Research

The mercury level in sediment, fish and water in and around the Brokopondo Reservoir in Suriname is very high. In some cases, it is even 4 times higher than the allowed level of 0.05 microgram per kilogram. The culprit is the illegal gold mining that is substantially growing from small to medium-scale.

This has resulted in deforestation, land degradation, murky water, increase of the mercury level, and changes in the fish population among other things. This data was presented by Dr. Paul Ouboter, chairman of the National Zoological Collection of Suriname. He was in charge of a survey of mercury pollution of water-ecosystems in Suriname, a WWF Guianas funded project.

According to Ouboter, the murky water problem is much greater than that of mercury as seriously murky water is no longer fit for consumption. WWF Guianas therefore proposes to regulate small and medium scale gold mining, ban the import and use of mercury and promote alternative mining methods such as clean gold in order to decrease this problem.