At Climate Week in New York City, Suriname announced a groundbreaking commitment to permanently protect 90% of its tropical forests – an unprecedented national pledge that far exceeds the global 30×30 target for climate and biodiversity protection.
Suriname has the highest forest cover of any country in the world. Approximately 93% of this country is covered in tropical forest, most of which is primary Amazon forest, untouched by logging, mining, agriculture or other forms of development or resource extraction. It’s one of three countries (alongside Bhutan and Panama) that acts as a net carbon sink, absorbing more carbon dioxide than it emits.
Suriname President Geerlings-Simons’s pledge to protect 90% of its forests is part of a new framework which will strengthen legal protections, recognise the ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples, and open sustainable opportunities through nature-based tourism, bioeconomy industries, and carbon markets.
“We understand and accept the immense responsibility of stewarding over 15 million hectares of tropical rainforest in a world that is seeing her forests fall day in and day out,” said President Geerlings-Simons. “It is because of this responsibility that we envision an economy powered by our rich forests and biodiversity while providing decent jobs and incomes for all our citizens.”
To help support this extraordinary goal, Rainforest Trust announced a $20 million pledge alongside a coalition of donors – including Art into Acres, the Andes Amazon Fund, the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, and Re:wild – to support the creation and management of new protected and conserved areas across Suriname. These efforts will safeguard biodiversity and deliver sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities.
“This commitment is nothing short of historic,” said Rainforest Trust CEO James Deutsch. “It signals to the world that Suriname is ready to lead, not only in words, but in action, in protecting nature and tackling climate change. Rainforest Trust is proud to join the coalition of donors in supporting this vision.”
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