By JOHN HOUANIHAU
The concept of “access agreements” in land and mining arrangements practice continues to reflect outdated colonial laws that do not recognise customary land ownership in Solomon Islands.
The Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Mr Philip Kanairara, made the statement and recommendation during the Bills & Legislation Committee on the Mineral Resource Bill 2025 Wednesday last week.
He said that access agreements originated from English common law dating back to around 1568, during the “Case of Mines.”
“In that case, it was decided that valuable minerals such as gold and silver belonged to the Crown, and only the King or Queen could own them. As a result, in England at the time, investors or developers who wanted to explore or mine had to enter into access agreements with landowners to reach the minerals, since the minerals were owned by the Crown, while the surface land was often privately owned,” he said.
He said that this colonial concept was later adopted in local law, creating a situation where the government or Crown still claims ownership of minerals, even on customary lands.
“This arrangement means we are not truly recognising the rights of our people over their land and what lies beneath it. Our people have long believed that ownership of land includes what is above and below it,” he said.
“Historical records show that the issue of mineral ownership was already being discussed as early as 1974, when a Special Select Committee on Lands and Mines was established by members of the Legislative Assembly to examine similar concerns.
“The experts argued that abolishing access agreements and reforming related laws would better reflect customary ownership and ensure that local communities are recognised as the true custodians of their land and resources,” he said.
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