Central Suriname Nature Reserve

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Central Suriname Nature Reserve
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Amazon jungle from above.jpg
View from the Voltzberg in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve
Location Sipaliwini District, Suriname
Criteria Natural: (ix), (x)
Reference 1017
Inscription2000 (24th Session)
Area1,600,000 ha (4,000,000 acres)
Website https://www.protectedplanet.net/central-suriname-nature-reserve-world-heritage-site
Coordinates 4°0′N56°30′W / 4.000°N 56.500°W / 4.000; -56.500
Suriname relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Central Suriname Nature Reserve in Suriname

The Central Suriname Nature Reserve (Dutch : Centraal Suriname Natuurreservaat (CSNR)) is a conservation unit in Suriname. It preserves an area of tropical rainforest. The reserve is in pristine condition. [1]

Contents

History

The Central Suriname Nature Reserve was created in 1998 by Conservation International and the government of Suriname from the fusion of three existing nature reserves: Ralleighvallen, Tafelberg and Eilerts de Haan gebergte. [2] It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for its pristine tropical rainforest ecosystem.

The forest received material support from Microsoft co-founder Jeff Harbers.

Environment

The reserve is in the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. [3] It contains 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) of both montane and lowland primary tropical forest including sections of the Guyana Highlands.

It is known for its rapids and bird species, including the Guiana Cock of the Rock ( Rupicola rupicola ). [4] Over 5,000 different plants have been identified, and large mammals like the jaguar, giant armadillo, and eight species of primates. [1] A research station is located at the foot of Voltzberg and the area is tourist attraction. [4]

Some of the most outstanding features in Central Suriname Nature Reserve are several granite domes – uplifted monoliths of granite rising high above the surrounding rainforest. Barren surface of dark-colored granite is exposed to impact of Sun thus creating unique xerophytic biotope which includes also endemic plant species. The best known granite dome is the 245 m high Voltzberg. [5]

Other attractions include the Julianatop (1,230 m), the highest mountain in Suriname, the Tafelberg (Table Mountain, 1,026 meters), the Hendriktop (908 m), the Van Stockumberg (360 m), and Duivelsei (Devil's Egg), a rock seemingly balanced on the edge of a mountain. [6]

Morning fog at Fungu Island, Suriname jungle, primary rain forest Morning fog (2719242329).jpg
Morning fog at Fungu Island, Suriname jungle, primary rain forest

The Eilerts de Haan Mountains are named for Johannes Gijsbert Willem Jacobus Eilerts de Haan, an explorer who died in Suriname's interior. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suriname</span> Country in South America

Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, and Brazil to the south. At approximately 163,820 square kilometers, it is the smallest country in South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guiana Shield</span> Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America

The Guiana Shield is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most well-known waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls and Cuquenan Falls.

The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests</span> Habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sipaliwini District</span> District of Suriname

Sipaliwini is the largest district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbet Mountains</span>

The Carbet Mountains are a massif of volcanic origin on the Caribbean island of Martinique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iwokrama Forest</span> Forest in Guyana

The Iwokrama Forest is a 3,716 square kilometres (1,435 sq mi) nature reserve of central Guyana located in the heart of the Guiana Shield, one of the four last pristine tropical forests in the world. It represents an important transition zone in rainfall, landforms, human histories and biological communities.

The Wilhelminagebergte is a mountain range in the district of Sipaliwini in central Suriname. It extends about 113 km (70 mi) from west to east. It is named after Queen Wilhelmina. The Wilhelminagebergte is part of the Tumucumaque Uplands of the Guiana Shield. It belongs to the very ancient (Precambrian) Guiana Highlands. Most of it is in the Central Suriname Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan cock-of-the-rock</span> Species of bird

The Guianan cock-of-the-rock is a species of cotinga, a passerine bird from South America. It is about 30 cm (12 in) in length and weighs about 200 to 220 g. It is found in tropical rainforests, near its preferred habitat of rocky outcrops. The female's plumage is brownish/dark smokey grey in colour, and generally less noticeable than the males because of their nesting work in rocky areas. The male's feathers are a bright orange. Both have a heavy body, broad-based bill and wear a remarkable half-moon crest on the head. It is one of two species of the genus Rupicola, the other being the Andean cock-of-the-rock. The Guianan cock-of-the-rock lives across the forested region of northeastern South America. Its diet consists mostly of fruit, but they sometimes feast on small snakes and lizards.

