The first steps towards the Tropenbos Suriname Programme were taken in June 2002 when a letter of intent was signed by the Minister of Natural Resources of the Republic Suriname, Mr F.R. Demon, and the then Chairman of the Tropenbos International Board, Prof. Dr K.J. Beek. The letter expressed a shared interest in developing a Tropenbos programme for Suriname. This was followed on 14 March 2003 by a formal agreement between the same parties and resulted in the formal launch of the Tropenbos International Suriname Programme (TBI Suriname). The process of developing a coherent Tropenbos International Suriname Programme was initiated in early 2004.

The TBI Suriname programme was developed in the following stages:

1. Assessment Phase: identification and analysis of a wide range of issues in the Surinamese forestry sector that require research and are potentially relevant to Tropenbos International. Capacity building needs and partner organizations were also identified.
2. Programme Development Phase: identification and selection of priority issues on the basis of the inputs by multiple stakeholders and the Tropenbos International Suriname Programme Management Unit (PMU) and Bi-National Committee (BNC). The purpose of this phase was to provide a clear focus and direction for the Tropenbos programme in Suriname.
3. Project Development Phase: translation of the TBI Suriname themes into concrete projects, based on project ideas from the Surinamese and international partners of Tropenbos International.

The TBI Suriname programme is now implementing the projects that were formulated during the project development phase. New projects, activities, workshops and seminars have been organized around the TBI themes and aim to improve:

• forest management, for the benefit of people, conservation and sustainable development
• biodiversity conservation and environmental services
• the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities
• individual and organizational capacity building
• communication and linkages

Themes
TBI Suriname works on the following themes:

1. Forestry themes:
   - Definition of sustainable forest management and certification in Suriname
   - Appropriate implementation of the CELOS Management System
   - Understanding costs and benefits of timber harvesting and processing
2. Conservation themes:
   - Effective protected area management, including the involvement of local people
   - Valuation and capturing of environmental services of forests
   - Sound tools for forest and NTFP use and management
3. Livelihood themes:
   - Forest-based community livelihoods