Universities as para- diplomatic actors in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The building of institutions in the Modern Guianas as path to justice and peace

Localizing the SDGs: engaging local authorities and communities Bumps on the road: challenges of the SDGs for Suriname Suriname as an appreciative approach on sustainable development in small states-

Caribbean countries need a new generation of public policies to increase gains in the economic, social and environmental fronts while boosting climate and financial resilience and protecting people throughout their life cycles, says the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Report (HDR) for the Caribbean, to be launched in Suriname on Wednesday 16 November with a panel of prominent persons. The Caribbean HDR titled “Multidimensional Progress: human resilience beyond income” reveals new figures and sheds light on key policy recommendations that can help Caribbean countries achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The United Nations (UN), in association with the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) Mona, The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT), Jamaica will be hosting a regional conference under the theme: “Caribbean Development – The 2030 Agenda in Perspective” at the Jamaica Conference Centre, June 28-30, 2017. Papers pertinent to the theme are invited.

In light of World Population Day, UNDP and UNFPA organized a roundtable event bringing together youth leaders and female politicians to reflect on the link of the Sustainable Development Agenda and the need for investing in teenage girls. This year's theme 'investing in teenage girls' is particularly relevant to Suriname in light of recent economic developments. Not only have girls and women been shown to bear the brunt of crises, but policies, especially in reaction to crises, tend to worsen this effect. It is therefore crucial for Suriname's policy makers to be aware of different gendered needs as well as gendered effects of policies and to consider the particular position of young females

Representatives from 11 Caribbean countries and development agency partners will meet in Grenada’s capital of St. George’s this week to discuss strategies to prepare for the impact of climate change. Grenada held the final consultation on its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) on Tuesday, October 11, and will now host peers from the region to share lessons from its experience through a two-day regional workshop.

UNDP in cooperation with UNFPA organized a roundtable event bringing together youth leaders and female politicians to reflect on the link of the Sustainable Development Agenda and the need for investing in teenage girls. UNDP in cooperation with UNFPA organized a roundtable event bringing together youth leaders and female politicians to reflect on the link of the Sustainable Development Agenda and the need for investing in teenage girls.

UNDP Suriname has embarked on the Gender Equality Seal, a corporate certification process, which recognises country offices' ability to deliver on gender equality. Besides establishing the minimum acceptable standard for gender mainstreaming in programming to ensure that UNDP is truly realising development for all, the Seal requires country offices to review all external and internal programatic and operational aspects of its work. Ultimately the Gender Equality Seal is an incentive and tool, which guides country offices in improving and optimizing the delivery of sound gender equality results. Women make up the majority of the poor worldwide. They are, due to their often disadvantaged position in the labour market and their socially assigned roles, more vulnerable to economic shock. Environmental issues such as climate change impact poor women and men differently. Women are further subjected to gender-based violence in the public and private sphere, and discrimination in design and practice of the law limits women's ability to claim their full rights and to influence policies. These are only some of the inequalities women face; the persistence of these inequalities despite worldwide commitment to Human Rights and awareness about the innumerable social and economic benefits of gender equality, is truly puzzling. UNDP supports the Government of Suriname in the three programatic areas Environment and Energy, Democratic Governance, and Poverty Reduction. UNDP Suriname recognises, that in order to ensure just and sustainable development for all, the specific implications of e.g. economic and financial instability, climate change vulnerability and weak governance systems for women and ethnic minorities, need to be better understood and adequately integrated into all interventions. UNDP Suriname is committed to contributing to the knowledge on gender dynamics and inequality in Suriname and to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. The Gender Equality Seal process has to that effect been embraced as an opportunity for self-reflection and advancement. Important steps towards improved capacities and management for gender equality have already been taken, and last week the office welcomed Andrea Castano, from the Gender Cluster of the UNDP Regional Hub in Panama. Panama is assisting Suriname in conducting an in-depth review of projects to fully exhaust existing potentials. In this way UNDP Suriname is deliberately assembling all the components and pieces required for effective and quality gender-mainstreaming. The UNDP Gender Equality Strategy will guide all future developments, with the long-term objective of stimulating increasingly transformative contributions to gender equality. The Gender Equality Seal is only the beginning.

Mangroves provide an abundance of goods and services, known as ecosystem services, to people and other living organisms. Ecosystem services provided by mangroves support the well-being and livelihoods of women and men along the coast of Suriname. Sea level rise and storm surge are real threats to the low lying coastal communities in Suriname. Mangrove forests are a natural defense against these climate impacts. Protecting these ecosystems may prove more effective than building structures such as dikes or levees.

UNDP Suriname, IICA, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Agriculture visited a biofuel pilot project located on a mined-out bauxite site in Moengo.

On 23 and 24 of June UNDP and UNFCCC organized training seminars for Climate Mitigation Actions In Suriname. After the 2 day seminar, two NAMA's in the Energy Sector were identified.

The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the US$15 million Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP) today, in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

UNDP Suriname has relentlessly shown its efforts to protect and sustainable use of the environment. This year, the UNDP CO Suriname has provided a grant, which enables the indigenous and marron community to participate at the COP21. UNDP has helped to fund their preparation, participation, and pursue work after the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

  By Armstrong Alexis Deputy Resident Representative and Functional Head of the UNDP in Suriname.   What are our leaders doing about it?  This is a usual question that is posed whenever humanity is faced with a challenge that appears insurmountable.  At the global level, leaders have tried to respond to this...

During the week of November 23rd 2015, NIMOS in collaboration with various stakeholders held an Induction Workshop of the REDD+ project at the Torarica Hotel in Paramaribo. This workshop served to provide Suriname with advice based on international experience by the United Nations delegation from REDD Agency (UNREDD).