The Eilerts de Haan Mountains are a mountain range in Sipaliwini District, Suriname. It is a southern part of Wilhelmina Mountains and is maximum 986 m high. The mountain range is part of the Central Suriname Nature Reserve.

The Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, near the city of Tefé, is a 4,300-square-mile (11,000 km2) reserve near the village of Boca do Mamirauá. It includes mostly Amazonian flooded forest and wetlands. The ribeirinhos are native to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raleigh Airstrip</span> Airport

Raleigh Vallen Airstrip is an airstrip serving the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Suriname. The runway is on Fungu Tabiki, an island in the Coppename River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiribiquete National Park</span> National park in Colombia

Chiribiquete National Natural Park is the largest national park in Colombia and the largest tropical rainforest national park in the world. It was established on 21 September 1989 and has been expanded twice, first in August 2013 and then in July 2018. The park occupies about 43,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) and includes the Serranía de Chiribiquete mountains and the surrounding lowlands, which are covered by tropical moist forests, savannas and rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brownsberg Nature Park</span>

Brownsberg Nature Park is a nature park located in Suriname. The site measures 12,000 ha and is located in the district of Brokopondo around 130 km south from the capital city Paramaribo. The 500-meter high Brownsberg is the central point of the park. The site is located near the Brokopondo Reservoir. The park is managed by STINASU. Often the people of Suriname use the word Brownsberg as simple variant of Brownsberg Nature Park. Local people also write it as Bruijnsberg, pronounced as Braynsberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon biome</span> Ecological region of South America

The Amazon biome contains the Amazon rainforest, an area of tropical rainforest, and other ecoregions that cover most of the Amazon basin and some adjacent areas to the north and east. The biome contains blackwater and whitewater flooded forest, lowland and montane terra firma forest, bamboo and palm forest, savanna, sandy heath and alpine tundra. Some areas of the biome are threatened by deforestation for timber and to make way for pasture or soybean plantations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan savanna</span>

The Guianan savanna (NT0707) is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname and the north of Brazil. It is in the Amazon biome. The savanna covers an area of rolling upland plains on the Guiana Shield between the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It includes forested areas, but these are shrinking steadily due to the effect of frequent fires, either accidental or deliberate. The ecoregion includes the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan Highlands moist forests</span> Type of plant habitat

The Guayanan Highlands moist forests (NT0124) is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela and the north of Brazil and in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. It is in the Amazon biome. It encompasses an upland region with diverse fauna and flora, which contains dramatic tepuis, or sandstone table mountains. The region has been inaccessible in the past and is generally fairly intact, apart from the north and northeast where large scale agriculture, ranching and mining operations are steadily encroaching on the ecosystem. New roads are opening the interior to logging, and planned dams will have a drastic impact on the riparian zones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan moist forests</span>

The Guianan moist forests (NT0125) is an ecoregion in the east of Venezuela, north of Brazil and the Guyanas. It is in the Amazon biome. The climate is hot and humid, with two rainy seasons each year. As of 1996 the tropical rainforest habitat was relatively intact, although there were mounting threats from illegal logging and gold mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon–Orinoco–Southern Caribbean mangroves</span>

The Amazon–Orinoco–Southern Caribbean mangroves (NT1401) is an ecoregion along the coasts of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil.

References

  1. 1 2 "Central Suriname Nature Reserve". Unesco.org. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  2. "Central Suriname Nature Reserve". Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  3. "Guianan moist forests", Global Species, Myers Enterprises II, archived from the original on 2017-03-17, retrieved 2017-04-03
  4. 1 2 Nature Reserve of Suriname Archived 2016-04-18 at the Wayback Machine Visit Suriname
  5. "Voltzberg - granite dome in tropical forest". Wondermondo. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  6. "Hoogtelijn nummer 3 juni 2011". issuu. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. Albert Helman (1980). Het eind van de kaart (in Dutch). Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers. p. 38. ISBN   902951907X.