Wanze Eduards

Last updated
Wanze Eduards
NationalitySurinamese
Known forGrassroots environmentalism
Awards Goldman Environmental Prize (2009)

Wanze Eduards is a Saramaka leader from the Republic of Suriname for the village of Pikin Slee. During the 1990s logging companies encroached on the village of Pikin Santi. Extensive flooding caused by faulty bridging resulted in the loss of large plots of agricultural land. [1]

Eduards joined efforts with Hugo Jabini of the nearby village Tutubuka to fight the companies. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009, jointly with Jabini, for their efforts to protect their traditional land against logging companies, by bringing the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and further to the Inter-American Court. [2] Their efforts resulted in a landmark ruling regarding the right of tribal and indigenous people in the Americas to control the exploitation of natural resources in their territories. [3]

Related Research Articles

The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saramaka</span>

The Saramaka, Saamaka or Saramacca are one of six Maroon peoples in the Republic of Suriname and one of the Maroon peoples in French Guiana. In 2007, the Saramaka won a ruling by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights supporting their land rights in Suriname for lands they have historically occupied, over national government claims. It was a landmark decision for indigenous peoples in the world. They have received compensation for damages and control this fund for their own development goals.

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The Tiriyó are an Amerindian ethnic group native to parts of northern Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana. In 2014, there were approximately 3,640 Tiriyó in the three countries. They live in several major villages and a number of minor villages in the border zone between Brazil and Suriname. They speak the Tiriyó language, a member of the Cariban language family and refer to themselves as tarëno, etymologically 'people from here' or 'local people'.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surinamese Interior War</span> 1986–1992 civil war in Suriname

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Afro-Surinamese are the inhabitants of Suriname of Sub-Saharan African ancestry. They are descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations. Many of them escaped the plantations and formed independent settlements together, becoming known as Maroons and Bushinengue. They maintained vestiges of African culture and language. They are split into two ethnic subgroups.

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Pikin Santi, sometimes spelt as Pikien Santi, is a Ndyuka village on the Cottica River in Suriname inhabited by the Pinasi and Piika lo. Pikin Santi is situated upstream from Pinatjaimi and Lantiwei, and downstream from Tamarin. It lies in the vicinity of the Buku creek and should therefore be close to the ruins Fort Buku, which as of yet have not been identified.

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Climate change in Suriname is leading to warmer temperatures and more extreme weather events in Suriname. As a relatively poor country, its contributions to global climate change have been limited. Because of the large forest cover, the country has been running a carbon negative economy since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pikin Slee</span> Place in Sipaliwini, Suriname

Pikin Slee is a village on the Suriname River in the resort Boven Suriname of the Sipaliwini District. It is home to about 3,000 people, and the second largest village of the Saramaka Maroons, after Aurora.

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References

  1. "Ten years after ground-breaking ruling the Saramaka are still fighting for their rights". Both Ends. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. "Wanze Eduards and S. Hugo Jabini. Suriname Forests". Goldman Environmental Prize. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  3. "In pictures: The Goldman Prize 2009". BBC News. Retrieved 3 September 2009.