UN General Assembly
2017

Today, I, too lament the fact that the vulnerability of those countries should be taken into account when classifications are applied. Thus, it is ironic that Suriname is facing such threats of climate change, while at the same time we are making tremendous contributions to mitigate climate change. As a high- forested, low-deforestation country with 90 per cent forest cover — the highest in the world — Suriname provides regulation services to the global climate, including as a carbon sink. In addition to providing livelihoods to indigenous and tribal communities, our forests are biodiversity hotspots with an impressive number of endemic and internationally significant species. Our forests also support freshwater regulation as part of the unique Amazon ecosystem and provide employment and income generation through an active forest industry. Above all, we have set aside for conservation purposes 1.6 million hectares of pristine rainforest, referred to as the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, as a gift to humankind.