In the beginning of the 1970s some entrepreneurs started with the use of our protected nature reserves for eco-tourism on a very small scale. Stinasu, a foundation for the conservation of nature, was very active in this field and played a pioneer’s role.

In these three last decades of the 20th century, the awareness of the economic value of our nature, particularly our tropical rainforest, started to grow. The Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, 1992, and its report “Agenda 21” did once more emphasize the importance of this forest and its still unknown wealth of natural resources.

In 1998 Suriname established The Central Suriname Nature Reserve which consists of a huge nature reserve in the center of our country as a superposition of three former reserves and the land in between. This has been in a cooperation of the Surinamese Government and Conservation International, Washington, DC.
The size is 1,6 million hectares with mainly tropical rainforest, some savannah land and some mountains. The wildlife in this reserve is abundant, with species as the Harpy Eagle, “Gonini”, as this is called in Suriname, and the Cock-of-the-Rock (Dutch: “Rotshaantje”). The area is a birdwatchers paradise and full of the most remarkable birds in Suriname.

Conservation International has been instrumental in the process of establishing this Nature Reserve, and is also involved in the definition of the management plan for this area.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided in November 2000 to inscribe the Central Suriname Nature Reserve on the World Heritage List of Natural Sites. With this, “Suriname has acquired itself a place among the nations in the world who are prepared to protect and manage a part of their national heritage of universal value in such a manner that many generations to come will enjoy and benefit from it,” as the Minister of Natural Resources stated at the announcement.

Suriname has a tradition of nature conservation which started with the Nature Protection Act in 1954 as the legislative cornerstone. Suriname has also become party in several international treaties which recognize the need for environmental protection.

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was joined in 1971 and the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972. In 1973 we joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and in 1978 the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation. The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change were both joined in 1992.

The establishment of the CSNR emphasizes Suriname’s commitment to conservation-based development, and the green image the country obtained by doing so. It gives the country a significant role in global biodiversity conservation.