Wayana communities face gold-mining pressure in Suriname’s Amazon

What you need to know

• MAAP estimates that gold mining had deforested about 89,000 hectares in Suriname’s northeast border region through 2024. Around 25,000 hectares of that loss occurred from 2021 to 2024. These regional figures are not measurements confined to Wayana territory. 2
• The analysis also reports 2,800 hectares of new mining-related deforestation in Suriname in 2025. This national figure provides wider context, but does not show where that clearing occurred in relation to Wayana communities. 2
• Accounts of mining arrangements vary by site. Mongabay describes some miners operating with local permission, while STVS reports the Mulokot Foundation’s concern about activity outside official concessions. The sources do not establish one account of consent or legality for all mining. 13
• Mercury is a wider national concern linked to artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Suriname acceded to the Minamata Convention in 2018, and a UNDP-published assessment identifies a national action plan for the sector as an important obligation. 5
• The Mulokot Foundation says mining expansion near Wayana communities is worsening water quality and describes community mapping and land-use planning as ongoing work. The reporting does not independently evaluate the results of these efforts. 4

Why this matters

The reporting links mining pressure with forest loss and risks to water, health and wildlife that Wayana people rely on for food. Regional satellite estimates show the scale of the wider problem, but cannot by themselves explain its precise effects within Wayana territory. 1245

What happens next

The reporting leaves open whether government monitoring, enforcement or community land-use initiatives have produced measurable results. Site-specific information on mining within Wayana ancestral territory, and independent evidence on mercury exposure and its effects, would help clarify the situation. 12345

What we know

• The reported field account is centred on Kawemhakan, near Suriname’s border with French Guiana, and describes miners, traders and Indigenous leaders navigating local arrangements. 1
• MAAP’s estimates cover different periods and geographic scopes: about 89,000 hectares in the northeast border region through 2024, and 2,800 hectares of new mining-related deforestation nationally in 2025. 2
• In 2024, STVS reported that the Mulokot Foundation had raised concerns about satellite-detected clearing in Wayana communities, including mining outside official concessions. This was the foundation’s account, not an independent assessment of every site. 3
• The Mulokot Foundation’s account includes water-quality concerns and community mapping and land-use planning. These are its statements and described work, not independently verified conservation outcomes. 4

What we don't know

• The available sources do not establish what portion of MAAP’s regional deforestation estimate falls within Wayana ancestral territory. 2
• The reporting does not provide independent, site-specific measurements of mercury exposure or its effects on Wayana health and wildlife. 1345
• It remains unclear whether government monitoring, enforcement or community land-use initiatives have produced measurable results since the reporting and plans cited. 134
• The sources do not establish a verified count of miners or a uniform account of consent and legality across individual sites. 13

Read the reporting

This WildNews briefing synthesises and summarises reporting from the sources below. WildNews did not produce the original reporting. Learn more about how we use AI