Biodiversity in Suriname (SUR)
| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | 396 | 159 | No | |||
| Freshwater | 35 | 4 | Yes | |||
| Total | 433 | 163 | No | |||
| Conservation | List of freshwater species completed using CLOFFSCA work. The following information is to be sought: - Status of knowledge of the freshwater fauna; - Existence of conservation plans; - Information on major aquatic habitats or sites within the country; - Current major threats to species; - Future potential threats to species; - Contact(s) for further information. |
| Geography and Climate |
Suriname is located in Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between French Guiana and Guyana. Area - comparative: slightly larger than Georgia. Total land boundary is 1,707 km, border countries are Brazil 597 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana 600 km .
Climate is tropical; moderated by trade winds. Terrain consists mostly of rolling hills; narrow coastal plain with swamps. Elevation extreme has the lowest point in unnamed location in the coastal plain -2 m and highest point in Wilhelmina Gebergte 1,286 m. Natural resources are timber, hydropower potential, fish, kaolin, shrimp, bauxite, gold, and small amounts of nickel, copper, platinum, iron ore.
Environment—current issues: deforestation as timber is cut for export; pollution of inland waterways by small-scale mining activities
Geography—note: mostly tropical rain forest; great diversity of flora and fauna which for the most part is increasingly threatened by new development; relatively small population most of which lives along the coast Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |
| Hydrography |