On Tuesday April 21, the Conseil Régional (the Parliament) of French Guiana decided in plenary assembly to grant the Trésor reserve the status of Réserve Naturelle Régionale (RNR) with 17 votes in favour and 3 abstentions.
With this decision the government of French Guiana has granted the Trésor reserve in French Guiana a special and protective status under the French Environmental Conservation legislation.
An initiative for the protection of tropical rainforests undertaken by the University of Utrecht, many private donors and volunteers, the World Wildlife Fund and the Dutch corporate sector, has herewith received an absolutely unique recognition from the community of French Guiana.
We will of course present you with further news about this topic in the next edition of Trésor News.
Working visit 2009 to the Trésor reserve
Vijko Lukkien and Pipasi Jeurissen
Arrival in French Guiana
On 7 February we departed from Amsterdam to Paramaribo where we arrived at 6 p.m. local time in the pouring rain.
So after having gone through customs, though already dusky, we had just half an hour to experience our first impressions of Suriname during the bus trip to our hotel in the city. In the many shops along the route lights are ablaze and it is busy on the streets.
The next morning Pipasi and I leave our hotel Alberga Albergo early to go to Cayenne in French Guiana. Over 450 km along coastal roads and of course by boat on the border river, the Marowijne.
Again pouring rain: next to the road charcoal is being burned in small mounts covered with soil in some places from which smoke escapes on all sides and in the numerous there is an dazzling abundance of fruit and vegetables.
When the sun breaks through we enjoy typically Dutch skies above Suriname and French Guiana at temperatures of around 29 ºC. The Netherlands, with its somewhat dull and misty winter skies and day temperatures of a few degrees above zero, disappears from our perception like melting snow.
On the road snakes, both dead and alive, and above it Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and much higher above them King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa). These last ones in a literally regal black and white plumage. At the end of the afternoon pairs of Amazon parrots fly from the interior across the road to their sleeping trees on the coast.
Preparation working visit
The next morning we have our first working visit with our wardens Charlotte Briand and Kévin Pineau at the (with the other Associations) shared office of the Association Trésor.
We discuss the agenda for the working week, after the tour through Suriname and French Guiana of the two groups of participants. Highlights in this working week are no doubt the opening of the new carbet, or as it now will be called the Maison de la Réserve, on Saturday 7 March and the annual meeting of the Association Trésor on Monday 9 March.
An important subject to be discussed on this day is also the new Status (Réserve Naturelle Régionale) of the Trésor reserve which will be settled in May this year through the awarding of this status by the Conseil Régional in French Guiana.
Many parties offer social support to this initiative and this is important since this is a decision of not just technically administrative nature but local politics definitely have to be taken in to account too.
We are very happy to be informed that the counsel of the municipality of Roura in which the reserve is situated will support the application for the new status and the collaborating Associations in French Guiana also give their support, in addition to organisations such as the ONF (the French Forestry Commission) and the Conservatoire du Littoral (Paris).
(By now this new status has been awarded, as you may have read on page 2)
And of course we discuss the marvellous initiative, supported by the World Wildlife Fund Netherlands, of the World Wildlife Fund Guiana to finance the salaries of Charlotte Briand and Kévin Pineau, our wardens, for 2009.
We experience this as great compliment for the extensive work done over the past years by our wardens, the people of the Association and the many volunteers of the Trésor reserve.
HOVO-tour*
On Wednesday 11 February we depart in the early morning with two vans (for the group) from Cayenne to the most north-westerly point of French Guiana, on which coast the Indian village Awala Yalimapo is situated.
Here are the well-known beaches on which at this time of year Green Turtles lay their eggs at night and here we meet our first group of travellers for the tour through French Guiana and to Trésor. Kévin and the pregnant Charlotte will, together with us, conduct this part of the tour in French Guiana for both groups.
We will be on the road until 5 March and arrive in Cayenne once again late afternoon. Of course after have said goodbye to the second group in St. Laurent on the border of Suriname.
In this case the in such cases often used expression 'tired but satisfied' applies in every aspect.
