The new agency aims to coordinate the country’s policies on climate change mitigation and adaptation and forest conservation, and help Suriname win international funding to help it deal with climate impacts and adopt a lower carbon development strategy, reports Marvin A. Hokstam for AlerNet.
“Basically our agency is established to consolidate Suriname’s climate change adaptation efforts. We’re here to combine and complement the work of other institutes. When you want results in these matters, it’s best to execute from one central point. A multitude of institutes that sometimes work across each other doesn’t work,” said John Goedschalk, the U.S.-trained economist chosen by Suriname’s president to lead the new agency, according to the report.
Hokstam also cites good examples from Suriname's neighbour, Guyana, who is receiving funding from Norway.