On Friday September 12, 2008, experts from 38 countries and more than 40 international and national conservation, business and community organizations concluded their week-long discussions on ways and means to significantly increase funding for sustainable management of forests from public and private sources at local, national and international levels. The discussions covered a portfolio of public and private financing approaches including through payments from ecosystems services, private investment and trust funds.

Many of the issues, opportunities and challenges for new forest funding nationally and globally are related to climate change. The important role of forest as sources and sinks of carbon has become a center attention under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, new and emerging global funds are focusing on reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation- known as REDD- to the exclusion of countries with high forest cover and low deforestation rates, such as including , for example Suriname, Guyana and Gabon.

The Paramaribo Dialogue on Financing for Sustainable Forest Management was a country led initiative in support of the New York based United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). The meeting was co-organized by the Governments of Suriname, the Netherlands and the United States of America and co-sponsored by the United Kingdom, International Tropical Timber organization, World Bank, Conservation International, Inter-American Development Bank and Worldlife Fund Guyana.

The conclusions and recommendations generated by the discussions are contained in the Co-Chairs summary report, which is posted at: http://www.clisuriname.com. This report will be forwarded to the UNFF Secretariat where it will become an official conference document for the international experts meeting to be convened by the Forum in November in Vienna, as well as for the 8th session of the Forum, which will take place in New York in April-May 2009.