The final week of the tour took us in boats along the border river, the Marowijne, between Suriname and French Guiana, far to the South deeply into the interior.
Above the river Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) from North America which hibernate here and Toucans which change forests and in doing so cross the river.
Kévin really came into his own because he spotted two species of birds he had never seen before (which his case is quite something): one species of swallow, the Black-collared Swallow, Atticora melanoleuca, which mainly occurs on large rocks in rapids, and along the shore a Pied Lapwing or Cayenne Plover (Hoploxypterus cayanus, a species of plover) of which only two observations in French Guiana were known over the past ten years.
Highlights of this trip have been among others the visit to the Kaw region, which included a visit to the Trésor reserve and the boat trip and overnight stay in the Kaw swamps. But also the trip to the islands near the coast of French Guiana (Iles de Salut) and of course the long trip on the river Marowijne.
This huge tree occupies quite a lot of square metres!
photo Ad Havermans
Everyone was impressed by the short trip to one of the many monumental trees in the Trésor reserve. One of the members of the group made a photograph of this Saint Martin Jaune (Hymenolobium flavum) to be used in one of the power point presentations for next year's course.
Official opening of the Maison de la Réserve
Back in French Guiana and Cayenne together with Kévin and Charlotte on Friday 6 March we prepare the opening of the new entry building the following day.
The building consists of two rooms, the large one for the reception of school classes and the general public and one workroom for the employees.
Next to the basic information presented on six large posters another wall has been reserved to be devoted to varying themes concerning the reserved.
The theme during the opening is the enormous variety of frog species occurring in this wettest part of French Guiana.
On Saturday 7 March at 3 p.m. in beautiful weather the official opening of the 'Maison de la Réserve Trésor' takes place. Over 40 guests from the many ranks of the government and the French Guianan world of nature conservation are present here. Olivier Tostain (conservator) as well as Kévin and Charlotte (our wardens) give excellent presentations and tours for our guests.
I myself may cut the ribbon, which I consider a special honour.
On behalf of the French Forestry Commission Wim Visser, the architect of the new building, is present as well. Originally Wim is a Dutchman who has been working and living for years in French Guiana. And thus once again this opening the Dutch-French Trésor initiative gets an additional French-Dutch touch.
The guests gather near the new Maison de la Réserve
Basic information on large posters
Vijko Lukkien officially opens the Maison de la Réserve
The guests admire the new carbet
The beautiful information displays
A corner for the youngsters
photos Association Trésor
On the final day of our working visit on 10 March Pipasi and I make a farewell hike through the Trésor reserve. The weather is beautiful and everywhere numerous birds are to be heard. A large forest tortoise crosses our path. And of course, before we depart, we stop at the flowering Heliconias along the educational trail and watch the Hummingbirds which are attracted by the enormous amounts of nectar produced by these flowers.
We enjoy the beautifully designed displays along the route and the definitely attractively looking entry building, the Maison de la Réserve.
Feeling really contented we return to the Netherlands hoping something of an early Spring will be noticeable.
* HOVO = (Hoger onderwijs voor ouderen) Advanced education for the elderly.
The Brokopondo lake
photo Ad Havermans
A tour through Suriname and French Guiana
Ad Havermans
As a student of the HOVO-course 'Suriname and French Guiana' I participated in a tour through these two countries between 7 February and 1 March 2009.
In Suriname we first travelled from Paramaribo to the southwesterly side of the Brokopondo lake: Bakaabotoo. Via Paramaribo the tour continued to Frederiksdorp, and then onwards to French Guiana. After crossing the Marowijne we went to the coast near Awala. Next a visit to Trésor and the Kaw swamp followed. We also visited Montjoly, the Îles du Salut and Cariacou on the river Kourou, Cayenne, Kourou and Saint Laurent in French Guiana. The tour ended with a six day trip on the Marowijne and Tapanahoni rivers and an extensive visit to Paramaribo.
A tour packed with highlights; especially Trésor and Kaw have stolen the heart of the author of this text.
