The SURIMERC project is a joint effort to take action on mercury pollution in Suriname. The SURIMERC objectives are:
- To build capacity for environmental mercury research and monitoring in Suriname. Capacity building at the Anton de Kom University will ensure long term continuity in research on mercury pollution in Suriname, needed to understand the magnitude of the mercury pollution.
- To perform studies on atmospheric mercury concentrations in Pararamaribo and in the Greenstone Belt and to evaluate the impact of the mercury on ecosystems and human health. This is important since the magnitude of the mercury problem is not well understood.
- To reduce of mercury release in small scale gold mining. The problem of mercury pollution can be significantly reduced by introducing alternative extraction techniques.
