Vanessa Siaudeau
Since recently Vanessa Siaudeau is employed as a trainee with the Association Trésor in connection with a study project on environmental education. The three month training is part of her academic study program Master Mediation Environmental Science at the University of Versailles. Her study assignment is the making of an educational booklet for visitors who take a walk on the trail.
Amfibians
The amfibians pool
photo Vanessa Siaudeau
In May the team of the reserve has entered the savannas. We also visited the amfibians pool, which was discovered during the botanical research of Renske Ek in 2006. We seized the opportunity to lay out a path, by which from now on we can quickly and safely reach that point for an inventory of the fauna.
Leptodactylus fuscus
Hyla punctata
photos Kévin Pineau
In the savannas we have discovered an amfibian species which is new to the reserve: Lepdocatylus fuscus. This species is usually found in the Guyanese coastal savannas. We have also observed a Hyla punctata in the first savanna.
Bird research
We already reported in Trésor News about the bird research that runs for a year now.
The most important aim of this research is to understand the dynamic of the bird populations in the undergrowth of the forest: survival percentages, breeding season (the tropics do not know a summer or winter period!), territorium loyalty, movements in different seasons or in different years, variation in population density. This study must learn us how these populations organize themselves in the course of the seasons and over the years.
Pipra erythrocephala, Manakin à tête d'or
Hylocharis sapphirina, Saphir à gorge rousse
photos Kévin Pineau
The knowledge that we now have of the forest birds in Guyana is insufficient to answer these questions. Most of the bird researches only covered a very short amount of time or related only to very special species and not to the whole of the normal bird population of the undergrowth.
The obtaining of this knowledge can contribute to the choosing of the proper management measures for the reserve.
A year's research resulted in the capture of in the mean time 640 birds, belonging to 56 different species. Of the ringed ones almost 34% was captured for a second time.
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Puzzle journey in nature
As part of the Nature fest 2008 (a national
event, 24-25 mei), we have organized a treasure hunt on the nature path.
Charlotte Briand, our forester, lets a member of each team pick a tree-fruit from a bag to determine which animal the team will be in the game.
We have ranged the twelve participants in three teams.
Each team was assigned to image being an animal; a bat, a toucan, a howler monkey. The animals were supposedly forgotten what their way of life, food, enemies etc. were. By means of games, riddles, puzzles and other assignments alongside the nature path they had to figure that out.
The participants found this somewhat original walk very amusing.
Aim of the game was obviously to discover the interaction between the forest and the animals that live in it and to understand the importance of conserving and protecting it.
Gijs van Tol
The Trésor Management plan
Important step towards the protection of the reserve
The Trésor Reserve is the first reserve in French Guiana with a very thorough management plan for the period 2007 - 2011. The plan is set up by a team of experts conducted by Kévin Pineau and is based on a number of reports, maps and other data. One report needs to be mentioned explicitly: the RAPPAM (Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management), drawn up in 2007 by Elizabeth Fontein, as part of her master's study at the University of Utrecht.
A Management plan as a means for effectual and efficient management
World-wide the total square metres of protected areas has increased considerably in the past ten years, which slowly brings closer the aim to designate at least 10% of all important eco systems as reserves. But….. organising a protected status for an area is only the first step towards preservation.
Favard Creek
photo Foto Natura
One of the important follow-up steps is to set-up ( and implement) a management plan. Such a plan describes the area and the most important threats and indicates what activities need to be developed in order to guarantee effective protection.
Unfortunately, many protected areas in the world still do not have a management plan. More often than not this implies that there is little or no control of illegal logging or hunting, that there are no activities planned to create support among the local population, and that no research is being done to increase the knowledge about the area.
With the presentation of this management plan the Trésor Reserve once again takes a pioneering role.
Content of the management plan
The management plan contains first and foremost a description of the reserve and its surroundings. The lists with the species of plants and animals observed are part of this description. Especially the list of plants, birds and mammals are already of a considerable length and contain a number of rare species, too. This emphasizes the importance of this area.