Staying in the middle of the rain forest at camp Cariacou.
photo Ad Havermans
In my mind the pom of Dien, the roti of Joosje or rather Dien's delicious fruits in coconut milk compete for the culinary highlight of my tour. Tasting culture! Speaking about cultures. Paramaribo's population is beautifully mixed. Tastefully dressed, happy people. This applies to the whole of Suriname: the shops of the Chinese, the Bosnegers in the interior, Hindus and their temples, Jews, Javans, Chinese, Indians, Brazilians, Europeans building roads... Recognizable identities, discernable habits. And all this among less than half a million people.
Only weeks after my tour with Vijko, Wim, Pipasi and Thomas I come to grips with what I have experienced. 21 days of Suriname and French Guiana: how fast is has gone, how intensive is has been, so many impressions. No time for contemplation during the trip. Some e-mails from fellow travellers and also especially the photographs bring back fragments. It being warm and humid continuously pressed itself on a heavy sweater like me. Köppen classified this climate as Af or tropical rain forest climate. The letter A is not an acronym; it is just an indication in the row A,B,C,D, E and H.
Apparently he started his classification in the tropics, thus with A, but he could have begun in the polar areas just as well. To him A implies to the average temperature of the coolest month being above 18 ºC. Although we were not there in the 'coolest' month I did not need the advised sheet for the end of a possible cooler night. The f is an acronym for 'feucht'; to be interpreted as the chance at precipitation in any season. To us travellers this may be translated into the chance at precipitation at any time during our three weeks' tour.
En route to the giant tree in Trésor.
photo Carla van Hoolwerff
Especially Trésor has been very wet. During our visit and also according to the precipitation data. The heavily humid northeasterly tradewind blows against the Kaw ridge and in doing so releases its water load. In some years rainfall amounts to some 8000 mm (yes 8 metres!!!); sometimes rainfall in one month equals rainfall of an entire year in the Netherlands. A fraction of this fell to us while walking the jungle trail.
Unforgettable, this walk. Suddenly one truly realizes the nature of primary tropical forest. The great density of giant trees, the darkness in the forest; the rain at a pleasant temperature too, the sounds and smells. The tropical rain forest of your dreams. Near the road this is not the case. Human influences have made this into secondary forest. But after a couple of dozen yards one notices the transition.
This is the way it should be. By the way it is important that the educational trail has been constructed here. The mountain top forest and the forest on the (gentle) slope are recognizable after having read the excellently written management plan Trésor 2008-2012 (on the website). Through the expert explication of our guides Kévin and Charlotte one experiences biodiversity: the Swallow-tailed Kite, the crabs, the Clusia grandiflorum, the ants' gardens, tree ferns, the lianes, the Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola rupicola, the orange one and not the red one which occurs along the Andes)... the connections, their beautiful ecology, their evolution, the taking advantage of every niche, the being geared to and dependent on one another, the vulnerability of the system as well.
It is just as well that so much effort is put into preserving this area in tact. My adopted square metres turn out to be more than worthwhile. When looking at a real giant tree I secretly hope that it grows on my metres. Although, with its buttresses which are more than man-sized it is really big.
During the boat trip on the Kaq swamp we find an orchid with almost transparent flowers, of which even Vijko did not know the name.
Boating on the Marowijne at dusk.
photos Ad Havermans
Ecologically, geographically Trésor is one with the also protected Kaw swamp. Another a highlight of the tour. An in February entirely flooded flat area: most of the water comes down from the hills (the Kaw ridge and Trésor) surrounding this area.
At any time during the walk there is a chance of a special encounter.
photo Ries de Winter
Birds including the remarkable Hoatzin, caimans, beautiful bromelias in a flooded part of the forest, an orchid with vulnerable green flowers, vegetation adapted to periods with high water levels, the characteristic sound of a group of howler monkeys which passes during the early morning.
