Huge news broke recently when a country with more intact forests than any other on Earth decided that 90% of all forest cover would be preserved by law.

Made in New York in advance of a UN summit that will see the party members to the Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meet for the 30th time, the decision was heralded as a major step in the effort to protect 30% of all natural landscapes on Earth.

The nation in question was Suriname, the former Dutch colony located on the northern coast of South America, bordering Brazil to the south, and Guyana to the west. Famous for containing vast tracts of Amazon Rainforest, Minister of Foreign Affairs Melvin W. J. Bouva made the announcement on behalf of the recently-elected president.

“We understand and accept the immense responsibility of stewarding over 15 million hectares of tropical rainforest… said President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons. “And it is because of this responsibility that we are envisioning an economy that is powered by our rich forests and biodiversity.”

90% of the country is covered in rainforests typical of the Amazon Basin, the world’s largest rainforest and an ecosystem that spans 9 countries. As a result, it’s one of three states that register as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit.

The decision comes at a time when deforestation in Suriname is on the rise, but losses Basin-wide are falling substantially, particularly losses from forest fires. 

Re:wild, a conservation organization working actively in the Amazon and other South American landscapes, reports that more than 700 birds, 100 species of amphibians, and many charismatic mammals such as lowland tapirs, jaguars, giant river otters, and 8 different primates range throughout the country.

“I’ve worked in Suriname for 50 years and I am absolutely delighted that President Geerlings-Simons has made this historic and unprecedented commitment to maintain Suriname’s forest cover at this level within her first two months in office,” said Russell Mittermeier, chief conservation officer at Re:wild.

“This sets a new standard for the Amazonian region as a whole, which has suffered from serious deforestation in recent decades.”

The Amazon will be high in the minds of the parties to the UNFCCC when they meet in Belem, Brazil, for the summit known as COP 30.

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