Suriname Jodi Birk Jesse Blackard Danny Saucedo Jazmyn Wilson Click to add text BECS 201 Fall 2007 Suriname Geography Capital Total Area Paramoribo 63,039 sq mi 1/10th Larger than Michigan Bordering Countries Guyana French Guiana Brazil Atlantic Ocean Geography (Cont.) Terrain Tropical Rain Forest Rolling Hills Coastal Plains Climate Tropical History Dutch colony in 1667 Failed as colony Holland’s issues with its East Indian territories Slave rebellions Economy began to recover Exporting bauxite to US during WWI Became #1 exporter of bauxite during WWII The Surinamese Population Official Language 439,117 Dutch Ethnic Groups East Indian Creole Javanese Bush Negro Amerindians The Surinamese (Cont.) Religion Education Hindu Muslim Roman Catholic Moravian 90% literacy rate Life Expectancy 70.7 years Economy Exchange Rate Unemployment Rate 2.7317 Surinamese dollars per 1 US dollar 14% unemployed Poverty Rate 70% below poverty line Economy (Cont.) Main Exports Alumina Aluminum Bauxite Other Exports Timber Bananas Shrimp Crude Oil Rice Gold* Political System Constitutional Democracy Legislative Branch 51 member unicameral National Assembly Judicial Branch Court of Justice Political System (Cont.) Executive Branch President Vice President Runaldo Ronald Vevetiaan Jules Rattakoemar Ajodhia 15 member State Advisory Council Environmental Issue: Logging Threat Logging Lack Agreement of Provisions Money Issues Developing countries don’t get money Illegal operations take undeserved money Environmental Issue: Logging Threat (Cont.) Logging= most prominent form of rainforest degradation and destruction Damaging to rainforest ecosystem Loss of habitat for millions of species Short term resource depletion Environmental Issue: Logging Threat (Cont.) Climate Change Soil Problems Water-cycle Temperature changes Tree’s contributions Effects on other plants and animals Trees absorb greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming Leads to increased speed and severity of global warming Solutions With the threat of increasing logging, environmentalist have taken action. Suriname and its 2 neighboring countries, Guyana and French Guiana, contain more than 400,000km2 of undisturbed rainforest. This and other surrounding countries make up the Guianan Forest Ecoregion. There are many species of plants and insects that are only found there, and some that are barely being discovered. Natural conservation and sustainable use of natural resources are two ways which can help preserve the forest. Solutions (cont.) WWF has been present in the Guyana's — Suriname, Guyana and French Guyana — since 1998, focusing its conservation work on sustainable forest management, goldmining pollution abatement, protected areas management, species management, and regional integration, coordination and networking. In particular, WWF works in the Guianan Ecoregion Complex — part of WWF’s Global 200 campaign to conserve critical ecoregions worldwide. The Guianas ecoregion is characterized by vast areas of pristine and undisturbed tropical rainforests, mountain ranges and savannas and extremely high levels of endemism. Solutions (cont.) Companies in Suriname have received help from various organizations from around the world. The forest in Suriname have received certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC. The FSC is an organization who’s mission is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. With this certification, the companies now have to follow strict rules that promote sustainability. Preventing the Threat Economic Decrease Export of Lumber Solutions Designated Logging Areas Increase Ecotourism Creation of National Parks Our Solution Works Cited “Background Note: Suriname.” U.S. Department of State (June 2007): 22 September 2007. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1893.htm>. Butler, Rhett. "Tropical Rainforests: Imperiled Riches - Threatened Rainforests." Mongabay.com (2007) 20 September 2007 <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0807.htm>. “CIA - The World Factbook -- Suriname." CIA World Fact Book (2007): 216-216. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. 20 September 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24575872&site=ehost-live >. “Conservation of Guianas Forests.” WWF – Global Environmental Conservation Organization (August 2007): 22 September 2007. <http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/latin_america_and_caribbean/country/suriname/index.cfm?uProjectID=9L0807>. "Deforestation." National Geographic (2007): 20 September 2007. <http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/deforestation-overview.html?nav=A-Z>. “Republic of Suriname." Background Notes on Countries of the World 2003 (May 2003): 1. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. 20 September 2007. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9768263&site=ehost-live>. “Suriname.” WWF – Global Environmental Conservation Organization (March 2006): 22 September 2007. <http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/latin_america_and_caribbean/country/suriname/index.cfm?uNewsID=64860>.