The National Steering Committee (NSC) and National Technical Working Group (NTWG) commends milestones achieved by the Knowledge, Action, Sustainability for Resilient Villages (SOLKAS) Project since its inception in February 2024.
The NTWG was conducted back-to-back with the NSC held at CAM Enterprise at Mataniko Plaza in Honiara on the 11th and 12th December 2025 respectively.
The NSC is the apex body for the project providing strategic leadership and overall governance while the NTWG is responsible for technical leadership and ensuring a national institutional and a system-wide alignment of the project with national development priorities for sustainability.
The SOLKAS Project is targeting 263,000 beneficiaries representing about 64% of the county’s total population (80% rural population outside Honiara).
About 185,100 are direct beneficiaries in 170 communities and 100 schools across 6 provinces (Central, Guadalcanal, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, and Temotu) of Solomon Islands.
During her opening remarks, the Country Director for Save the Children in the Solomon Islands, Tory Clawson, stated, “SOLKAS is more than a climate project; it is a governance-strengthening platform.”
She emphasised the growing urgency of climate impacts, stating, “Climate impacts are accelerating, and our systems must keep pace.
“The NSC plays a pivotal role advancing adaptive governance ensuring that SOLKAS strengthens national systems and supports a resilient future for all Solomon Islanders.”
The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster and Meteorology (MECDM), David Hiba Hiriasia, also reinforced SOLKAS’ national importance, stating that the project is “a strategic investment in national resilience that directly aligns with national climate, disaster risk, and development priorities.”
He highlighted the Solomon Islands Government’s substantial in-kind contributions to ensure the project’s success.
The event also marked the launch of the first issue of the SOLKAS E-newsletter, highlighting the project’s progress and marking a significant milestone since its inception.
This e-newsletter serve as a central information hub, capturing progress from the field, highlighting community stories, sharing climate-smart innovations, and profiling the hard-working people who make this project possible.
Without the leadership and commitment of Save the Children and the invaluable leadership of the Solomon Islands Government and support of provincial leaders and partners, communities, schools the achievements of SOLKAS would not have been possible.
SOLKAS is a USD 31.8 million project funded primarily by the Green Climate Fund (USD 24.9 million), with core financing from the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, and the Solomon Islands Government.
Photo caption: Members of the NSC with SOLKAS PMU (standing); (Sitting From L-R: Dr Franco Rodie, PS MEHRD; David Hiba Hiriasia, PS MECDM; Tory Clawson Country Director, Save the Children Solomon Islands; Allan Daonga, PS, Central Islands Province; and Wendy Gebe, Women Peace and Security Coordinator, MWYCFA.
