PER examines pathways in which the government’s tax reform agenda and the mining sector can contribute to income generation and economic growth. On the recurrent expenditure side, the PER assesses public sector pay and employment, and identifies options to make spending in health and education more efficient. Finally, the PER investigates the risks and opportunities of the large public investment pipeline and the consequences for (fiscal) sustainability.
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