Parliament adopted an environmental protection bill in October to regulate the country s major export timber industry, which saw half of its workers lose their jobs in 1998 as a result of a large decrease in the demand for tropical timber. The law would help to ensure the sustainable management of forest resources and encourage local participation in the forest industry. Critics have charged that large-scale logging operations by foreign companies have resulted in considerable deforestation and environmental damage. Political Rights and Civil Liberties Citizens of the Solomon Islands can change their government democratically. Executive power is vested in a prime minister and cabinet, and the British monarchy is represented by a governor-general.
Traditional chiefs wield formal authority in local government.
Party affiliations are weak and based largely on personal loyalties. The country s three private newspapers vigorously critique government policies, but have limited circulation outside the towns, and there is a private FM station. In mid-1998, an Australian television channel began broadcasting to the Solomon Islands. On May 3, the home of Solomon Voice newspaper editor Carol Colville was raided by men claiming traditional custom payments as compensation for reports about government land allocations, which the newspaper had allegedly linked incorrectly to Ulufa alu instead of the previous government. Religious freedom is respected in this predominantly Christian country.