Furthermore the management plan includes a descriptive evaluation of data and an analysis of the most important threats. This forms, together with the long-term goals formulated for the Trésor reserve, the basis for the last and most important part of the management plan, namely: effectuation of the long-term goals in an actual work plan for the period 2007 - 20011. That plan encompasses, among others, the following activities:
Preservation of the natural inheritance
In practice this means a clear marking of the borders of the reserve and monitoring illegal hunting practices and other undesirable activities. The official status of the reserve and consults on this matter with the government and colleagues of surrounding reserves should also be given attention.
Aerial photograph of the savannah
photo Olivier Tostain
Development of knowledge
The most important activity in this field is to carry out several inventories; they supply the data that are the basis for an efficient and effectual protection of the area. There is, for example, still little known about the bats, insects and fish that are found in this area.
Communication and awareness
Information and education are of vital importance to increase the support for the protection of the Trésor reserve (and the surroundings), which will indirectly also advance the future financing of the activities. Important activities are the guidance of visitors, the development of a guide(book) for the nature trail and the maintenance of this trail and the carbet. Special attention is given to the education of children and the development of educational material. The new carbet, which is planned to be built, plays an important role in all these activities. The spreading of the outcomes of research is also part of communication management.
Manpower and means for management
Expert personnel and continuity are important preconditions for all administrative business such as the co-ordination of activities, the drawing-up of reports and accounts and financial management.
And in five years' time…
The management plan and the work plan clearly indicate the direction of the activities for the next five years. During that time there will surely be certain achievements: a modest increase of the bigger mammals such as the tapir, more knowledge of the bio-diversity and the dynamics of this unique part of tropical rainforest, great involvement of the local population and the warm interest by donors. But there will of course also be setbacks.
The management plan will then be an important basis for an evaluation of the management carried out in the last years: what worked out well, what asks for improvement and how that should be accomplished. But, by then it is time for the 2012 - 2016 management plan.
Frans Maas Geesteranus, treasurer Trésor Foundation
Finances 2007
Essentials from the annual report 2007*
The Trésor Foundation and the Association Trésor both have prepared many projects and activities in the year 2007, of which the execution is now beginning in 2008. First of all the visitors reception building ('carbet'). The design is ready, the permit is granted. Unfortunately there is a delay in the construction. The finance for this comes from the funds (app.€ 34.000) and a gift of € 10.000 of the Conservatoire du Littoral in French Guyana.
A permanent tropics enduring outdoor exposition of 'totem poles' with an explanation on the ecosystem in the jungle has been made and will be installed alongside the nature path in 2008.
The costs for this were made in 2007 and amount to € 8.500.
Triodos Bank
Since the establisment in 1996 the C&E Bank has been the home house banker
of the Foundation. The C&E was purchased by Van Lanschot Bankiers in 2007 and because of this the synergy between both institutions has become less clear.
In October 2007 the Foundation has switched to a new bank, the Triodos Bank, to many known by her investments in ecological well-considered projects.
The loan and a large part of the payment traffic have been transferred to the Triodos Bank. Once again the University of Utrecht act as guarantor for the new loan.
The account with the Postbank will be kept throughout 2008 because donations are still coming in. At the end of 2008 this account will also be cancelled.
Donations
Also in 2007 the Foundation were considered fortunate with the steadily growing number of contributors who adopted square metres, yet compared to 2006 at an almost constant total amount of about € 24.000.
Besides this a private person adopted 1000 m2 and made a gift for a 10% repayment to the bank. In total she has supported Trésor with an amount of € 30.000.
The WWF has supported the Foundation with € 42.000 to pay for the foresters salary and the payment of the keeper's expenses.
An amount of € 5.000 from this support has been reserved for the redesigning of the visitors reception building in 2008.
Green energy supplier Greenchoice has made a a once-only donation of € 25.000, also for the foresters salary. This amount has been reserved for spending in 2008.
Including a number of smaller amounts the total income for 2007 has added up to € 125.123.
Reservations
Besides the expenditures three large reservations have been made in the exploitation bill 2007. You can find the amounts in the diagram.
The total of the expenditures comes to € 147.358.
This results in a loss of € 22.235.
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*In the mean time KPMG has approved the annual statistics of 2007.
The accompanying report is available and can be viewed at our website, www.tresorrainforest.org.
