‘We are crying for rain’: Suriname’s villages go hungry as drought bites | Drought

Drought Devastates Upper Suriname,

A deep sigh often escapes John Adjako’s lips as he contemplates his dwindling income as a boatman. The drought that started in early 2023 has been relentless, transforming the Upper Suriname region into a challenging landscape for both locals and visitors.

December typically sees a surge of passengers heading to the interior of Suriname, a country nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon rainforest. However, last year’s trade plummeted by at least half. The Atjoni jetty, usually bustling with passengers and their luggage, is now eerily silent. The river’s low water level has extended journeys that normally take four hours to almost a day.

“Passengers find it tiring,” Adjako says. “So now they only travel when necessary.” The drought’s impact is so pronounced that residents can walk across certain stretches of the river, highlighting just how dry it has become.

Atjoni, located in Sipaliwini, Suriname’s largest province, about 112 miles from Paramaribo, serves as a crucial transfer point for villages along the Upper Suriname River. The population here is predominantly Maroons from the Saamaka communities, descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped to Suriname’s interior.

The drought has been described as the most severe in at least 20 years. Severe conditions began hitting early in 2023, with wildfires spreading and posing a major health risk by February. By August, natural water sources were extensively depleted, forcing communities to rely on contaminated river water. This has led to the spread of waterborne illnesses, especially among children under five.

Health facilities and schools are badly hit, with cleaning water disrupting medical services and education. Clinics report shortages of medical supplies and staff, along with basic sanitation problems, further exacerbating the crisis. Erratic weather and consecutive crop failures have heightened food insecurity issues.

Rising food prices and transportation costs from Paramaribo have left many households without adequate nutrition, increasing vulnerability among women, children, and older adults.

Mugabe Antomoi, a member of the village authority in Abenaston, near Jaw Jaw, confirms the challenging situation. “Not only our rivers but also the creeks where we get our drinking water are now bone-dry,” he says.

Schools in Abenaston can only operate for two or three days a week. Teachers from the city face difficulty reaching their duty stations due to poor road conditions and lack of drinking water for both teachers and students. Graida Tomati, a mother of several pupils, worries about the future: “If it continues like this, we will soon have no food.”

The situation has led to widespread complaints about the government. Neighboring French Guiana, a French overseas territory known as a département, has received significant aid from its government without facing similar problems along its border with Suriname.

Jerome Slijngard, head of the National Coordination Centre for Disaster Relief (NCCR), says his team has identified about 147 villages in need of aid. This includes settlements of illegal goldminers from abroad. “We make no distinction between Surinamese and illegal foreigners,” Slijngard emphasizes. “We help everyone.”

The NCCR is working on a report to drive government action. If approved by the state government, a special situation may be declared, triggering a significant aid operation costing approximately £250,000. Part of this budget will focus on upgrading transport systems due to the complexities caused by the drought, which may persist until at least June.

Scientists attribute the primary cause of this extreme drought to the climate crisis, which has altered rainfall patterns and raised mean temperatures. Prof Sieuwnath Naipal, a hydrologist and researcher specializing in climate change at Anton de Kom University in Suriname, warns that multiple factors contribute to this extreme drought, including deforestation in the Amazon and illegal goldmining.

Data from the World Bank shows that Suriname experienced 20 consecutive dry days in 2023—the second-highest number since 1997. Climatologist Sukarni Sallons-Mitro notes that very high average temperatures have been recorded across both dry and wet seasons, resulting in the historic drought affecting different parts of the country.

“Suriname’s temperature has increased by about 1C [1.8F] in the last 50 years,” Sallons-Mitro says. “We have to prepare for that.” She emphasizes that immediate action is needed before things worsen further.