Summary
Suriname, a small country in South America, faces a high risk from rising sea levels because many people live in low coastal areas. Efforts to protect the land with mangroves have struggled, leading the government to start building a dyke to prevent flooding, but funding the entire coastline's defense is a challenge.
Key Facts
- Suriname is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, affecting areas where most people live.
- About 70% of Suriname's population resides in low-lying coastal zones.
- The government has tried using mangroves as a natural barrier against the sea.
- Mangrove restoration near the capital, Paramaribo, has not been successful due to erosion and destruction.
- Suriname is building a 4.5km-long dyke to protect against flooding, costing $11 million.
- The entire coastline's defense requires a larger network of dykes, which is expensive.
- New offshore oil discoveries may help fund future coastal protections.
- TotalEnergies plans a significant oil project off Suriname's coast to extract up to 220,000 barrels of oil daily.
