Restore Blue Leading Review of Water Laws in the Solomon Islands

Restore Blue’s Dr Emma Carmody is proud to be leading a multidisciplinary team reviewing water laws in the Solomon Islands, with a focus on the Solomon Islands Water Authority Act 1992 (SIWA Act) and the Catchment Areas Regulation. The initiative is being delivered in partnership with the Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA) and supported by the Australian Water Partnership.

In-Country Engagement to Understand Water Governance and Local Context

Emma and the team spent 10 days in the Solomon Islands in October 2025, meeting with government officials, Indigenous customary landholders, community representatives, experts and academics. These conversations were crucial for understanding the cultural, legal and hydrological context that shapes water governance in the country.

The trip also included field visits to key SIWA water catchment areas on Guadalcanal, providing the team with firsthand insights into water security challenges, land tenure, watershed management issues and the relationship between law, culture and resource management.

Restore Blue's Dr Emma Carmody leading engagement discussions.

Kongulai Water Source.

Water Law Reform: Why Local Context and Customary Law Matter

A central theme that emerged during the visit was the interplay between the Western ‘common law’ system and customary law. While it is widely reported that around 87% of land in the Solomon Islands is under customary ownership, existing water laws are largely derived from Western legal principles.

This creates governance challenges, including:

• misalignment between statutory water laws and customary land tenure

• uncertainty around rights to water and catchment access

• limited recognition of local authority structures

• difficulties implementing water security and watershed protection measure

  
  

Understanding these dynamics requires in-country engagement, cultural literacy and sustained partnership with local communities.

Working With Local Partners to Co-Design Legal Reform

A key component of the project is close collaboration with local legal and environmental partners, including the Solomon Islands Environmental Law Association. This approach recognises that effective water law reform cannot be imposed externally.

Instead, it must:

• be co-designed with Solomon Islanders

• integrate customary law and plural legal traditions

• reflect the lived realities of water use, land tenure and community governance

• strengthen resilience to climate and water security pressures

  
  

This co-design methodology helps ensure that legal amendments are locally relevant, culturally appropriate, and practically implementable.

Melita Grant from UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, with Kenya Kenioera from the Solomon Islands Environmental Law Association

The Path Forward: Supporting Solomon Islands Water Governance Reform

Restore Blue looks forward to continuing the project, with a second mission planned for early 2026. The long-term success of this work will be measured not only by the technical quality of recommended amendments but by whether the updated water governance framework:

• reflects the aspirations of Solomon Islanders

• respects customary law and cultural heritage

• strengthens long-term water security and catchment protection

• supports SIWA’s operational needs and the country’s environmental objectives

Effective water law reform in pluralistic legal systems requires genuine partnership, deep listening and commitment to co-design, not just consultation. It also requires recognising customary law as a living, dynamic system, not a historical relic.

Project Team

Restore Blue extends sincere thanks to the expert team contributing to this work:

• Elaine Johnson, Johnson Legal

• Professor Bradley Moggridge, University of Technology Sydney

• Melita Grant, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures

• Professor Sarah Wheeler, Flinders University

• Grantley Smith, Restore Blue

• Senoveva Mauli and Kenya Kenioera, Solomon Islands Environmental Law Association

Their combined expertise in water governance, customary law, environmental science, hydrology, economics and legal reform is central to the project’s success.

Project team members in the Solomon Islands.

[1] Boer, B. W. (ed.) (1996). Environmental Law in the South Pacific Consolidated Report of the Reviews of Environmental Law in the Cook Islands. Federated States of Micronesia, Kingdom of Tonga, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands. IUCN Gland and Cambridge. x + 263pp.