Download Brochure FOGS 2014 - Friends of green Suriname

friends of green Suriname is an initiative of
funding our natural capital
friends of
GREEN SURINAME
The future of conservation is in good hands
“A heart to resolve, a head to contrive,
and a hand to execute.”
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– Th e G r e e n e s t C o u n t r y o n E a r t h
With more than 90 percent of its land area cloaked in forest, Suriname is the
greenest country on Earth. Suriname’s forests are one of the largest remaining
blocks of primary tropic forest on Earth, and they harbor a range of extraordinary
environmental values: protecting a wealth of biodiversity, producing enormous
volumes of freshwater, and capturing vast stores of carbon.
Suriname is part of the Guiana Shield, a geologic region which covers over 270
million hectares (667 million acres) and encompasses Suriname, Guyana, French
Guiana, Venezuela, and associated ecosystems in northern Brazil and eastern
Colombia.
LOCAL CHALLENGES
Over the past several decades human activity in Suriname’s rainforest has
increased dramatically. A burgeoning timber industry and the development of
roads and infrastructure have made the protection of nature and critical ecosystem
services for climate change mitigation and human well-being a growing challenge
in our region. The most noticeable threat comes from the extractive industry.
Currently, Suriname’s economy is dominated by the mining industry, accounting
for a total of 23% of total government income. The biggest threat to our natural
capital lies in the artisanal small-scale gold mining sector, which has grown
exponentially over the past 15 years.
Inefficient mining techniques are causing substantial mercury pollution in rivers
and surrounding ecosystems, forming a direct hazard to the health and livelihoods
of the local communities.
The future of
conservation is in
good hands
friends of green Suriname: funding our natural capital
The gold rush in Suriname has prompted the government to engage in a program
to regulate these activities, which in turn has prompted the small-scale miners to
adjust their mining practices to accelerate the rate of extraction.
The aforementioned change in practices has resulted in a current ratio of 5 kg of
mercury used to extract 1 kg gold. Considering that the Central Bank had bought
about 30,000 kg gold from the local small-scale miners last year. This level of
activity indicates that about 150, 000 kg of mercury has made its way into the
environment.
GLOBAL
C
HALLENGE
– Climate Change
Suriname, in spite of its
high forest cover, is not
spared from the impacts
of global climate change.
According to reports from the World Bank, Suriname is one of the most
vulnerable countries to rising sea levels, because about 50 – 60% of the
population is located along our coastline.
Suriname’s vulnerability to the slightest rise in sea level poses a direct pressure on
development and governance, ultimately threatening to flood Suriname’s
Capital and major economic zone along the coast.
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Suriname, the greenest country on earth with a carbon negative footprint, is
uniquely challenged by the externalities of climate change, as other major
global carbon-emitting countries , who will not suffer as directly as Suriname,
have thus far not been able to provide the kind of support Suriname and other low
lying developing countries need to cope with these impending threats.
THE RESPONSE OF
C O N S E R VAT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Conservation International Suriname (CIS) responds to these challenges by
implementing projects that link conservation of nature and sustainable economic
development.
Through our work, CIS is helping Suriname to identify and protect reservoirs of
natural capital, its vast and pristine rainforests, rivers, mangroves, and coastal
estuaries, to build effective governance systems that incorporate the value of
healthy ecosystems in decision-making; and to promote sustainable production
systems that meet people’s needs without eroding the natural capital that
underpins human well-being.
The future of
conservation is in
good hands
friends of green Suriname: funding our natural capital
OUR WORK
CIS is dedicated to keeping Suriname the
greenest country on earth by demonstrating the value
of Suriname’s ecosystems for human well-being and
by using science-based knowledge to support policy
improvements and increased awareness in order to
ensure the long-term sustainable management of
Suriname’s natural resources.
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Securing Natural Capital
One of our major successes was the establishment of the Central Suriname Nature
Reserve (CSNR) in 1998, which at the time, was the largest and most pristine nature
reserve in the world. The CSNR conserves 1.6 million hectares of pristine tropical rain
forest in central Suriname. This area includes a variety of ecosystems, a wide
diversity of flora and fauna, and produces a significant amount of freshwater. These
unique characteristics triggered UNESCO to designate the CSNR as a World Heritage
site in 2000.
Currently, CIS focuses a large part of our operations in the South of Suriname, one
of the last remaining blocks of undisturbed tropical rainforest on Earth. Here we are
working with indigenous communities and the government to conserve over 2 million
hectares of pristine rainforest.
Working together with these partners we are helping to identify the essential
ecosystem services that support the local culture, economy, and subsistence.
Decision makers can then use this information for spatial planning and the
development of land management actions that are in harmony with local needs and
traditional practices.
The future of
conservation is in
good hands
friends of green Suriname: funding our natural capital
Sustainable Production
CIS is working with the private sector and government to support their efforts in
“greening” local businesses, mitigating negative impacts, supporting design of
land-use planning tools, and implementing best practices in mining, oil and gas.
Fostering Effective Governance
We are engaging with the government of Suriname to ensure that decision makers
and leaders have the knowledge and tools needed to sustainably manage their
natural wealth for the long term well-being of their people.
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Together with the government, we are mitigating climate change by assisting in
development of the country’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system
which seeks to minimize and avoid deforestation.
This is a key element of REDD+, an international mechanism to reduce emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation and to stimulate forest conservation. The
implementation of the REDD+ process will create a model for the sustainable
management of our forests and the ecosystem services that they provide.
G E T I N V O LV E D
In the past 20 years, CIS has demonstrated its dedication to a holistic approach
conserving nature so that people can thrive.
We are aiming to create a constituency of partners who will support our organization
for the mission we strive to fulfill, moving away from singular interventions into more
holistic programming.
We are therefore inviting individuals and organizations to subscribe to our
fund-development community, “Friends of Green Suriname (FOGS)”, and to
become part of our work and our vision. FOGS is envisioned to be a broad community
of funders, both local and international, who share the same vision held by CIS –
To keep Suriname the Greenest Country On Earth - and who have a common
understanding of the problems and challenges that are threatening this reality.
We are looking for partners who agree that to be successful we must create behavior
change that will require a long-term vision and approach.
The future of
conservation is in
good hands
friends of green Suriname: funding our natural capital
FOGS members recognize that social change comes from the gradual improvement of an
entire system over time and are ready to dedicate their attention and their financial support
to help make our mission and our vision a reality.
We welcome you to join CIS in keeping Suriname the greenest country on earth.
Be a Friend of Green Suriname!
For more information, please direct your email to: [email protected]
You can also phone us or send a letter to the address below:
Kromme Elleboogstraat 20
Paramaribo, Suriname
South America
Tel: (+597) 421305
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The future of
conservation is in
good hands
friends of green Suriname: funding our natural capital
friends of green Suriname is an initiative of