{"id":12827,"date":"2021-02-08T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T14:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=12827"},"modified":"2022-04-08T09:58:08","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T08:58:08","slug":"resonating-saamaka-voices-in-land-use-decisions-in-suriname","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/news\/resonating-saamaka-voices-in-land-use-decisions-in-suriname\/","title":{"rendered":"Resonating Saamaka voices in land use decisions in Suriname"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Fifty years ago, some 5,000 Saamaka Peoples of Suriname had to leave their traditional lands along the Suriname River due to the construction of a major dam. The wounds of this transmigration are still felt today. Meanwhile, the Saamakans who live in the Upper Suriname River area face new challenges since their territorial rights are not yet officially recognized and road infrastructure to access the area is improving. Creating a 3D model of the area that tells the inside story of their traditions and land use can help them to overcome their sense of being misunderstood by decision-makers and rediscover their voice.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Header photo : Participatory mapping in Suriname \u00a9<\/em><\/em> Tropenbos Suriname<\/em><\/mark><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The Saamakans are an afro-descendant community living in the interior forests of Suriname, along the country\u2019s eponymous river, for more than 300 years. These communities practice traditional agriculture, hunting, fishing and harvesting timber and non-timber forest products, managing the forest sustainably through customary law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Saamakans face growing challenges<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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With the development of roads and dams in the region, the Saamakans face growing challenges to conserve their land and resources, as well as to maintain a sustainable way of life. Poachers, loggers and miners follow road developments, degrading their forest, but even many of the Saamakans have turned to these activities in search of improved economic opportunities to afford new lifestyles as well as education and health services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Moreover, young people emigrate to the cities or gold mining fields, abandoning traditional livelihood activities, interrupting local community life and the transfer of traditional knowledge from their elders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Addressing knowledge gaps<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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When seen from above through remote sensing, the upper Saamaka river region appears as a mosaic of intact primary forest and a fringe of secondary forest along the river as a result of shifting cultivation. While this level of data is useful to understand the effects of land use development on forest, it leaves important knowledge gaps on the social, cultural and environmental issues present within the Saamaka territory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Enabling locally owned solutions<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It is therefore essential that land use decision makers and conservation practitioners gain a better understanding of the main issues that Saamaka communities face on the ground. Moreover, it is important that the knowledge generated can be accessible to local communities while effectively enabling locally owned solutions to Saamaka issues and challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Co-producing local spatial knowledge<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This is how between 2013 and 2016, IUCN NL partners Tropenbos Suriname, the Association of Saamaka Authorities (VSG) and WWF Guianas engaged with the Saamaka communities to co-produce local spatial knowledge<\/a> to understand the landscape from an internal, community perspective.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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