Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

As the Republic of Suriname works towards adjusting national laws, measures are already being taken to conduct better land-use planning to prevent damage to, or eradication of, ecosystems including those that are vulnerable [ ] 212 Biodiversity strategies for the greenest nation The government of the Republic of Suriname is working towards the conservation and protection of its biological resources, both inside and outside protected areas. New regula- tions are being drafted and existing ones are being updated. A major step will be the Environmental Frame- work Act, which will set the scope of all environment-related laws and regulations that are already in place or still need to be established. Measures have been taken to conduct better land-use planning to prevent damage to or eradication of ecosystems, including vulnerable ones. The government has a structure in place for regulating gold-mining activities and applying forest resto- ration and rehabilitation techniques. Concurrent steps are being taken to phase out the use of mercury in arti- sanal gold mining and to introduce environmentally friendly alternatives. Information from a preliminary inventory of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) will serve to establish an IAS Management Plan with protocols for IAS control in protected areas. Commitment to responsible biotech- nology and the valuing of ecosystems for their services will help protect the country’s biodiversity and develop new ways to increase its agricultur- al capacities. In addition, there are proposals for the establishment of new protected areas, and updated management plans are being drafted for the existing coastal sites. The Republic of Suriname is in the process of restructuring and rebuilding the State’s environmental bodies in order to ensure sound and integrated environmental policies. Environmental management, and consequently the coordination of the management of biological resources, is enacted at the level of the President. Projects are ongoing in both sec- toral and cross-sectoral fields. These include promoting the conservation of agricultural biodiversity, imple- menting the Fisheries Management Plan, and preparing implementa- tion of the United Nations REDD+ programme. There are also initiatives to make an inventory of mercury use by artisanal and small-scale gold miners, to promote the rehabilitation of former mining areas in Eastern Suriname with grass plantations for biofuel, and to monitor deforestation via satellite image analyses. The An- ton de Kom University of Suriname has created a Master of Science pro- gramme in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources to strengthen capacity. T he Republic of Suriname is situated on the north-eastern coast of South America and is part of the Amazon biome and the Guiana Shield ecosystem. With forest cover of over 93 per cent, it is known as the greenest country on Earth. Forests in both the inland and coastal areas are important in mitigating the effects of climate change and sea level rise. The biological diversity of the country is particularly important as it provides goods and ecological services to the people of Suriname. When sustainably managed and preserved, it generates income, reduces malnutrition and eradicates poverty. Three-striped poison arrow frog, Suriname Donovan Nasio Suriname