Perceptions of and Responses to Climate Change in Paramaribo, Surinam - Casper de Vries - In Completion of Master of Science (MSc.) Program: Latin American and Caribbean Studies Utrecht University, The Netherlands August 2012 Author: Casper de Vries Contact:
[email protected] Academic Year: September 2011-August 2012 Degree: Master of Science (MSc.) Master’s Program: Latin American and Caribbean Studies Utrecht University Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Cultural Anthropology Supervisor: Prof. Dr. C.G. (Kees) Koonings Second Reader: Dr. J. G. (Hans) de Kruijf Cover picture: the Waterside, Paramaribo (own work) Material of this study used should be cited 2 Acknowledgments Three months of designing research, four months fieldwork and three months of writing have led to the result of this Master Thesis. Through all these stages I have been supported by my parents, from the initial stage on they supported me through all the challenges, I am thankful for the options I have been granted. I am grateful for all the respondents in the field who were willing to give their personal insights and stories. Without their enthusiasm and their great kindness and honesty it would not have been possible to present this Thesis. From this place I would also like to thank Kees Koonings, my supervisor who has during these three stages always given me great input from the finest detail to the bigger picture, among others he presented me the ‘channels and dams’ which contributed to the end result of this Thesis. Casper de Vries, Utrecht, August 20, 2012 3 Abstract In this study perceptions on climate changes, causes, consequences and responses of individual inhabitants, small farmers and market sellers and the government in Paramaribo, Surinam are outlined.