9,000 km²
of rainforest territory tied to Saamaka communities in Suriname's interior.
Maroon
heritage landscape with deep customary forest law.
Court
landmark human-rights rulings affirming Saamaka land rights.
Core
intact Guiana Shield rainforest under community stewardship.
What lives here
- Intact Guiana Shield rainforest with high carbon stores
- River fisheries sustaining village food systems
- Wildlife corridors still largely unbroken by roads
- Sacred sites and ancestral grounds along interior rivers
What threatens it
- Gold mining scarring rivers and forests
- Logging concessions overlapping customary lands
- Incomplete legal recognition of collective titles
- Mercury pollution harming fish and people
“The forest is not empty land waiting for a claim. It already has a people.”
— Saamaka authorities
Saamaka territory holds some of Suriname’s most intact Guiana Shield rainforest — stewarded through Maroon customary law for centuries.
Protection now means securing collective titles, stopping mercury-heavy gold mining and ensuring communities decide what happens on their land.
Consortium partner
Saamaka forest rights
Partners in Suriname stand with Saamaka communities to secure land rights, resist destructive mining and keep ancestral forests standing.
Show Saamaka some love
Every heart supports Saamaka communities keeping Suriname's interior forests free from destructive mining.