By Maxwell Radwin
A court in Suriname has halted development on hundreds of thousands of hectares of Amazon Rainforest, much of it occupied by local and Indigenous people. The landmark ruling could give new autonomy to native communities and make it harder for projects to develop on primary forest in the future.
The court approved an injunction filed on behalf of twelve Indigenous and maroon groups who were concerned about losing approximately 535,000 hectares (1,322,013 acres) of rainforest to agricultural development. The projects would have been carried out by Mennonites, the Ministry of Agriculture and private entities.
“This gives an interim measure of protection to local and Indigenous communities,” said John Goedschalk, head of Climate Change Advocacy Services, who has been fighting the land deals. “This battle isn’t over, but this is a good first step.”
After reviewing the injunction, the court said the government doesn’t have the right to grant land without free, prior and informed consent, a process in which developers meet with residents to explain how projects would impact daily life. Without that process, burial grounds, areas for hunting and other cultural traditions of tribal living could be at risk, the court said in its ruling.
Suriname is the only country in South America that doesn’t legally recognize ancestral territory for Indigenous, maroon and other local peoples. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has touched on the issue in past cases regarding Suriname, this is the first time that a domestic court has acknowledged territorial rights for local and Indigenous people.
“This is a new precedent in Suriname,” Antoon Karg, the attorney who filed the injunction in March, told Mongabay. “…The rights that had previously been denied to the Indigenous and maroon communities on a national level now have a basis for enforcement.”
The Ministry of Agriculture and private entities couldn’t be reached for comment for this article.
Plans to develop the 535,000 hectares (1,322,013 acres) of rainforest were revealed by Mongabay in an investigation last year, resulting in an outcry from conservation groups concerned about losing around 1% of the country’s forest cover.
Mennonites have a long track record of unregulated deforestation across Latin America. Had the plans gone through, it would have likely compromised the country’s status as a net-negative carbon sink, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits. Suriname is one of only three countries in the world with that status.
In response to public outcry, the government cancelled a Mennonite pilot program that would have brought 50 families from other parts of the region, with future plans to bring hundreds more.
Development plans continue
Nevertheless, new efforts to develop Suriname’s agricultural industry are still underway. Terra Invest, the company trying to relocate Mennonites from Bolivia and other parts of Latin America, has a new plan to develop 35,194 hectares (86,966 acres) for Mennonites, according to documents reviewed by Mongabay.
The land is located within the original 535,000 hectares (1,322,013 acres) included in the injunction, and is occupied by the Kwinties, a maroon community in central Suriname. The Kwinties have to vote on whether they want to move forward with the project, but residents are currently divided about it, according to local reporting.
Some conservationists have quietly accused Terra Invest of using “divide and conquer” tactics to take advantage of a vulnerable rural community. But Ruud Souverein, the founder of Terra Invest, said the company is adhering to the prior consultation process, and has offered the community road infrastructure, housing, clean drinking water, solar panels and approximately $300,000 in financing.
Souverein declined to comment in detail about the deal until the Kwinties officially vote on whether they want to move forward on the project. “The moment there’s a positive decision by the Kwinties, we are ready to go forward,” he told Mongabay.
Banner image: The Tapanahoni River in Suriname. Photo courtesy of Delphinidaesy/Flickr.
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This article was originally published on Mongabay
