Bougainville Island Travel Guide

Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea and geographically it is the largest island of the Solomon Islands group.
Bougainville, the adjacent island of Buka, and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets are sometimes known as North Solomons. Together they make up the Papua New Guinean (PNG) Bougainville Province. The population of the province is 175,160 (2000 census).
The island is ecologically and geographically, although not politically, part of the Solomon Islands. Buka, Bougainville, and most of the Solomons are part of the Solomon Islands rain forests ecoregion.
In the 1970s, Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto) began exploiting the island's huge copper reserves. Resentment over the negative effects of the company's activities on the area and the lack of any tangible benefit to the islanders erupted into conflict in the 1990s. Attempts of proclaiming of independence of Bougainville (Republic of North Solomons) have occurred twice: in 1975 and 1990. In the second case the government of Papua New Guinea moved to put down what became a secessionist movement led by Francis Ona, a former surveyor for BCL. The PNG army received military aid from Australia and enlisted the support of Sandline International, a mercenary firm. The island was embargoed to weaken its people's resistance. However, they proved much more resilient than expected, designing their own weapons and converting engines to vegetable oil. Peace talks brokered by New Zealand began in 1997, leading to autonomy for the island. (...) more....

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