It is difficult to indicate the cultural or culinary highlight of the trip, this applies to nature as well. Trésor and Kaw are equal highlights, but we also had the incredible mangroves of Montjoly, the red ibisses in the estuary of the river Sinnimary, the moths and other insects of Patawa, the turtles and the interesting beach of Awala, the savannas of Simili, the agouties and Squirrel monkeys on the Ile Royal (cover photograph), the impressive tour on the Marowijne, the hummingbirds of Cariacou etcetera.
Participating in this tour has been a real privilege!!
Exploring the extended areas of the Trésor Reserve.
Renske Ek
The areas bordering the Trésor Reserve in the north and in south belonged until recently to the state forestry of French Guiana. The Conservatoire de l'Espace Littoral et des Rivages Lacustres (CELRL), the organisation engaged in the protection and management of the coastal areas in French Guiana is in the process of acquiring these areas. An extra area of more than 1500 hectares will then become available for inventory and research. From December 7 through 19 , a preliminary inventory was drawn up to get a first impression of the added value of this extension. Marion Jansen-Jacobs from the former Utrecht Herbarium, Juul van Dam from Blijdorp Zoo (Rotterdam), André van Proosdij from Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam) and Trésor's own foresters Charlotte Briand and Kévin Pineau went on an exploration under supervision of Renske Ek.
You could read a first impression by André Proosdij in the previous edition of Trésor News. Below you may find a rendering of the most important conclusions from the official report1.
The extended areas
The extended areas are situated north and south (actually south-east) of the original Trésor Reserve. In consultation with Kévin and Charlotte we made a selection of the areas we definitely wanted to examine, based on recent radar pictures.
Extension north
We undertook three daytrips in Extension North:
in the higher parts, close to the road, with steep slopes
along an old path of Fourgassié2, up and into the original Trésor Reserve
descending from the road along a creek valley up to the path mentioned under 2.
The types of vegetation and plants found here are pretty much comparable with those found earlier in Trésor. This extension can however be a good buffer for the original reserve with more possibilities to check hunters operating from the Fougassié side. It could also be an additional area to be made accessible for the public.
Extension South
Three daytrips were also undertaken into Extension South (in André van Proosdij's article in TN27 this area was still denoted the Eastern extension).
in the south-eastern part where the mountain ridge is highest;
in the area with the steepest slopes;
the path to 'Dégrad3 Limousin'
Extension South adds a great number of elements:
higher grounds (alt.) with a location of outcropping laterite cap. A new type of vegetation was found here.
very steep slopes and creek valleys, both in the upper courses of Crique Trésor and Crique Couacou.
a large area of swamp forest on sandy ground as found around savannahs
beautiful old Symphonia swamp forest in the area around Crique Trésor
isolated hills with old, highly full-grown forest (termination of daytrip 6)
creek vegetation around Crique Trésor
a. Higher grounds
The highest top of the southern extension is 302 m, within the original area the highest top is 267 m. Almost the entire mountain ridge at this side of the reserve is higher than in the original area.
The following special species were found in the newly found type of vegetation: forest on outcropping laterite cap:
Esenbeckia cowanii (Rutaceae), a protected species in French Guiana and
Bromelia granvillei (Bromeliaceae) another protected species and also a species only known in French Guiana. Both species were already known from the trail to the Kaw caves, where the hard laterite top lies at the surface.
Example of a newly found species Matelea palustris (Asclepiadaceae), which grows on the banks of a branch of Crique Trésor .
Charlotte and Renske considering a flower they found.
The collecting also took place in the reserve.
photo Renske Ek
photos André van Proosdij
Near the new types of vegetation a special kind of Duguetia inconspicua (Annonaceae) was found. This is a rather common species, but this kind had up till now only once been collected, also in the Kaw Mountain, by dr. J.J. de Granville, the former Director of Research at the herbarium of Cayenne.
An initial comparison with the laterite cap at the north side of the mountain ridge, near the trail to the Kaw caves gives reasons to believe that the laterite cap at the north side of the mountain ridge covers a larger area and the vegetation looks drier, with much less humus on the ground.
