Suriname

Screening process
NMA decides on the need for an ESIA.

The proponent submits an application with general information on the project to the permitting agency, who sends the documents to NMA for a decision  on the need for an ESIA. NMA uses the screening lists in Tables I and II of the State Decision on Environmental Assessment of 2025 to decide on screening.. The outcomes of screening is that the activity is categorised into one of the categories listed in these tables. These are:

• Category A activities are required to submit a full ESIA.
• For Category B activities three paths are distinguished B3, a full ESIA is required, B2 some other form of assessment (e.g. and environmental management plan) is required or B1, additional information is required to come to a decision
• Category C activities do not require ESIA.

In case an ESIA is needed (Category A or B3), this is announced on the NMA website or through any other publicly accessible media.

Sensitive areas
Not specified.

Contents of the starting document
The information submitted with the application for a permit should contain:

• Name, address and contact point of the applicant;
• Location, site characteristics, design, size and duration of project;
• A non-technical explanation of the project, including purpose;
• Demonstration of need and justification;
• Detailed site plan, including a map;
• Possible impacts on the environment;
• Other information on request.

Timeline Screening
NMA takes 14 working days between submission of the starting document and the screening decision.

Scoping process
After NMA has decided that an ESIA is needed, the proponent is required to publish an announcement stating the intent to undertake the project. This may be accompanied with announcements of public consultations: where the public can make comments on issues that they would like to see addressed in the ESIA. In the scoping phase, the proponent is required to consult other government bodies, NGOs and the general public before the scoping report is submitted to NMA.

Contents of the scoping document
Not specified.

Timeline scoping
No timeline is specified for elaboration of the scoping report. NMA has 14 days available to decide on the scoping report, or may ask for additional information. After resubmitting the adapted scoping report NMA has 7 days to pronounce its decision. NMA is required to take results of consultation into consideration in its decision on the scoping report.

Assessment process
Upon completion, the project proponent must submit the ESIA to the NMA. The digital version of the ESIA should be written in Dutch, appendices may be submitted in English if this was the original language in which these were written.

Contents of the ESIA report
The recommended contents for the ESIA report are:

• Project description and location Legal and institutional framework;
• Description of the existing environmentEvaluation of project alternatives (technologies and location), including the no-action alternative and a justification for the preferred option;
• Environmental impacts(positive and negative, short term and long term, cumulative);
• Mitigation measures of project impacts and impacts of alternatives;
• Environmental Management Plan;
• Significance of residual impacts (after mitigation);
• Gaps in information;
• Overview of possible transboundary impacts;
• Public consultation (including a list of stakeholders, methodology for consultation, public concerns & responses to those concerns), including FPIC;
• Executive non-technical summary in Dutch and where required in other local languages.

NMA will issue guidelines to compensate for residual impacts.

Accreditation of consultants
There is no accreditation system for consultants who deliver services in ESIA report preparation. However the State Decision of 2025 stipulates that consultants need to independent and qualified and that the ESIA team leader should have at least a BSC degree and 5 years of work experience in their specific areas of expertise for category A and B3 projects. Consultants should preferably have Surinamese nationality or residency.

Review process
When the ESIA has been submitted to the NMA and is in accordance with the scoping report and meets all ESIA content requirements, the applicant, at the request of the NMA, shall announce within 7 business days in at least one daily newspaper that an ESIA has been submitted to the NMA, indicating the location and times at which it is available for inspection, and that interested parties have between 30 and 90 days from the date of announcement to react in writing. NMA publishes the ESIA on its website and the applicant makes the ESIA available to the general public. The applicant is required to hold a public meeting about the ESIA to receive oral comments. The applicant will prepare a report of the meeting and submit it to NMA.
NMA is responsible for undertaking ESIA review. After receiving the ESIA report from the proponent, NMA conducts a quick compliance check and may request additional information in case NMA is of the opinion that the ESIA is incomplete During review, NMA considers all submitted written comments, including reactions given during public consultations.

Review expertise
Review includes consultation with relevant government staff and the composition of a multidisciplinary team to undertake the review. NMA may also contract a specific independent expert during review to assist the team. If this is considered necessary, NMA will indicate this in the scoping phase. The costs for this independent expert will be charged to the applicant.

Timeline Review
Depending on the characteristics of the activity, NMA had 95 working days available to inform the applicant in writing on NMA’s review decision. In case the ESIA was considered incomplete, the applicant can submit an improved ESIA within 12 months. In that case, NMA has 30 days for decision making on the resubmitted ESIA.

