Welcome to the accredited Master of Science Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (SMNR) at the Faculty of Technology (FTeW) of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS). This programme is being offered (2018-2022) in cooperation with the Suriname Conservation Foundation Green Partnership Program (SGPP). Between 2008 and 2018, this programme was offered in cooperation with the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGDC) and the Flemish Interuniversity Council
(VLIR-UOS).

The objective of this programme is to contribute to the sustainable development and management of natural resources in Suriname in the fields of agriculture, biodiversity, forestry, land and water management, natural products, renewable energy and mineral resources, in order to benefit present and future generations in Suriname.

The world demand for natural resources exploitation intended for the development of countries has a rising trend in particular due to the projected global industrial growth (including population growth, food demand, climate change, and energy demand). Consequently this will also intensify the exploration and exploitation demand of natural resources in Suriname and enhancing drastically increased pressure on the environment and natural resources. Hence, sustainable management of natural resources, in particular of the non-renewable natural resources, is of utmost importance according to the global recognition during several international events such as the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (Brazil), the 2002 Summit in Johannesburg (South Africa), and more recently the Rio+20 in Rio de Janeiro, (Brazil).

The Faculty of Technology possess a prominent position in the development of human resources, since it is recognized that academically trained scientists and engineers with advanced research capacity are required for the understanding and management of Suriname’s natural resources. Hence, the programme is composed of lectures and field exercises through which advanced knowledge will be obtained on basic and applied sciences in the following domains: applied mathematics, modeling, spatial information techniques, international and national policies on sustainable development, interaction atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere, system management of natural resources, and economy and management.

On behalf of the Faculty of Technology, we thank you for having chosen the MSc in SMNR and we believe that you will enjoy your study, in a student- friendly environment and with qualified management and staff.

Suriname has an enormous potential in natural resources, but falls short in terms of their sustainable management. There is as yet no critical mass of human resources and knowledge available at academic, social and economic level to manage and valorize Suriname's natural resources in a sustainable way. On an international level, Suriname is not yet in a position to fulfill a leading role in the field of the management of natural resources. The above stated deficiencies are to a large extent the result of the lack of a MSc programme (following the 3-year BSc programme). A MSc programme constitutes an essential instrument to develop research capacity, and provides the basis for in-depth studies in technical and scientific domains. It creates possibilities for international exchange and the recruitment of national and international experts. As a result, Suriname should be in a position to gain its role as a full partner in international research consortia. AdeKUS has to some extent been able to develop research activities in various fields, which may function as building blocks for the MSc programme. There is established local expertise and interest in the field of research and education in a number of domains in natural resources management. However, this is of variable scientific level and output.

In March 2006 AdeKUS was selected to join the Institutional University Cooperation Programme (IUC) of VLIR-UOS (see www.iuc.vliruos.be). Within this framework, six projects were defined of which two projects deal with the sustainable management of natural resources:

• Project 4 "Masters Education and Research Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources" (technical), which covers three research themes: land and water resources, renewable energy, mineral resources, and
• Project 5 "Masters Education and Research Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources" (bio), which covers four research themes: biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry and natural products.

 On April 1, 2008 AdeKUS has started a 10-year Institutional University Cooperation (IUC) with Flemish universities in Belgium, with technical, scientific and financial support of the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGDC) and the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR-UOS). One of the main objectives of the VLIR-AdeKUS-IUC partner programme is to guide AdeKUS from a bachelor orientated university to an accredited MSc oriented research and education university, with maintaining a high standard of BSc education. In 2012, Project 4 and Project 5 were merged to one project, called Project 4-5 “Masters Education and Research Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources”.

On June 27, 2017, Suriname Conservation Foundation (SCF) approved to fund the project “Education and Research Programme in Sustainable Management of Natural Resources" for the period 2018-2022.

The overall developmental objective is to contribute to, and improve knowledge and skills in, Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the fields of land and water resources, renewable energy resources, mineral resources, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry and natural products, resulting in the further development of society.