Question is whether this is the result of the north-south effect, with more rain on the south slope or caused by the position of the laterite cap (geo-morphologic). The existing data on the soils of the Kaw mountains4 are rather indistinct. A thorough map of the soils of the area of the Kaw mountains, preferably in combination with the existing vegetation, is stipulatory in order to be able to properly evaluate the importance of the Trésor Reserve in relation to the preservation of the present vegetation in the area of the Kaw mountains.
b. Steep slopes and creek valleys
An attempt to descend the steepest slopes in the area to the level under the laterite cap failed because of the weather. On arrival the rainy season had not yet begun but there had been a few downpours recently and the slopes were wet and slippery. After some severe slides of Juul van Dam and the undersigned we ceased this attempt and joined the others who were then collecting plants along the trail to Placer Trésor5.
c?f. Road to Dégrad Limousine
The trail to Dégrad Limousin is magnificent and fairly passable. Items c ? f were seen there. Along the trail, close to the savannahs, we came across a large group of capuchins (Cebus olivaceus) and there were many fruits on the forest floor that were gnawed at.
The vegetation gradient from the mountain ridge to the river is rather dense in the original reserve because of the occurrence of wet savannahs. These savannahs only occur in the reserve. Addition of (especially) the southern extension will greatly enhance the representative value of the reserve as far as the types of vegetation on the southern slope of Kaw mountain are concerned.
The savannahs in the reserve
From the recent radar picture it also appeared that there were two more small, open savannahs north of Crique Favard, so one day was spent on visiting the savannah area. The two small savannahs didn't turn out to differ from the other savannahs.
What we know now about the botanic diversity of Trésor
During the field days we always collected plants and made notes of the plants of which we found flowers or fruits on the forest floor. Not many plants were blooming or carrying fruit as we arrived at the very end of the dry season. Nevertheless, we were still able to make 109 collections. 48 of these species were new on the list and 17 did appear on the list but had not yet been officially documented with a dried herbarium sample or a picture.
Increase of the number of familiar species of plants after several inventories. The red line indicates the absolute increase, the blue line the total amount after checking, correcting and clearing.
At this moment 1,140 species of plants have been found in this area. This journey also resulted in a large increase in the number of plant species, despite the fact that we were in the field for only seven days, as compared to more than 20 days for the collecting activities that took place before 2006.
This research resulted in another four extra recommendations for further research. There is still a lot to be discovered in Trésor for the time being!
__________________
1
Ek, R.C., M.J. Jansen-Jacobs, K. Pineau, J.A.C. van Dam, A.S.J. van Proosdij & C. Briand. 2009. The Trésor Reserve, extended version. Internal report, Trésor
Foundation.
Renske Ek (1960)has studied tropical biology in Utrecht. For her final subject she climbed 30 trees in Saül, French Guiana, in 1986 and engaged herself in the vertical division of epiphytes. After having been busy for a number of years with the history of the collecting of plants in Guiana and Surinam within the framework of the Flora of the Guianas, she took out a doctoral degree and researched the effects of commercial wood cut on the composition of the species of Greenheart forest in the Guianas.
She has been self-employed since 2003: Renske Ek Webdesign & Research. info@renske-ek.nl
2
Fourgassié is a hamlet with a restaurant and a few recreational houses, among others.
3
A dégrad is a place in the forest where a road ends at a river.
4
Gibbs, A.K. & C.N. Barron. 1993. The Geology of the Guyana Shield, Oxford
Monographs on geology and geophysics no. 22.
5
Placer Trésor is a small private lodge for eco tourism.
Anne Sandbrink is a Masterstudent Natural Resources Management at the University of Utrecht. She wanted to experience the tropical research and that is why she entered the Amazone area of Bolivia for a practical.
Small trees with high age
Anne Sandbrink
Tropical research in Bolivia
On 1 August 2008 I was in the airplane to Riberalta, situated in the Amazone area in Northeast-Bolivia. Riberalta is a rather big village which consists of both stones and many wooden houses, many dustroads of red sand across which more motors than cars drive many times, small shops, markets, one disco, and about 150 karaoke-café´s.