Integration of ESIA into decision-making
If, after assessing the ESIA, NMA considers the measures to mitigate the adverse environmental effects suitable, NMA may decide that the proposed activity is unlikely to have significant adverse environmental effects. The NMA then approves the ESIA by means of a certificate of approval, of which a copy is sent to the permitting authority.
In case NMA considers the mitigation measures unsuitable, NMA may decide that the proposed activity is likely to have significant adverse environmental effects. NMA then decides to reject the ESIA and shall inform the permitting authority in writing. The activity will not proceed.

Decision justification
Not specified.

Timeline decision-making
Not specified.

Possibilities for appeal
Not specified in the SB 2025. However, the ESIA guidelines of 2009 mention possibilities for appeal within the ESIA process, as set out in Annex 5 of the ESIA guidelines. Appeal must be made within 30 days of decision-making and is directed to the Minister for Environment. A hearing will be held on the appeal. The National Environmental Council advises to the minister on the appeal decision. The decision is provided within 30 days. The public may appeal the screening decision or it may appeal the final ESIA review decision.
Anyone can make an appeal: government agencies, the proponent and the public.

Compliance monitoring
Not specified in the SB 2025, But according to the ESIA guidelines, monitoring of environmental conditions is a requirement. The proponent submits a monitoring plan and environmental management plan with the ESIA report. Annex 12 of the guidelines gives extensive instructions for developing an environmental management system and plan. The guidelines state that the proponent is obliged to implement the proposed plan. The proponent also needs to conduct mandatory monitoring if it is required as an outcome of the ESIA.
According to the guidelines, NMA and the permitting agency review the monitoring results and post-decision evaluation every year, taking into account the implementation of the Environmental Management Plan. On the basis of the monitoring results, the permitting agency and NMA may require additional mitigation measures and/or requirements to the permit.

Non-compliance penalties
No information specifically for ESIA. The Environmental Framework Law, however, contains extensive information on penalties in relation to e.g. environmental offenses.

Public participation requirements for ESIA process stages
During the ESIA process, depending on the project and location, and at the discretion of the NMA, the applicant is obligated to involve stakeholders, particularly individuals and communities in areas within or adjacent to the location of the proposed activity, to:

1. provide information about the proposed activity to individuals or groups of individuals whose environment could be affected by the activity; and
2. identify, record, and consider the objections or information of value on environmental protection from the individuals regarding the environmental impacts of the proposed activity.

The NMA shall establish specific rules for identifying stakeholders, conducting public consultations, and making announcements as part of the EIA process. These rules shall be published on the NMA’s website, where necessary in a language understandable to the target group, and shall be available for a fee determined by the NMA. The NMA ensures that the information from the public consultations is taken into account by the applicant and incorporated into the ESIA.
In cases where the proposed activity is carried out within or adjacent to the habitats and living areas of indigenous and tribal peoples, the applicant is obligated to effectively consult these communities in accordance with FPIC. The applicant will make resources available to enable the community to engage an expert to assist the community in reviewing the documents and reaching a decision.
As proof of the implementation of the FPIC process with the communities, the applicant is obligated to submit to the NMA an explanation of how the FPIC has been applied and the specific agreements made between the applicant and the community in question.

Timeline for public comments
Interested parties have between 30 and 90 days from the date of the announcement that the ESIA has been submitted to NMA, to respond in writing.
The applicant is required to hold a public meeting regarding  the ESIA to receive oral comments. The applicant will prepare a report of the meeting and submit it to the NMA. The notice for this meeting will be published in at least one daily newspaper at least 14 days before the date of the meeting.
The NMA may decide to hold a public hearing for specific ESIA. Procedures are still the be developed by NMA.

Access to information
A public ESIA register is maintained at the offices of NMA, containing details regarding:
a. date of submission of application, the nature of the proposed activity, and the name and address of the applicant;
b. the date of the decision taken on whether or not an ESIA is required
c. the date of submission of the ESIA, the period allowed for public comment, and the number of any written responses received;
d. the decision taken on whether or not the proposed activity should be authorized or carried out and any conditions attached to it; and
e. implementation actions taken to comply with the conditions.

The register contains an index, including a map index, which can be consulted electronically.
The data will be entered in the register within 7 working days after any of the circumstances mentioned in a. to e. or after a change has occurred in the data that requires updating.
The register is available for public inspection at the NMA offices and a copy containing data from the register can be provided upon payment of a fee to be determined by the NMA.