Lush forests laid to waste: how Pacific Islands got hooked on logging

The timber industry in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has brought money and jobs - but also pollution, environmental devastation and food insecurity

• Read more of our Pacific Plunder series here

If Solomon Islands continues logging at its current rate, natural forests in the country will be exhausted in 15 years. The South Pacific nation, and its neighbour Papua New Guinea, are striking examples of the enormous cost of the logging industry on small island nations.

In the last few decades, foreign-owned companies have moved in to the Pacific region, clearing huge swathes of lush forest, exporting vast quantities of timber and sometimes leaving environmental devastation and social destruction in their wake.