Latin America

Judi Lynn

(163,703 posts) Thu Mar 21, 2024, 02:08 AM Mar 2024

Suriname cancels controversial Mennonite pilot program, but bigger problems loom [View all]

by Maxwell Radwin on 20 March 2024

Suriname President Chan Santokhi confirmed to local media this week that he shuttered a pilot program setting aside 30,000 hectares (74,131 acres) for 50 Mennonite families, easing some fears that the country was on the verge of destroying large parts of the Amazon Rainforest.

Mennonite colonies have a history of contributing to widespread deforestation in other parts of Latin America, including Belize, Mexico and Bolivia.

But many conservation groups said there are bigger challenges than the Mennonites, including the development of around 467,000 hectares (1,153,982 acres) of land for agricultural activity.

The government in Suriname said it cancelled a controversial pilot program that would have brought hundreds of Mennonites to the country to carry out agricultural activity, likely in forested areas.

Suriname President Chan Santokhi confirmed to local media this week that he shuttered a pilot program setting aside 30,000 hectares (74,131 acres) for 50 Mennonite families, easing some fears that the country was on the verge of destroying large parts of the Amazon Rainforest.

“We in the international conservation movement congratulate President Santokhi and the people of Suriname for taking a thoughtful and considered move in deciding how best to manage the country’s resources for the benefit of all the country’s citizens,” said President of Amazon Conservation Team Mark Plotkin.

More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/suriname-cancels-controversial-mennonite-pilot-program-but-bigger-problems-loom/

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Suriname cancels controversial Mennonite pilot program, but bigger problems loom [View all] Judi Lynn Mar 2024 OP

One of many earlier articles: Deforestation on the rise in Quintana Roo, Mexico, as Mennonite communities move in Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #1

Can Carbon Offsets Save a Fragile Band of Belize's Tropical Rainforest? Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #2

Bolivia has a soy deforestation problem. It's worse than previously thought. Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #3

Mennonite colonies linked to deforestation of Indigenous territories and protected areas in Paraguay Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #4

This message was self-deleted by its author Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #5

The Mennonites being accused of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #6

That last picture. Brutal, but funny. Easterncedar Mar 2024 #8

This message was self-deleted by its author Judi Lynn Mar 2024 #7

Interesting. This might be the first story I've seen about Suriname in more than a decade... hlthe2b Mar 2024 #9