Suriname is a country highly vulnerable to climate change. Some main effects include sea level rise and increased storm surges leading to coastal erosion and flooding, combined with decreased rainfall leading to lower river discharge and saltwater intrusion. This has negative effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, has economic consequences and puts the national and local water security at risk. It is therefore vital to improve the country’s capacity for adaptation and resilience to the impacts of climate change.

In response to this challenge, Suriname entered a partnership with the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA+), which is an initiative of the European Union (EU) aimed at strengthening vulnerable countries in their efforts to increase capacity to address the effects of climate change.

A previous GCCA+ funded project was carried out in Suriname from 2016-2019.

The overall objective of this 2nd GCCA+ project in Suriname is to support the country in adapting to the main effects of climate change by improving management of water resources and coastal ecosystems in ways that increase the well-being of coastal communities through gender responsive capacity enhancement.

Objectives

The project has two specific objectives/outcomes:

1. Increased resilience of coastal ecosystems and communities in the Nickerie and Coronie districts through gender responsive climate actions;
2. Improved national governance in the areas of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).