In south-eastern Suriname, around Kawemhakan and along the Lawa River, gold mining is transforming both the forest and the living conditions of Wayana communities. Deforestation, mercury, reported declines in game and uncertainty over territorial rights intersect in a region that is difficult to access and where the authorities have little presence. Mongabay’s report shows why the consequences cannot be reduced to the number of hectares cleared.
A forest landscape scarred by mining sites
The Lawa forms part of the border between Suriname and French Guiana. In this region, people travel mainly by river or plane: Kawemhakan is not accessible by road or road network. From the riverbanks, miners reach some sites on foot or by off-road vehicle, sometimes after travelling through the forest for several days, Mongabay reports.
An analysis by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), part of the Amazon Conservation organisation, estimates that around 25 000 hectares of forest were lost in the border region between 2021 and 2024. It records at least 2 800 additional hectares of deforestation the following year. These figures describe forest cover loss: on their own, they do not measure changes in every species or the condition of all habitats.
A forest is more than an area covered with trees. It provides places for many forms of life to breed, feed and move around. When areas are cleared to reach gold, habitats are directly altered. Tracks, camps and installations can also fragment the environment, separating areas that were previously connected. The report documents access routes and mining sites along the Lawa, but provides no ecological monitoring that would quantify these effects on local species.
Game: the link between habitat and food
Mongabay reports a decline in wildlife populations on which the Wayana have long depended for food. This information should be distinguished from a scientific population estimate: the report presents no species inventory, repeated counts or protocol that would establish a trend for any particular species.
The distinction matters. A decline in the animals encountered or hunted may have several explanations, and the report does not allow them to be disentangled. The link between habitat conditions and subsistence, however, is concrete: if animals become less accessible or less abundant in the places people frequent, this can affect families’ food resources. The report thus describes pressure that is both ecological and social, without precisely establishing the share attributable to each factor.
Residents travel between the two countries to shop, visit family or take their children to school. Others cross the border to work in Maripasoula, while miners reach work sites by travelling upriver and then continuing on foot or by off-road vehicle. The river and the forest are therefore not simply a natural backdrop: they form a space for travel, food and activities. Understanding changes in the environment means considering together these human uses and the habitats on which they depend.
Mercury: a risk, not a local diagnosis
The use of mercury in gold extraction is another concern reported in the region. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that mercury can harm the nervous, digestive and immune systems, among others. Some bacteria can transform mercury in the environment into methylmercury, a form that accumulates in aquatic organisms. Contaminated fish and shellfish are an important route of human exposure to this form.
This mechanism explains why mercury can connect mining activity, the aquatic environment and health. But the information in the report and the WHO’s general fact sheet do not make it possible to conclude that there is a specific level of contamination in the Lawa, or to diagnose the people mentioned. Establishing local exposure would require appropriate measurements in the environment or in the organisms concerned, as well as relevant health data. The risk must therefore be distinguished from exposure that has actually been measured.
The WHO stresses that the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining poses risks and recommends promoting mercury-free extraction techniques. On the Lawa, the issue is therefore not limited to the presence of a substance: it also concerns working practices, discharges and the ability to monitor operations far from public services.
Protecting the territory, beyond announcements
In 2025, the Surinamese government announced plans to tackle illegal mining and the use of mercury, while maintaining 90 % national forest cover. But Mongabay reports a very limited state presence in places as remote as Kawemhakan. A national announcement is therefore not enough to establish that a measure is actually being implemented at a given site.
Wayana leaders have certain local levers, particularly around Kawemhakan’s landing strip. The report nevertheless describes delicate power dynamics: some miners ask the chief for permission, while concessions may be granted by authorities in Paramaribo without prior consultation with the community, according to the people interviewed by Mongabay. The Wayana representatives interviewed by Mongabay thus describe the difficulty of having their authority over their ancestral territory recognised and respected.
The Mulokot Foundation helps the community monitor mining activity and forest loss using satellite imagery, and map its ancestral territory. These tools can make changes visible and support land claims; the report does not, however, show that they have already reduced deforestation or contamination.
Education and employment opportunities outside the mining sector are also among the options being considered by the foundation. They are presented as projects, not as results already achieved. In this region, conservation is not only about the area of forest still standing: it also depends on the continuity of habitats, water quality, food resources and the ability of the Wayana to influence decisions affecting their territory.
References
- In Suriname’s Amazon, the Wayana community struggling to keep gold miners at bay — Mongabay
- Mercury — World Health Organization
Photograph: AlexCad — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0.
