Suriname - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Suriname is located on the northeast coast of South America and is part of the Amazon biome. With forest cover at 94% of the national territory, it has the distinction of being one of the greenest countries on earth. Its Exclusive Economic Zone covers 300 sea miles. The country possesses seven types of ecosystems: marine ecosystems (Atlantic Ocean, mud banks, sandbanks, mudflats), coastal ecosystems (mangrove forests, mangrove swamps), brackish water ecosystems (brackish water pans and lagoons), freshwater ecosystems (freshwater swamps, open freshwater systems such as the Upper Rivers and rapids in the Interior), savannah ecosystems (white and brown sand savannahs, rock savannahs), marsh ecosystems, inselbergs and tropical rainforest... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

Major direct threats to the country’s biodiversity include: mineral mining (mined ore has traditionally been a major commodity in the national economy) and unsustainable use of mangrove forests. The presence of invasive (alien) species, the import of exotic animal and plant species that may become pests, illegal hunting and fisheries, the poaching of sea turtle eggs, the overharvesting of fish brood and the illegal trade in biological diversity, present major indirect threats... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

Suriname's National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP) (2012-2016), finalized in February 2013, was essentially formulated on the basis of the directions outlined in the National Biodiversity Strategy (NBS) finalized 6 years earlier in 2007. The NBAP contains 8 objectives: (i) biodiversity conservation (ii) sustainable use of biodiversity (iii) regulated access to genetic material and associated knowledge, with fair and equitable sharing of benefits (iv) knowledge acquisition through research and monitoring (v) capacity-building (vi) CEPA (vii) cooperation at local and international levels (viii) sustainable financing... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Examples of actions are provided below (the list is not exhaustive).

The National Forest Policy (2003) is being implemented amongst others by drafting the Code of Practice for Sustainable Forest Management and strengthening the capacity of the forest authority to further promote sustainable forest management (re Target 4)... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

Suriname has adopted a Fisheries Management Plan (2014-2018). By-catch reduction devices are currently tested. The Aquaculture Act is being finalized. The Fisheries Department is also a party to the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Project, which was endorsed by GEF (April 2015).

The National Herbarium of Suriname in 2013 conducted the inventory of Invasive Alien Species in the MUMAs, within a pilot project assigned by the Ministry of Physical Planning, Land and Forest Management (RGB) for the Suriname Coastal Protected Areas Management Project (SCPAM)... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

Although Suriname does not possess a comprehensive system for monitoring and reviewing implementation, it has adopted a National Fisheries Management Plan (2014-2018) to manage marine fish stocks. The Plan incorporates methods based on the use of a GPS monitoring system for monitoring fisheries and fishing activities at sea... More »