THE Land Economic Management and Conservation (LEMCO) see Community Based Tourism as a viable solution to some urgent problems in environment preservation in Solomon Islands.

It more specifically focuses on reducing the most urgent problems faced by humans today such as global warming, deforestation and land speculation.

Although CBT is new to Solomon Islands, it is not something new to other parts in the Pacific, an oldest way of conducting tourism, and it is recommended for Solomons which is rich in natural resources.

According to LEMCO, the CBT is fortunate for local communities, and it will benefit the country in a form of preservation of indigenous life, cultural Exchange, builds capacity and education levels at the local level and maintains local way of life while preserving pre-existing assets.

To effectively implement CBT in the country, the Director for Sustainable Livelihood, LEMCO Dr Marcus Curcija said there are five phased implementation strategy.

Dr Curcija said the strategies are Research, Exposure, Brainstorming, Detailed Planning and Operations which is a right step before setting up CBT in the communities.

With that, Dr Curcija said proper planning of CBT requires community to vocalise their needs and desires regarding the benefits of the initiative.

“Emphasise the importance of planning through the involvement of the community,” Dr Curcia said.