Suriname joined UNESCO on 16 July 1976. The country is covered by the UNESCO Cluster Office for the Caribbean in Kingston, Jamaica.
Suriname has two sites on the World Heritage List. The Historic Inner City of Paramaribo, a former Dutch colonial town illustrating the gradual fusion of Dutch architecture with local tradition, was inscribed in 2002. The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, inscribed in 2000, comprises 1.6 million hectares of primary tropical forest.
Suriname is a member of IOCARIBE, subsidiary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), which develops and coordinates marine scientific research.
The Amerindian youth of the island of Galibi received support from the Youth Path programme to develop tourist activities promoting their cultural heritage.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, visited Suriname in 2003.