Solomon Islands/Village & Family Stays/Arnavon Nature Conservatory
Arnavon Nature Conservatory
Three uninhabited islands, 40,000 acres of marine protected area, and turtles nesting nightly.
The Arnavon Islands are marine turtle reserves and among the most beautiful and untouched places in the Solomon Islands — a remote haven of spectacular scenery and flourishing wildlife. The protected area covers 40,000 acres across three small uninhabited islands: thriving coral reefs and lagoons filled with countless species, white sand beaches and crystal blue water that are home to thousands of egg-breeding turtles, and a high diversity and abundance of birds.
With the rangers
Visiting Arnavon is not only about the scenery. Guests have the opportunity to join the rangers on their nightly monitoring of turtle egg-laying — the working heart of the conservation project rather than a staged activity.
How it came about
The marine protected area was created when three communities came together to protect the Arnavon Islands. With the help of the Solomon Islands government and The Nature Conservancy they established the Arnavon Islands Marine Conservation Area, the first community-managed marine conservation project in the entire South Pacific. At the heart of it are the three communities of Katupika, Kia and Wagina, from Choiseul and Isabel provinces — a partnership that crosses community, language, provincial and religious borders.
What it has achieved
In the ten years after the conservation area was established, the number of hawksbill sea turtles nesting on the islands rose by nearly 400 per cent, alongside increases in coral reef fish and in commercial species of marine invertebrates.
Arnavon Nature Conservatory in pictures
A few photographs from the Arnavon Islands, Choiseul & Isabel.
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