In this area I would start my first master practical consisting of two and a halve months of fieldwork under the supervision of Claudia Soliz, who takes her doctoral degree at the University of Utrecht. The aim of the journey was to collect wood samples of three tree species which are important for the wood industry in this area: 'Morado' (Peltogyne paniculata), 'Mara Macho' (Cedrelinga catenaeformis) and 'Mururé' (Clarisia racemosa).
We wanted to know if juvenile trees of these species show a reaction in growing speed after large trees nearby have been cut down. Because by the loss of a large neighbour, a lot of light can suddenly become available for the small trees, you would expect that they would react to this by grower faster. To answer this question we would take a look at the tree rings of juvenile trees, which have stood beside the recently cut down trees. And so we moved from Riberalta into Los Indios, a durable tree felling consession of more than 3600 hectare.
Looking for stumps
From left to right are Edmundo (my field assistent), me, Samuel and Chato. Together we were the 'saw-team' and we rushed towards the pica's to saw our marked trees.
We pitched our camp about a seven hour drive away from Riberalta, in the middle of the forest. It consisted of a sort of hut with a roof of dried leaves where we could put our tents underneath and a creek where we could collect water and in which we could wash ourselves and our clothes. We had a cook, Maggie, and two boys whom we called Flaco (the thin) and Chato (the cat) and who armed with machetes chopped paths for us through the forest (pica's) the whole day.
We rose early in the morning and drove by car to the beginning of a pica, where we split up in three or four teams and went looking for suitable sample trees. The first fieldwork period we were with three teams: Claudia, Edwin (a Masterstudent from Riberalta) and me, each with their own fieldassistent. Later on we were reinforced by a fourth team: Albert, Claudia's boyfriend came to help us.
We split up in the daytime and searched for trees of our species from various diametre classes. Our fieldassistents had real eagle eyes to recognize our species, from dozens of meters distance they sometimes recognized a bark or leaf. Because we wanted to know what the influence is of tree felling on our trees, we had to find them at various distances from a large cut down tree. So we had to look for stumps. In the area where we were it was exactly seven years ago that a large number of trees had been cut down, so we thought that it would be no problem to find the stumps. Still sometimes we could walk for hours and only see one. The forest was really beautiful! It is really a unique experience to be able to work this way in a tropical forest, to recognize even more trees, plants and noises of animals.
We have been in the field for the first two periods to select and measure all trees which we wanted to sample, the third and last time we would collect the monsters. From the larger trees we would collect drill cores, which were drilled out by an enormous diesel driven applebore. The small trees we would cut for a complete cross section. This last journey our team was therefore extended with Samuel and his chainsaw, Flaco and Chato were renamed from pica choppers to sample carriers.
Sometimes it works out...
After a week or two we returned from a day's work: with dirty clothes, and a helmet on. We looked forward to a meal, a shower in the river and a night of playing cards, but it turned out differently. Once we arrived we were baffled by the sight of a smoking pile at the place where our tents had stood that morning. An innocent fire which the cook had made to burn waste, had turned into a sea of fire in no time which completely reduced the tents to ashes. Luckily she and her son were unharmed, but all data that we had collected so far were also in a tent! So we had to start all over again. Let's say one always needs some amount of improvisation with this kind of fieldwork, an in the end we had succeeded to collect enough samples. In Riberalta we had the tree slices sawed and sanded and after that we packed them carefully and we took them to the Netherlands in some holdalls.
Counting rings
One of the collected Morado slices, on which all rings have been marked and dated (for every ten year there is a pencil line). This small tree with a diameter of 8 cm is 104 years old!
photo Anne Sandbrink
In Utrecht I have focused my attention to one of the three tree species of which we had collected samples in Bolivia: Morado. This shadow tolerant species has beautiful heavy wood with a purper heart. The use of tree rings in tropical trees has been rather debatable in literature, because many species would produce not one (but sometimes more, less or irregular) rings yearly.
