NATIONAAL INSTITUUT VOOR MILIEU & ONTWIKKELING IN SURINAME
NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN SURINAME
Address:
Onafhankelijkheidsplein 2
Paramaribo- Suriname
Tel: (597) 520045
Fax: (597) 520042
P.O. box: 12547
Email: [email protected]
The mission of the National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname is to initiate the development of a national legal and institutional framework for environment policy and management in the interest of sustainable development.
INTRODUCTION
The World Conferences on Environment and Development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and also in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa have emphasized the enormous pressure put on our environment. Likewise in Suriname this view seems to be based on truth, this according to some
of the identified national environment problems namely:
Poor drainage system for wastewater;
Improper waste collection and management;
Uncontrolled sand ‑ and gravel excavation;
Pollution of surface water due to inefficient used of fertilizers;
Mercury pollution of soil and waterways;
Drainage of industrial waste water;
Noise ‑ and bad‑odour pollution;
Fish‑ and shrimp poaching;
Issuance of lumber‑ and mining concessions to third parties in Indigenous ‑ and Maroon
communities.
At the regional and international level there are problems, among others, concerning cross‑boundary diseases and plagues, oil spills and drainage of various waste streams in the open sea, climate change decline of biodiversity and land degradation. Raise the alarm and implementation of a sound and sustainable environmental policy was widely accepted by the world community through the approval of Agenda 21, the environmental agenda of the 21st
century.
In order to implement a sustainable environmental policy in Suriname, the Government with the support of the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) and the European Commission (EC) established an Environmental Management Structure in 1998.
The Constitution of the Republic of Suriname provides for a legal basis for a national environmental policy. Article 6g states that the social objective of the State is directed towards the creation and stimulation of conditions necessary for the protection of nature and the maintenance of ecological balance. For the implementation of this constitutional obligation an innovative and promising Environmental Management Structure was chosen. This was realized with the establishment of the National Council for the Environment (Nationale Milieuraad, NMR) as a policy en advisory body, after which in 1998 the National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname (Nationaal Instituut voor Milieu & Ontiwikkeling in Suriname, NIMOS) as the implementing and research institute was established.
NATIONAL COUNCIL for the ENVIRONMENT (NMR)
The NMR, which has been installed by Presidential Order on June 9th 1997, has the mandate to support the Government of the Republic of Suriname by means of advises concerning the preparation of environmental policy at the national level and exercise of control in the implementation thereof. According to this Order, the NMR will be assisted in the implementation by NIMOS. The regulations for the NMR states that it will consist of 10 members who are appointed by the President of the Republic of Suriname for two years.
Besides the five experts who are nominated by the government, representatives from the trade and industry, labour unions, Indigenous- and Maroon communities and consumer organizations are seated in the NMR
NIMOS was established on March 15th, 1998 as the executing agency of the National Council for the Environment (NMR). The NIMOS is a foundation with the following objectives:
To realize national environmental legislation in the widest sense;
To prepare and realize regulations with regard to protection of the environment;
To coordinate and supervise the observance of those regulations.
A General Director is responsible for the daily coordination of the tasks of NIMOS and is assisted by eight offices:
Administration
Environmental & Social Assessment
Environmental Monitoring & Enforcement
Environmental Legal Services
Environmental Planning & Information
Environmental Public Education & Outreach
Environmental Funding & Investments
Environmental Research
An Office Director heads each Office; each Office has corresponding environment-technical tasks and reports to the General Director. In the initial phase the first four Offices are operational:
The tasks of this Office are among others:
Provide for Secretarial proceedings in aid of the General Director and Offices
Human resource management
Data entry and financial administration
The tasks of this Office are among others:
Design an Environment Impact Assessment system of procedures and guidelines for the implementation of project specific EIAs and general impact assessments
Initiate and further develop concepts for EIA legislation
Supervise the total EIA process
Conduct environmental audits under the EIA process
The tasks of this Office are among others:
Develop and monitor environmental standards and norms
Supervise the observance of environmental laws
Cooperate with other government agencies to control and guide the observance of environmental legislation and regulations
The tasks of this Office are among others:
Formulate environmental legislation and regulations
Review regional and international environmental conventions
Provide legal advice with regard to environmental issues to the other Offices, ministries and the general public
INTER-MINISTERIAL ADVICE COMMISSION (IMAC)
The NIMOS is working via the Inter-Ministerial Advice Commission (IMAC), on basis of a MoU, closely with the ministries that according to their portfolio are involved in environment. Currently, MoUs have been signed with the Ministries of Natural Resources, Public Works, Social Affairs & Public Housing, Public Health and Defense.
Besides the ministries there are other important organizations/institutions in relation to environment management in Suriname:
Anton de Kom University of Suriname including the Faculty Technological Sciences
department Environmental Sciences, the Natural Resource Department for Environmental
Assessment (NARENA), Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname (CELOS)
Foundation Planning Bureau Suriname
Foundation for Nature Conservation in Suriname (STINASU)
Bauxite Institute Suriname
Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB)
Foundation for a Clean Suriname (SvSS)
Movement for Eco-tourism in Suriname (METS)
Foundation for Tourism in Suriname (STS)
Indigenous and Maroon organizations
Human Rights Organization Moiwana`86
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
European Union (EU)
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Conservation International Suriname (CIS)
NIMOS has an information and documentation center where students, scientists and other interested people can freely search and ask for environment related information.
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