land management in suriname

8/6/2019 Land Management in Suriname

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LAND MANAGEMENTLAND MANAGEMENT

IN SURINAMEIN SURINAME

The Challenge ofFormulating Land Policy


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SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

PROFILEOF THE COUNTRY

-Land use: historical profile-Current land use zones

-LandRegistry andInformation

THE POLICYDRIVERS

- General policy drivers- Region specific drivers

CONCLUSION

RECOMMENDATIONS


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Summary:

y Suriname land management is based on a regulatoryregime

y The domain principle is the basis of Suriname landlaw (confers private ownership of all untitled land tothe State)

y The Government of Suriname wants to retool andinitiate reform in the land management system,

including the introduction of a number of moreliberalized regimes

y New land policy has to be formulated to develop andsupport new land management and administrationregimes


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Introduction:

y A feasibility study was conducted of the landmanagement issues in Suriname (extensivediagnoses identified 25 issues, main report with 34

proposals and a detailed annex)

y The process of formulating a proposal for theimplementation of a Suriname Land Management PProgram (SLMP) is now underway

y General land management policy directives areneeded to guide this process

y A development cycle that is both comparativelyinformed and context sensitive is being designed tostructure this process


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Profile of the Country:

y Total population: 440,000

y Land area: 163820 km2

y Inhabitants per km2: 0.38

y Inhabitants per km2 (Paramaribo) 1248

y Inhabitants per km2 (Wanica) 160

y Inhabitants per km2:(Sipaliwini, 80% of area) 0.18y GDP/per capita: xxx

y Number of households: 120.000

y % growth of population: 2.2%


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Historical Profile of LandUse

y Pre 1650 Differentiated by indigenous occupation

y 1650 - 1875 Plantation economy based on slavery in

the rural coastal area, indigenouspeoples and escaped slaves occupy theinterior (subsistence farming)

y 1875 - 1950 Decline of the plantation economy,

indentured labor to save plantations,emergence of small-scale farmingon the coast, emergence of extractionindustry (rubber, gold, bauxite) economicincursions into the interior (bauxite &timber by river, gold train)


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Historical Profile of LandUse

y 1950 - 1975 Expansion of bauxite industry,hydro-electric dam and smelter, emergenceof mechanized agriculture, roadnetwork and timber industry expands,outboard motor & air service to theinterior areas, peri-urban areas emerge,consolidation of indigenous settlements,transmigration enlarges settlements

y

1975 - to date Exhaustion of resources near the coast,further penetration into the interior(bauxite, timber, constructionsand/gravel), re-emergence goldindustry, peak and decline of largescale agriculture, more public housingschemes, peri-urban expansion


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LandUse Zones ofSuriname:

y Urban land housing, commerce, industry

y Peri-urban Land gardening, animal husbandry,

housing, commerce, industry,recreation

y Rural Coastal Land large scale farming, mining,animal husbandry, small scalefarming, gardening, aqua-culture,

industry, housing, commerce, timber,tourism, conservation land

y Rural-interior Land shifting cultivation, hunting, timber,mining, gathering, housing, tourism,conservation land


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TABLE 3: NUMBER OF TENURE TITLES IN SURIANME

District Population Registers Rent Lease Special Total /1000

Paramaribo 233882 68 200 5000 216 5416 23

Wanica 77115 160 4940 10486 351 15777 205 Nickerie 34464 77 1270 4500 220 5990 174

Sipaliwini/Brokopondo

32735 3 42 45 4 91 3

Commewijne 22012 34 635 1700 43 2378 108

Para 15375 42 657 1926 96 2679 174

Saramacca 13695 42 600 3400 100 4100 299

Marowijne 13484 12 427 868 91 1386 103Coronie 2911 9 527 221 21 769 264

Totals 445673 447 9298 28146 1142 38586 150

Street register (part of index to tenure titles) 148069

Number of real titles (zakelijke titels) 28146 1142 29288

Allodial and Absolute ownership 118781


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LandUse Information in Suriname:

A project proposal has been approved for theimplementation of a Land Registration and Information

System (LRIS). The project is slated to start soon.y A decentralized data gathering system will be established with

units in each of the ten districts

y Re-establish a geodetic reference system

y Aerial photography and digital mapping of the coastal zoney Design/develop a computerized parcel based LRIS

y Establish data sharing platform for cadastre/records registry

y Conduct cadastral surveys


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Drivers for Land PolicyReform

y Political driversy Legal drivers

y Economic drivers

y

Social and cultural driversy Environmental and sustainability drivers


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PolicyDrivers (general):y Ensure equity and high ethical standards (equal access, no

ethnic targeting)

y Counterbalance for disadvantages caused by historical

circumstances (location advantages/disadvantages)y The need of the government to fulfill post independence

expectations and electoral platforms

y Ensure both enduring and functional regulatory and compliancemechanisms

y

Land contributes to the development of the country in a mannerthat reflects the values and aspiration of the citizens ofSuriname

y Establish and maintain a good land information system

y Lack of consistent, efficient and transparent procedures


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PolicyDrivers -Peri-Urban Land

y The need to reserve and develop land for low-cost housingschemes to alleviate the extreme shortage of housing

y Develop legislation and procedures to prevent squatting in lowcost housing schemes and on government land

y Improve parceling regulations for large estates to ensure basicinfrastructure and better compliance with regulations

y Develop and monitor pollution standards for industrial andagricultural land use and sand extraction

y Reserve land for future use by the government andinfrastructure needs


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PolicyDrivers - Rural Coastal Land

y The need to improve tenure security and introduce morefungible titles for land in the agricultural sector

y Resolve land tenure security issues for undivided estates onformer plantations

y The need to harmonize conflicting agricultural, forest, mining,recreational and tribal land use regimes

y Develop land use schemes for the large areas mined out by the

bauxite industryy Provide incentives to optimize use of land according to the

potential of said resources

y Ensure improved environmental monitoring and controls in theagriculture, forestry and mining sectors


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PolicyDrivers - RuralInterior Land

y Land tenure security for indigenous and Marooncommunities(no legal land management/titling regime)

y The need to harmonize conflicting agricultural, forest, mining,recreational and tribal land use regimes

y Extensive gold mining pollution

y A high deforestation rate

y The need to develop a feasible and active environmentalmonitoring program for the rural-interior area

y Ensure commitment of interior population to conservation landsthrough jobs, youth programs and awareness building


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land management in suriname

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