II.

Land and Resources

Physiographically, Suriname consists of a swampy coastal plain ranging up to 80 km (50 mi) in width; a central plateau region containing broad savannahs, tracts of dunes, and forested areas; and, to the south, a densely forested, mountainous region. The numerous rivers include the Maroni (Marowijne), delineating part of the (disputed) French Guiana border; the Courantyne (Corantijn), delineating the (disputed) Guyanan border; and the Coppename, Saramacca, and Suriname rivers. The civil war (1986-1992) caused considerable damage to the country’s nature reserves and deforestation by the timber industry is a growing environmental problem. The most pressing issue in Suriname is the proposed sale of vast tracts of virgin forest—up to 40 per cent of the nation's land—to logging companies from South East Asia. The government wants to use profits from forest resources to offset rapidly increasing inflation and unemployment. Environmentalists, on the other hand, are encouraging ecotourism as an alternative industry and pushing for sustainable forest use.

Suriname has a relatively well-planned system of protected land—covering about 4.7 per cent (1997) of the country's area—that includes examples of most ecosystem types within the country. Lack of funding, however, limits the effective management of the system. The country participates in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, with one designated site, and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, under which three sites have been recognized. Suriname also takes part in the FAO Tropical Forestry Action Plan, a programme that promotes economic resource development in the context of conservation. Through the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, Suriname works with neighbouring countries to encourage resource conservation. The country is party to international agreements on endangered species, marine dumping, nuclear test bans, ship pollution, and whaling. Suriname’s chief mineral resource is bauxite.

A.

Climate

The climate is tropical, with annual temperatures between 22.8° and 32.2° C (73° and 90° F). More than 2,032 mm (80 in) of rain falls per year in coastal areas, diminishing to 1,524 mm (60 in) in inland areas. Rainfall is heaviest from December to April, when floods often occur.