URL: http://www.amazonteam.org/index.php/238/Indigenous_Driven_Land_Protection_Suriname
Indigenous-Driven Land Protection: Suriname
Indigenous Park Guards
The success of ACT's park guard certification training programs in northeast Brazil presented an opportunity to adapt this program to ACT's existing efforts in neighboring Suriname. In 2006 and 2007, indigenous park guards from southern Suriname participated in ACT's courses in Brazil in order bring back and spread this expertise back to their communities.
Back home, in the Surinamese interior, the Trio and Wayana guards have received ongoing training from both ACT staff and members of the government's forest service. Skills obtained include flora and fauna identification and conservation, basic ecology, protection of aquatic mammals, endangered species, protected areas management, waste management, and fire management. The two sets of guards share information and impart newly learned skills to one another. The guards are also among the most active members of their communities, helping to keep their villages safe, assisting with trail clearing, and leading environmental protection efforts such as the clean-up of refuse and hazardous materials.
ACT has also sponsored the construction of a first and central guard post within Kwamalasamutu, one the most populous indigenous villages, to help the guards in their land monitoring activities. The post has electricity supplied through a solar panel, which powers a communications radio and internet service. Communication radios also have been installed at five forest locations to further assist the guards in their surveillance activities.
First Surinamese National Indigenous Park Guard Training Co
urse
Inspired by ACT' s example, in 2008 the government of Suriname initiated its own indigenous park guard training course, led by the government's Nature Conservation Division (NCD) with ACT providing guidance and assistance in developing the official curriculum. ACT has an ongoing collaboration with the NCD to develop this program, which demonstrates the government's interest in having indigenous peoples assist in efforts to protect remote territories from encroachment. The agreement marks an important step toward incorporating indigenous communities in the stewardship of the nation's natural resources.
Read more about ACT’s Park Guard Training