SEATTLE — Water quality in Suriname has slowly improved over the past decade in part due to the government’s commitment to providing the entire population with access to affordable, high-quality drinking water. Yet, obstacles such as lax laws and pollution remain a constant challenge for those seeking to provide quality water to the people of Suriname.
The government of Suriname currently has no national law regarding water or the environment with unstable water supply institutions. As a result, there is no way to formally issue environmental permits to companies. Drafts such as a national water law and regulations on groundwater protections have been conscripted, though so far there has been no further development of these legislation drafts.
Furthermore, Suriname water quality in urban and rural areas is under threat of severe pollution in part due to poor sanitation, agricultural practices and industrial and mining operations. The most severe concern to Suriname water quality is mercury contamination from gold mining.
A report from the National Zoological Collection Center for Environmental Research, Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname states that for every kg of gold extracted, 1 kg of mercury is released into the environment. Annually, that equates to 10,000 kg of mercury contaminating the air and water environments of Suriname.
Once the mercury is released, it is then carried by rivers where it contaminates both people and local aquatic life.
Four villages along the Saramacca River that were upstream of gold mining operations tested positive for high levels of Mercury. However, villages along the river that had better access to the capital of Suriname had lower levels of mercury than villages with less access to the capital. These villages with little access to the capital are reported to have higher mercury levels due to their dependence of contaminated fish as a source of nutrition.
However, there is hope to improve Suriname water quality through government intervention and aid from non-profit organizations.
As of 2012, the government provided 95 percent of the total population in Suriname access to sources of improved drinking water.
Additionally, government officials in Suriname are proposing fees for farmers using surface water in order to reduce and regulate the water waste.
In 2014, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Suriname partnered with UNICEF Suriname and the Ministry of Regional Development in order to improve Suriname water quality. Together, these organizations implemented programs such as WASH, UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program.
The objectives of WASH are to improve water supply and sanitation plants, promote responsibility and community ownership, implement and change hygiene practices and instill national ownership and engagement. The government of Suriname and their partners are implementing WASH programs in 15 villages in order to study whether overall water quality, sanitation and hygiene will improve.
So far, the conclusions made from implementing WASH programs in villages has fostered increased levels of community participation, ownership and contributions from villages in order to accomplish WASH objectives. The findings from this program are giving the government of Suriname hope that future improvements can result in better quality water for the country.
– Shannon Warren
Photo: Flickr