Environmental management and protection is a primary task of the government. Article 6g of the Constitution provides that the State will create and promote conditions which are necessary for the protection of nature and the preservation of the ecological balance. To perform this core function of the State as efficiently and effectively as possible, there are institutional structures and legislation required in order to implement a sound environmental management.
In order to arrive at a coordinated and integrated environmental management structure, the office of the President represented by the Coordination Environment has the mandate to formulate and coordinate environmental policy and legislation as well as the monitoring thereof. The National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname (NIMOS) was established to give substance to the environmental management structure by partly formulating environment legislation and monitoring the compliance with said legislation.
In 2002 NIMOS, in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and under guidance of a consortium of national and international legal and technical experts, delivered the first Draft Environmental Management Act (de Milieuwet). This Act is a framework act, meant to set the perimeters and scope of environmental management in Suriname. The further implementation of the provisions of this Act is through implementation regulations (Uitvoeringsbesluiten).