NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT SURINAME

The total land area of Suriname is about 164,000 sq.km., with a population of about 425,000 inhabitants. Most of the people are living in the coastal plain where most of the human activities are concentrated. The greatest part of the interior is still uninhabitated and is covered with pristine tropical rainforest. About 80% of the original forest is stll undisturbed.

There are several nature reserves. The most important and greatest one is the Central Suriname Nature Reserve (CSNR), which has been created in 1998. The UNESCO World Heritage Comite decided on the 29th of November 2000 in Sidney, Australia to inscribe the Central Suriname Nature Reserve on the World Heritage List of Natural Sites.

The CSNR covers an area of about 1.6 million hectares, consisting of prestine tropical forest, which is about 10% the land area of the country. The mountainous and lowland forests contain a great biodiversity including almost 6,000 plant species and a valuable population of animals.