The Joint Programme: “Roadmap to a Sustainable Financial System for Suriname” comes to an end

The Joint Programme, entitled, “Roadmap to a Sustainable Financial System for Suriname” is co-led by UNDP and UNEP, and supported by UNFPA and FAO and the JP’s closing comes 30 months after its launch.

The project team under this Joint Programme has spent the last two years working to strengthen capacities at national level and nurtured dialogues and solutions involving stakeholders in the public and private sectors, and civil society groups active in the forestry sector and the artisanal, small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector. Through the JP, the United Nations has been supporting the Ministry of Spatial Planning & Environment on the development of the National Climate Agreement (NCA). This NCA will be accompanied by a roadmap of actions over the short-to-medium terms, to address climate change, build awareness and capacity and increase the flow of capital towards climate solutions. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been a key partner in the dialogues and will continue to support the Government of Suriname in the completion of the National Climate Agreement following the completion of the Joint Programme.

During the Joint Programme closing event (March 28th 2023)   the UN Resident Coordinator a.i., Mr. Dennis Zulu highlighted the significance of the JP as Suriname faces the effects of Climate Change which he called “a turning point in Suriname’s effort to transition to a Green Economy”. “The proactive approach and strong commitment of all project partners yielded many concrete and encouraging results and I would like to recognize the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment for their leadership, as well as the Inter-American Development Bank for their partnership throughout the process” said Mr. Zulu.

With more than 90 % of forest cover, Suriname has the potential to build a vibrant and sustainable forest industry producing climate benefits at the same time. As Mr. Claus Eckelmann, representative of the FAO, explained during his presentation, wood is the most environmentally friendly building material when compared to other materials. Using more wood instead of concrete and steel is beneficial for the climate. Although payments for environmental services, nature tourism and forest by-products (NTFPs) are important income streams from the forest, the wood value chain continues to be the most important revenue earner with the highest potential for upscaling. The highest potential for the forest and wood sector is in adding value to the wood and not just exporting it as round wood, according to Mr. Eckelmann.

Ms. Deirdre Shurland, representative of the UNEP, highlighted during her presentations the importance of awareness raising and capacity strengthening as a short-term strategic task of the JP’s Sustainable Financing Roadmap and the NCA. There is a need to improve the knowledge and understanding of Suriname’s climate and sustainable development commitments amongst all local stakeholders, as ROM reported that during the February 2023 sector dialogues, most participants were unfamiliar with the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), both of which detail Suriname’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

She also highlighted that although this JP is coming to an end the Government of Suriname has shown ownership and leadership for the development of the National Climate agreement, which has set the tone for its continued preparatory work leading up to COP28 in Dubai later in 2023.

Mr. Bryan Drakenstein, representative of UNDP, on behalf of Ms. Margaret Jones-Williams, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment for co-leading the JP process and all steering committee members for their diligence and input which has shaped the outcomes of this program.

About: The UN Joint SDG Fund is a multi-partner trust fund established by the United Nations General Assembly. The Fund supports UN member states by de-risking investments that drive financing solutions to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Fund’s goal is to disburse US$ 1 billion in grants annually in the race to 2030. All programmes share one critical element: their ability to leverage multi-million-dollar grants from the Joint SDG Fund into billions for sustainable development. The thirteen development partners supporting the UN Joint SDG Fund are the European Union, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Learn more: https://www.jointsdgfund.org