From Morado we know that it produces one ring each year. Under the microscope the rings can be reasonably well distinguished. The corewood is purple and here the rings are much closer together than in the lightlt coloured sapwood. Because the tree sometimes only grows a bit on one side in a year and so only on that side a ring is formed, the tree rings often form some kind of plaiting.
I tried to discover and date all rings as well as possible, and after that measure it precisely. At this way I can map the age and the whole history of growth of the trees. It is incredible how old some small trees appear to be. In three centimetres corewood can be 100 tree rings! My biology heart hurts when I realize I have cut down more than 100 year old trees just like that. I am almost ready now with the measuring of all rings on the slices and drillcores. After that I can compare the ring girths (and so the growing speeds) of the past seven years (after the tree felling) with those before (before the tree felling). I hope to find out whether there was a reaction to the tree felling, and whether this may depend on for example the age or distance to the cut down tree. I am curious.
Message from the rainforest
Forester on maternity leave
Jean-François Szpigel will replace Charlotte
photo Richard Kok
As of March 20, Charlotte Briand will be on maternity leave. A bit sooner than expected, but everything is going well. Jean François Szpigel will be her substitute till she returns. He will assume the responsibilty of all her functions.
He is not unknown in Guiana's social life. At Kwata he participated in the project for the protection of sea turtles. He's from France, settled in French Guiana in 2001 and has since then dedicated himself to the research and preservation of nature. He is a naturalist and open to all discoveries. He prefers monitoring amphibians and reptiles and believes that it's important to involve as many people as possible in environmental conservation.
Happy parents
Trésor baby born!
Our warden Charlotte Briand has given birth to a beautiful daughter on April
24 last. The girl has been named Philipine and everything is fine.
We cordially wish Charlotte and her partner Nyls de Pracontal happiness!
Hans Pfeiffer
photo Foto Natura
Our éminence grise leaves us!
Interview by Aart de Lang
I have known Hans Pfeiffer for more than 15 years. For years he was a board member of the Trésor Foundation, lately he has been an advisor. Recently he also retired from this position. Together with some other nature lovers from the very beginning, among whom were Vijko Lukkien, Frans de Ruiter, Bert van den Wollenberg, Maarten Rook and Hans Amez, Hans and I were the founding fathers of our beloved Trésor-project in 1994. Although Hans is not a man who likes to be in the limelight, he has played, in the background, as a true éminence grise, a very important role in the realisation of our Trésor-project.
I have known Hans Pfeiffer for more than 15 years. For years he was a board member of the Trésor Foundation, lately he has been an advisor. Recently he also retired from this position. Together with some other nature lovers from the very beginning, among whom were Vijko Lukkien, Frans de Ruiter, Bert van den Wollenberg, Maarten Rook and Hans Amez, Hans and I were the founding fathers of our beloved Trésor-project in 1994. Although Hans is not a man who likes to be in the limelight, he has played, in the background, as a true éminence grise, a very important role in the realisation of our Trésor-project.
A holiday with great consequenses
When Hans took early retirement in 1993, one of his wishes was to visit the tropical rainforest in South America. A friend of his drew his attention to French-Guyana, where a Dutchman, Joep Moonen, had started a centre for eco-toerism under the name Emerald Jungle Village. Hans wrote Joep a letter and in March 1993 the time had come. Hans and his wife Martha saw their dream come true during their visit to Joep, his wife Marijke and their son Bernie. During that time Joeps holiday paradise was still really untouched. There was no electricity, no running water. But exactly those 'primitive' circumstances made the visit so unforgettable, so heavenly. And the delight of Hans and Martha was even more increased because Joep turned out to be not only a very aimable host, but also a unique expert on the flora and fauna of the area. Going on a expedition with Joep into the rainforest, was a unique experience. I have also experienced that myself later on.You always felt safe and in good hands. And Joeps love for nature was clearly visible. No wonder that Hans and Martha became close friends with Joep, Marijke and Bernie, a friendship which has lasted to this very day.
