About
Established in 1996, The Amazon Conservation Team's program in Suriname is one of ACT's first program sites. The program was founded on the ethnobotanical fieldwork of ACT President and co-founder, Dr. Mark Plotkin, who directed his research towards understanding the traditional plant uses and healing methods of indigenous healers of the region. Following his research, Dr. Plotkin sought ways to meaningfully assist his long-time indigenous partners of Suriname to retain their cultural identity and conserve their environmental heritage in the face of modern change.
ACT's work in Suriname commenced with two precedent-setting biocultural conservation initiatives. The first was the establishment of a series of traditional medicine clinics run by members of ACT's Shamans and Apprentices program that complement existing western healthcare facilities and which support the intergenerational transmission of indigenous medical knowledge. The second was the first successful large-scale participatory ethnographic mapping project conducted in the Amazon using a methodology that ACT subsequently replicated in Brazil and Colombia.
In Suriname, as in ACT's other project sites, the ethnographic maps have been indispensible tools for advancing the inclusion of indigenous communities in conservation and land management plans. With ACT's facilitation, the maps have led to meaningful discussions regarding the establishment of land rights for indigenous communities between the government of Suriname and indigenous communities of the interior. Currently, the government has no legal framework for indigenous land claims.
In combination with the training of Suriname's first indigenous park guards, ACT's projects have made important and measureable contributions to impart the essential skills and abilities needed by our indigenous partners to promote forest conservation and to meet the changing needs of their communities.
Programs
Ethnographic Mapping
Management of Indigenous Lands
Indigenous-Driven Land Protection
Sustainable Development
Integrated Healthcare
Shamans and Apprentices
Education
Women's Programs
Indigenous Association Building
Selected Achievements
- Completion of a 22.5-million-acre mapping initiative for indigenous lands of southern Suriname in partnership with the Trio and Wayana communities.
- Establishment of four traditional medicine clinics in the Surinamese rainforest interior
- Partner in creation of Suriname's first official indigenous park guard training course
- Implementing partner in government project to assign land rights to peoples of the interior
For more, visit the ACT-Suriname website: http://www.actsuriname.org
