Preservation for the sake of the economy

While gazing out from a mountaintop perch over a lush canopy of trees that seem to go on forever, it is easy to see why many consider Suriname’s Amazon rainforest as the country’s most valuable and most abundant natural resource, and one the government and nature lovers have pledged to protect.
There is no wholesale cutting down of trees allowed in Suriname, no matter how profitable or how quick the returns from the timber industry may be. Instead, the government has chosen to promote preservation as a means of economic progress, creating dozens of nature reserves and coastal wildlife parks in a bid to cater to the eco-tourism boom.

Leading the development of the country’s wildlife business is the Movement for Eco-Tourism in Suriname (METS), which the government established in 1962 but which is now an independent company part-owned by Surinam Airways.
METS is by far the largest eco-tourism tour operator in Suriname, organizing guided trips to the deepest regions of the of the country’s rainforests, savannahs and coastal reserves. It recently opened up a Residence Inn in Paramaribo and one in Nieuw Nickerie.
“We are currently embarking on a marketing campaign to target Europe and the United States,” says METS managing director Armand Bhagwandas. “We now feel that with the change in government we have more stability, which is one of the main criteria to being able to develop tourism. And with this situation, we will be able to be self-supportive within two years.”

Mr. Bhagwandas estimates that eco-tourism’s contribution to GDP will grow during that period from its current 3% to a figure as high as 15%. He acknowledges, however, the need to upgrade the infrastructure and transportation network.
“What we really need is to put Suriname on the map. There’s a great need for marketing, which up until now has been poor, as well as a need for an effective national tourist organization,” Mr., Bhagwandas notes.
The Suriname Tourist Foundation (or STS in its Dutch acronym) hopes to fill that role. The STS was founded in 1996 by the government and the chamber of commerce to manage an 800,000 euro (US$680,000) fund that the European Union granted to Suriname to help develop the nation’s eco-tourism industry over a three-year period.
A new Integrated Tourism Development Program has just been agreed upon–this time with 2.5 million euros going to STS–which will in effect turn the STS into that much needed national tourist organization.

STS executive director Dr. Edward Essed agrees that special efforts should be made to market the eco-tourism sector in order to attract high-income tourists. “But we do not want to over-consume our product. Some 90% of the country is still covered with neo-tropical rainforest that can easily be destroyed. The product itself doesn’t allow for mass tourism. We’re happy with that and believe it should stay that way.”