Enhancing Academic Linkages and Research Capacity between U.S. and Suriname
Monitoring and Mapping of Tropical Forest Disturbance Field Workshop 17 - 28 February 2025
Suriname faces significant deficits in research capacity, particularly in the fields of conservation and natural resource management. These deficits hinder the ability to address climate change and environmental education, particularly among underserved and vulnerable populations. Furthermore, these deficits hinder innovation and sustainable development in the region, limiting the ability of early-career researchers to publish their work and contribute to global knowledge exchange. To promote academic linkages between the U.S. and Suriname and to bridge these deficits our organizations, the Michigan Technological University (MTU) and the Centre for Agricultural Research in Suriname (CELOS) part of the Anton de Kom University, have come together with an overarching goal of increasing research capacity for conservation and natural resource management. Through a series of in-country and online courses we aim to reduce these deficits and increase awareness of responsible conduct of scientific research.
CELOS has hosted and facilitated similar initiatives in 2011 and 2019 whereby the latter produced two publications from course participants. Using a combination of readings, lectures, discussions, and, most important, field exercises, course participants will hone their research skills from hypothesis formulation to manuscript preparation on topics of relevance to forest ecology and management. The collected data will be statistically analyzed and presented both orally and in a written form suitable for submission to journals like Forest Ecology and Management. During this course, participants will learn about topics related to Soil science, Wood science and Forest Ecology, GIS/Remote Sensing tools, to be applied in tropical forest monitoring related to human induced disturbance.
At CELOS we acknowledge that too much of our research is mostly descriptive and that more of a focus on problem solving is needed, hence our willingness to facilitate this course in Suriname. We also recognize that a 3-day field course can have only limited long-term impacts on the scientific capacities of the participants. That said, the opportunity to interact intensively with internationally renowned scientists and to practice science under their mentorship will give the participants a better sense of the characteristics of good science as well as improved skills in formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, analyzing data, and preparing publication-quality manuscripts. This last step in the research progress, the dissemination phase, is critical because otherwise the work will have been in vain. Data that are not shared or are shared with only a few people are not of much value to the scientific community or to society at large. Overall, we are certain that the course will achieve the goal of increasing participant awareness of what constitutes good science and its importance.
For more information on the course and the application process please follow the link: 
Anton de Kom University of Suriname.
Application deadline Extended
Apply by: January 17, 2025 (application is now closed)
Instructors CELOS
Verginia Wortel
Verginia Wortel has a background in Environmental Management and Conservation Biology and currently works as a researcher and is the Head of the Forest Management department at the Centre for Agricultural Research in Suriname, CELOS. She works closely with the national forest authority (SBB) in Suriname in formulating policy for responsible forest management and climate change inclusion in national policies. Together with her team, she is also responsible for the management of one of the oldest silvicultural experiments in the world, located in West- Suriname, Kabo. Data collected are in support of pantropical studies concerning interactions between tree biodiversity, forest dynamics, and climate in managed tropical forests. The data analysis will support national affairs such as improved forest governance and forest management practices. She is also interested in blue carbon ecosystems i.e., Mangrove Forests and peat swamps in conjunction with strengthening local community resilience against the effects of climate change including researching various incentives and financial mechanisms to ensure benefits flow back to local communities and scientific research.
Contact: verginia.wortel@celos.sr.org
Clifton Sabajo
Clifton has a background in Forestry and in GIS and Remote Sensing and has research and work experience in both tropical and temperate areas. He is interested in Big data Analysis and in the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques for the management of natural resources and how human interventions modify the landscape. His areas of expertise are: Tropical forestry, Geographical Information Systems, Remote sensing, Time series analysis. He is currently a researcher and Head of the GIS/RS Lab NARENA at the Center for Agricultural research in Suriname (CELOS).
Contact: clifton.sabajo@celos.sr.org
Virginia Kent-Atmopawiro
Virginia has a background in Tropical forestry and Geo-information science & earth observation applied to Natural Resource Management and Forestry for Sustainable Development. Her interests are in the application of GIS and remote sensing technology for research in the field of natural resource management, ecosystems, climate change, land use/cover mapping, spatial data analysis with a preference for Free and Open-Source Software. Her areas of expertise are: Tropical forestry, Geographical Information Systems, Remote sensing, Spatial data analysis, working with GIS/RS software (ArcGIS, QGIS, IDRISI-Selva), teaching and training in GIS & remote sensing. She is also a Google Earth Engine (GEE) enthusiast. She is currently a researcher at the Center for Agricultural research in Suriname (CELOS).
Contact: v.atmopawiro@celos.sr.org / virginia.atmopawiro@gmail.com
Ansmarie Ngu Chin Tjon
Ansmarie has a background in Soil Science and Biology. Her interest lies in studying carbon storage in different types of soils including peatlands. She is also interested in soil health and how this can be quantified and monitored. Her areas of expertise are: Soil Chemistry, Biology, Tropical Soil Health, Wetlands ecology.
She is currently a researcher and Head of the Chemical Laboratory at the Center for Agricultural research in Suriname (CELOS). In addition, she also teaches Biology at the Arthur A. Hoogendoorn Atheneum in Suriname.
Contact: soil@celos.sr.org / ansmariesoetosenojo@gmail.com