Defender of protection
During that holiday Joep introduced Hans to Trésor. Already in 1991 Joep had made attempts to protect the Trésor area against tree felling and other harmful effects. He made contacts with the owner: the Catholic Church in French-Guyana and tried to rouse the interest of authorities like the WWF to buy the area. Without much result. A bit disappointed Joep gave Hans his file on Trésor. Hans saw some opportunities. After all it had been his work at the Ministry of Agriculture to buy nature areas for the government.
Back in the Netherlands he ended up with Vijko Lukkien and Bert van den Wollenberg of the Botanical Garden at the University Utrecht and at the time the support of the BGCI, the Botanic Garden Conservation International. There Hans pleaded for the protection of Trésor, and with success. In 1994 he was sent by the University to French Guyana to write a report on the value of the area and the purchase price. So from 4 till 18 February Hans was back in French-Guyana, now to contact all parties concerned together with Joep. And that were En dat waren er nogal wat; we mention some of them: the mayor of Roura, the prefect, the owner (the Catholic church), the Herbarium (of Jean Jacques de Granville), the DIREN (Ministry of Environment), the ONF (the French Forestry Commission) and Defense (for security advices). With the bishop Hans negotiated on the price, which he reduced from 6 million to 4.8 million french francs.
In the mean time the Trésor Foundation was founded in the Netherlands (with Hans as one of the founding fathers); the first large sponsor amounts of Biohorma, the UNA and the SEP had been received, and the University vouched for the repayment. So in 1995 Hans went to French Guyana again, this time to really close the deal. The act was executed on 23 January 1995.
On the management
Not long after this Hans wrote about the management: 'The vegetation needs no management at all. Security will not be necessary for the time being, Trésor has never been guarded. For the moment no single path needs to be cut down. As a shelter for research and study the erecting of a simple accommodation could be considered. As long as it has a limited size this is allowed here. Drinking-water comes down in abundance, the ancient rain barrel works fine here, I have lived on it for weeks.'
Some time later Hans wrote the first real management plan, which has now found succession in the bulky, 145 pages in all Management plan 2008-2012.
With the management of the area Hans worked closely together with Joep Moonen who at that time was working as a keeper and has done an incredible lot of work for us. Besides the border security Joep reported on all peculiarities that he saw from animals and plants. Spectacular was also the layout of the trail which Joep accomplished together with Alain Menseau and the help of essential voluntary aid. Imaging having to mark out in such a hilly area such a route and then also cut down this trail over a distance of about 1400 meters and make it also accessible for the less steady legged visitor! The crown on the work was the building of our first receiving carbet, later unfortunately destroyed by fire and in the mean time replaced by a somewhat smaller wooden visitor's reception building. From here children from the primary schools in the neighbourhood can get acquainted with the tropical rainforest via the trail.
An inheritance of some stature
When I ask Hans what has given him the most satisfaction of this large project, he mentions in particular the impuls our initiative has given. As first 'Réserve Naturelle Volontaire' our Trésor-project has initiated the purpose of much larger areas in French-Guyana to National or Regional Nature reserve. Started with a modest 2400 hectare, by now our area has grown to a reserve of more than 4000 hectare and in the mean time more than a million hectare tropical rainforest has been protected in French-Guyana. And this we owe for the bigger part to the commitment of our éminence grise, Hans Pfeiffer. Really an inheritance of some stature! We hope that Hans and Martha can look back on this accomplishment for many years in good health and with feelings of satisfaction and gratitude.
Thanks to volunteers like Hans, who commit themselves with heart and soul to nature, Trésor can exist. Do you also want to contribute something? There is always a lot to do. Mail or write us with a suggestion what you would like to do. Your contribution is highly appreciated.
Vijko Lukkien presents the recently finished Dutch version of the management plan to Hans Pfeiffer. The first management plan, made by Hans more than ten years ago, consisted of three pages. Now it has increased to 145 pages.
The chairman of the Trésor Foundation, Lodewijk de Geer, in between Hans and Martha Pfeiffer during the meeting on the occasion of the leaving of Hans as the Foundation's advisor.
