Flora and fauna assessment of the Tafelberg Research Paper

Research Papers / Tue, 02/28/2023 - 16:40

The Tafelberg is included in a protected area since 1966: the Tafelberg Nature Reserve.
In 1998 this nature reserve became part of the much larger Central Suriname Nature
Reserve (CSNR), which is also a World Heritage Site. Because of the inaccessibility of
the mountain, only few expeditions have visited the area (Tab. 1). Most expeditions were
botanical, only the 1979 expedition by Hoogmoed concentrated on zoology. However,
this expedition partly failed because of the dry circumstances on the mountain (the rainy
season started late). Consequently, we hardly know anything of the fauna of Tafelberg.
The establishment of the Central Suriname Nature Reserve and its selection as World
Heritage Site make it necessary to improve management of the area. In the mean time
also accessibility of the Tafelberg has improved by the use of helicopters. As a
consequence, more tourists and others are visiting the area, thereby increasing the
pressure on an area which vulnerability is hardly known.
In order to improve our knowledge on the flora, fauna and ecosystems of the Tafelberg
the National Zoological Collection (NZCS) and the National Herbarium (BBS) planned
two expeditions to the area. These expeditions are financially supported by the Suriname
Conservation Foundation. The first expedition was carried out between 10 and 28 June
2003, the second, after some delays, between 23 March and 7 April 2005.
This report on both surveys, although the final report, is preliminary, because insufficient
finances are present in this project to arrive at complete identification of all organisms.