• Critics in Suriname are speaking out against plans to develop 113,465 hectares (280,378 acres) of rainforest for industrial agriculture in the district of Nickerie.
• The plans come from a 2024 public-private partnership between the agriculture ministry and Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V., a private company working in agriculture and bioenergy.
• The partnership was inherited from the previous government and allegedly went forward without environmental permits, causing frustration and confusion across several regulatory agencies.
• If the entire 113,465-hectare block is cleared, Suriname could lose its negative carbon emission status and fail to qualify for certain carbon credit programs, experts said.