Conservation International Suriname (CI Suriname) is the Suriname country programme of Conservation International. Conservation International-Suriname was established as a foundation under Surinamese law in 1992 and registered in 1993, with its national office based in Paramaribo.[1][2]
CI Suriname supports protected-area planning and management in and around the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, a 1,600,000-hectare (16,000 km2) protected area established in 1998 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.[3][4][5] Biodiversity monitoring in the reserve is performed by the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) network, including standardized camera-trap surveys used in peer-reviewed analyses of tropical forest mammal communities and biodiversity trends in protected areas.[6][7]
Near Paramaribo, CI Suriname and partners work on nature-based coastal protection and mangrove rehabilitation at Weg naar Zee using sediment-trapping structures intended to promote mangrove regrowth and reduce erosion.[8][9][10][11]
CI Suriname works with Indigenous peoples in Suriname's forested interior, including participation in the South Suriname Conservation Corridor, a long-term conservation and sustainable-management initiative for the region's forests and river systems established by Indigenous leaders and partner organisations in 2015.[12] A handbook sets out locally defined rules for resource use in Tiriyó and Wayana communities in southern Suriname.[13] Community-based non-timber forest product work has included Brazil nut products marketed as Tuhka, with production in southern Suriname.[14]
History
Conservation International-Suriname was established in the early 1990s and is based in Paramaribo.[1][2]
In the late 1990s, the Central Suriname Nature Reserve was established (1998) and the Suriname Conservation Fund was established (1999) to support protected-area management, including in the reserve.[3][5][15]
In the 2000s, the reserve was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2000) and monitoring work linked to the TEAM network began in Suriname (2004).[3][5] A grant agreement signed in 2000 provided up to US$2 million from Conservation International Foundation to the Suriname Conservation Foundation's trust fund.[15][16]
In the 2010s and 2020s, CI Suriname and partners supported coastal protection work at Weg naar Zee and worked with Indigenous partners in southern Suriname linked to the South Suriname Conservation Corridor initiative.[8][12][17][18]
Selected programme locations in Suriname (1 Paramaribo; 2 Central Suriname Nature Reserve; 3 Weg naar Zee; 4 Alalapadu (southern Suriname))
Paramaribo and national programme
CI Suriname's national office is based in Paramaribo.[1][2]
Near Paramaribo, CI Suriname and partners use sediment-trapping structures (including permeable dams) at Weg naar Zee to promote sediment accretion and mangrove regrowth and to reduce coastal erosion.[8][9][10] Remote-sensing analysis of mangrove dynamics along Suriname's coast identified renewed sediment accretion at Weg naar Zee in the mid-2010s.[11] In 2025, coastal erosion and flooding at Weg naar Zee affected farmland and housing.[18][19] In 2025, mangrove-restoration work and sea-dike construction were also underway at Weg naar Zee.[18][19]
Conservation finance work is linked to the Suriname Conservation Fund, a trust fund established in 1999 to support protected-area management, including in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve.[5][15][16] A grant agreement signed in 2000 provided up to US$2 million from Conservation International Foundation to the Suriname Conservation Foundation's trust fund.[15][16]
Central Suriname Nature Reserve
Work in Suriname includes protected-area design and management planning in and around the 1,600,000-hectare (16,000 km2) Central Suriname Nature Reserve, established in 1998 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.[3][4][5] The reserve links three pre-existing nature reserves (Raleighvallen, Eilerts de Haan and Tafelberg) into a single protected-area complex and represents about 11% of Suriname's national territory by area.[4]
A research station at the base of Voltzberg supports research and monitoring and was rebuilt in 2017.[5] Biodiversity monitoring in the reserve has been linked to the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) network, which became active in Suriname in 2004 and established a Raleighvallen-area station in 2006; TEAM monitoring ended in 2017.[5] In a TEAM network analysis comparing seven tropical forest sites using a standardized camera-trapping methodology, mammal species richness was highest at the Central Suriname Nature Reserve site (28 species), and TEAM camera-trap datasets have also been used in assessments of biodiversity trends in tropical forest protected areas.[6][7] Management arrangements for the reserve have involved Suriname's forestry authorities and the Nature Conservation Division (Natuurbeheer), with STINASU supporting operational management and visitor services. Multi-year management plans have zoning and related implementation measures.[4][5][20]
Southern Suriname
In southern Suriname, CI Suriname participates in the South Suriname Conservation Corridor initiative, framed around long-term conservation and sustainable management in the region's forests and river systems and established through an Indigenous Declaration signed in 2015.[12] Participatory mapping has been used to identify Indigenous community use zones, with implications for conservation planning in southern Suriname.[17]
A handbook sets out locally defined rules for resource use in Tiriyó and Wayana communities in southern Suriname.[13] Community-based economic activities in the corridor area include Brazil nut products marketed as Tuhka.[14]
12Ahumada, Jorge A.; Silva, Carlos E. F.; Gajapersad, Krisna; Hallam, Chris; Hurtado, Johanna; Martin, Emanuel; McWilliam, Alex; Mugerwa, Badru; O'Brien, Tim; Rovero, Francesco; Sheil, Douglas; Spironello, Wilson R.; Winarni, Nurul; Andelman, Sandy J. (27 September 2011). "Community structure and diversity of tropical forest mammals: data from a global camera trap network". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 366 (1578): 2703–2711. PMC3140736.
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