Suriname

Suriname’s Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) was successfully presented to the Participants Committee (PC) of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Committee (FCPF) during the last PC Meeting 19th – 21st March 2013.

The R-PP was favorably reviewed by the PC and the decision taken to allocate funds to Suriname to enable it to move ahead with preparations for readiness. In so doing the PC determined that seven (7) Key Issues listed need to be addressed by Suriname before entering into a readiness preparation project document with UNDP.

Among the Key Issues to be addressed are the following that are indeed the focus of two days Consultation with Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Representatives.

Please click here to read the Opening Remarks by Dr. Thomas W. Gittens.

Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme supports 3rd International Congress on Biodiversity of the Guiana Shield 

The 3rd International Congress on Biodiversity of the Guiana Shield will be held in August 2013 in Paramaribo, Suriname. This congress is a direct result of the Guiana Shield Priority Setting Workshop held in 2006.

The organization of this 3rd congress is in the hands of the Institute for Graduate Studies and Research (IGSR), the National Zoological Collection (NZCS), and the Centre for Agricultural Research in Suriname (CELOS).

The purpose of this congress is to share information with academics and other stakeholders in order to develop initiatives which will result in the protection of biodiversity in the following countries: Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia. As part of this congress, a symposium will be held with the following theme: Applying traditional knowledge in achieving green development.

In collaboration with the  General Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the UNDP Country Office Suriname organized a two day DevInfo 7.0 training exercise, on Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th of March, 2013.
 
Faciltated by an International consultant, Mr. Akbar  Abdurakhmanov, with support from DevInfo Support Team, the traning was meant to give the participants insight of the possibilities offered by the new web-based version of DevInfo.

Participants from various technical ministries, the General Bureau of Statistics and UN agencies were engaged in a learning journey which included presentations and  hands-on exercises.

During his opening speech the Country Director, Mr. Thomas Gittens, explained that the initiative originated from  UNDP’s recognition of the need for improvement in the quality and availability of data in Suriname.

UNDP’s commitment to support the Bureau of Statistics and the Government of Suriname is exemplified by earlier initiatives including mapping of users and producers of data conducted in 2010; the Conference on Poverty Measurement; and the Seminar Series for senior decision-makers, all of which were undertaken in 2010.  

Also a project proposal for building capacity for data management and social sector analysis was developed.

The training initiative was also based on the recognition for and committment to continued creation of awareness on the importance of an accurate and solid national database system where data of high quality are stored and may be used to make informed policy decisions.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

GEF SGP Strategic Projects

(5th Operational Phase: 2011-2014)

I. Background:

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) provides to civil society organizations (including national NGOs, community-based organizations, and indigenous peoples organisations) in 126 countries. Grants are provided in the following GEF focal areas: mitigation of climate change (CC), conservation of biodiversity (BD), protection of international waters (IW), reduced impact of chemicals and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), prevention of land degradation (LD), and promotion sustainable forest management (SFM). SGP also seeks to generate sustainable livelihoods, reduce poverty, and create community empowerment.

SGP Suriname was opened in 1997 and started financing projects in 1999. Since then, SGP Suriname has succeeded in funding and providing support for more than 45 projects.

II. Objectives:

The purpose of the portfolio of OP5 Strategic Projects (SPs) is to enable eligible national stakeholders in Suriname to carry out the following:

• Create greater impact and closer links between local efforts and global environmental benefits (GEBs) by supporting more extensive geographical coverage and/or thematic consolidation for policy improvement in mature SGP country programmes;

• Make effective use of the built up capacity of local NGOs, CBOs and communities for replication of successful technologies and approaches;

• Improve the capacity of the SGP and its partners to leverage larger funds from potential partners and donors;

• Strengthen the sustainability and replicability of SGP projects;

• Accumulate national and global experience in the development and implementation of projects of larger coverage enabling SGP to link more effectively with the MSP and FSP modalities of the GEF, as well as that of other donors and governments;

• Strategically position civil society participation and leadership in new and innovative policies and programmes with non-GEF funding.

From February the 5^th to the 6^th 2013, a capacity building workshop was organized by the Stichting Projekta at Overbridge Resort.