More than 2,500 small-scale miners have been working within the borders of the park, the Worldwide Fund for Nature charges
PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AlertNet) – Authorities in Suriname have dispatched a mobile police unit to patrol Brokopondo district, where gold miners have caused extensive damage inside one of the country’s pristine forests, amid allegations that the foundation responsible for managing the area colluded in illegal mining activities.
A report published by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Guianas in March found that more than 2,500 small-scale prospectors were mining within the borders of the Brownsberg Nature Reserve.
Photographs of the reserve showed that large parcels of the 12,200-hectare (30,000 acre) pristine forest had been destroyed by groups of miners using heavy equipment and irrigation systems to filter gold from the soil.
The rainforests of this South American nation, considered to be some of the most intact in the world, are an important resource for tourism, and for mitigating the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide.
“If we don’t post people there, the gold miners will continue to penetrate the area,” said Gerold Dompig, chairman of the Commission for the Ordering of the Gold Sector, which took responsibility for removing the miners from the park.
ARRESTS
On April 19 police arrested Frans Kasantaroeno, director of the Foundation for Nature Conservation in Suriname (STINASU), which runs Brownsberg Nature Reserve.
Kasantaroeno was questioned about whether he received payments of gold from miners in return for allowing them to work in the park. The manager of the park was also arrested, as was a gold digger. Several pieces of heavy equipment were seized from miners who attempted to return to the park after they were removed. Kasantareno was later released.
Brownsberg Nature Reserve, which is a two-hour drive south of Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital, is rich in wildlife and rainforest. The 400-metre (1,300 feet) peak which gives the park its name, provides magnificent views over the massive Brokopondo Lake, and the area attracts 10,000 tourists, students and researchers annually.
Concerns were raised about illegal mining at Brownsberg as early as 2007, but WWF Guiana was the first international organisation to investigate them. Its study, which found dozens of active mining pits within the reserve, prompted the authorities to take action.
WWF describes the nature reserve as one of Suriname’s iconic parks, internationally renowned for its biodiversity.
“Brownsberg Nature Park has always been considered a model for green economy dynamics: a place where unique biodiversity could be enjoyed and preserved through tourism,” the organisation said in a statement.
WWF noted that small-scale miners in the Guianas region are notorious for extracting gold using mercury, which is easily absorbed into soil, water, and sediment and causes environmental contamination. Several of the illegal mines were found to be just metres away from the park’s principal waterfalls, according to the organisation.
WWF communications officer Karin Spong said the fund was awaiting the results of mercury tests at the waterfalls.
Muriel Held, a former director of STINASU, said that although the park was leased to STINASU by the government, its management had no authority to give permission for the exploitation of minerals.
MANAGEMENT MODEL AT RISK?
“If the gold miners were permitted by the management of STINASU, this organisation, which was one of the first of its kind in South America, combining nature conservation with tourism, will lose all its credibility in a time where nature conservation and environmental issues are high on the international agenda of sustainable development,” said Held.
Suriname has several large protected areas apart from Brownsberg, including Bigi Pan and the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, which together cover around 16,700 square km (about 6,400 square miles). The Central Suriname Nature Reserve has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its pristine tropical rainforest.
John Goedschalk, who leads Suriname’s Climate Compatible Development Agency, said that the Brownsberg destruction was probably not the only incident of illegal mining in environmentally sensitive areas.
“What happened at Brownsberg has been going on for a long time, and I am happy that action is being undertaken against it, but we might never know what happens in the other reserves because nobody proactively monitors them all,” Goedschalk said.
The climate agency’s director asserted that Suriname, like many developing countries, urgently needs a change of attitude towards preservation of nature and climate change matters.
“(The illegal mining) shows that there is a need for more institutional capacity, but my fear is that even when that capacity is available it might still not work because many civil servants still cling to outdated political loyalties,” he said.
Goedschalk noted that the destruction at Brownsberg was of limited significance on a global scale, especially since Suriname has generally suffered little from deforestation and degradation.
But he added that pristine forest the size of Brownsberg was equivalent to a carbon credit of 4.5 tonnes, with a potential value of $25 million on the international emissions market.
“Every unnecessary destruction of forest is regrettable,” he said. “We should really arrange better monitoring.”
Marvin A. Hokstam is a freelance writer based in Paramaribo, Suriname.
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