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Scientist Soapi's first recollections are of the ocean. She grew up on Rendova, a lush isle in western Solomon Islands, and life revolved around the sea.

“I recall when the big waves came, we would plunge under them and come up with laughter on the other side. Experiencing those forces of nature gave me so much happiness.”

During her education, she performed exceptionally well in chemistry and would eventually research medicinal plants, fascinated by the possibility that the natural world could hold cures for contemporary illnesses. She studied in the nation of Fiji, the continent of Australia and the United Kingdom and later was recognized as the first woman from Solomon Islands to earn a PhD in the field of natural sciences.

However Soapi kept being drawn back to her first love – the ocean. And what would end up being her deeply personal and satisfying work, defending one of the Solomon Islands’ most treasured locations, Tetepare island.

The Struggle for Tetepare Island

During the mid-1990s, the noise of chainsaws resounded through the woodlands of the Solomon Islands as commercial logging swept across the country. Soapi had observed her home island fall to the axes of timber workers. Waterways once pristinely clear became muddy with sediment, and the forest songs of avian species and insects faded into silence.

When whispers began that Tetepare might be the next target, the residents of the Western Province felt they were facing more than an ecological danger. Tetepare was tabu – sacred ground, the site to traditional gardens, gravesites, and historical connections etched into the land.

“To lose Tetepare would have been like losing our identity,” Soapi says. “It was no longer just about forests any more, it was about who we are and heritage.”

Soapi joined others to oppose logging and dedicated her spare time to the movement. At the time, a university student, Soapi was a founding member of the Tetepare support group, a grassroots movement that later evolved into the Tetepare Descendants’ Association (TDA).

“We collaborated with all community members on the island to conserve Tetepare, sending correspondence to certain individuals telling them to cease their plans,” she says.

They lobbied governments and mobilized international allies to block logging concessions. The effort was unceasing. Soapi worked diligently, linking descendant groups and holding meetings across villages – all joined by a common goal: to keep the island untouched. The logging company tried to sway some families with financial incentives but the community remained resolute – and they made sacrifices to prove their dedication.

Soapi served as a bridge between cultural practices and emerging conservation science.

“It was essential to have both – the knowledge of our ancestors and the tools of science to show the world why this place mattered.”

The campaign garnered international focus and in the 1990s decade a documentary team came to document the narrative. Years later, the Australian documentary Since the Company Came carried Tetepare’s struggle to the world stage.

“That was when we realized the international community saw what we had. We had to protect it – not just for our people, but for everyone.”

The effort paid off and no company was permitted to log Tetepare then. Today, it stands as one of the few remaining pristine areas in Solomon Islands. It is managed by the Tetepare Descendants’ Association which has numerous members. Its rainforest canopy stretches unbroken, streams flow clear, and threatened leatherback turtles lay eggs on its dark sandy shores.

Local guardians – heirs of Tetepare – patrol the land, drawing on both indigenous wisdom and contemporary research.

“It’s not just scientific methods at play. Traditional knowledge is woven into all our actions,” Soapi says.

The conservation effort also supports local economies. The Eco Lodge on Tetepare, operated by the TDA, lets tourists witness conservation in action. Income from the facility supports rangers and community projects, while annual gatherings unite members together to reach shared choices.

Preserving the island has always been easy. In communities where money is scarce, the temptation of fast cash from resource extraction persists.

“It is invariably easier to trade trees for a few hundred dollars and have the funds in your possession immediately,” Soapi admits. “But conservation provides fish, food and clean rivers for generations. That is more difficult to measure in the short term.”

Still, challenges persist. TDA patron John Read says a new plan seeks to clear a section of the woodland that borders the island's main marine-protected area, home to an abundance of sea life.

“Sadly being large, fertile and uninhabited makes it attractive to developers as well as property holders with weaker dedication to conservation.”

The representative says that at this year’s association yearly assembly in the month of October, participants voiced strong opposition over the plan and pledged to reject any scheme for timber harvesting, settlements, commercial extraction or harmful activities on Tetepare.

Soapi says: “I hope that individuals attempting to establish settlements on the land will honor the continuous preservation work our communities have striven diligently to uphold for many years.”

A Pacific Model of Environmental Protection

For Soapi, now a respected regional scientist and marine defender, the island's journey is a leading example of Pacific-led preservation.

“Tetepare taught us that environmental protection isn’t just about safeguarding land,” she says. “It’s about protecting who we are.”

Elisabeth Holland, previous academic of marine and climate science at the a regional university, has collaborated with Soapi for more than a decade. She describes her as a “talented Pacific scholar and a science rock star”.

The colleague says Soapi’s work – especially in ocean acidification – has had significant impact, while her leadership has given young researchers a “defined trajectory and strong mentorship to assist ensure marine health for the Pacific area”.

Tetepare’s success has inspired local groups across the Pacific. In 2012, the TDA received the renowned international environmental award, a worldwide acknowledgment of its community-led conservation model.

“It shows that Pacific people do not just inherit conservation models – we create them,” Soapi says.

Currently serving as a collaboration manager at the a regional scientific institution, she persists in advocate for indigenous knowledge and local initiatives. Soapi remains deeply tied to the island.

“I feel like I’m just a single participant. I may have connections with forums and organizations, but the true effort is done by the Tetepare descendants. They are the real protectors of the land.”