The Lucifer Dékou-Dékou Biological Reserve ( French: ''Réserve biologique intégrale de Lucifer Dékou Dékou'') is a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The reserve is located in the communes of

Apatou Apatou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Apatou is home to Maroons of the Aluku, Paramacca, Ndyuka, and Saramaka tribes. History The town of Apatou was founded in 1882 as Moutendé ...

and

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...

. It is the largest wilderness area of France, and consists of two separate parts, two mountain ranges covered in tropical rainforest; to the north are the Lucifer Mountains, to the south are the . Controversially, the Montagne d'Or mine, the biggest mining project in France, is located in between the two ranges.

Overview

The Dékou-Dékou Mountains form an east–west ridge consisting of two plateaus separated by a little hill. The mountains rises to . The northern side is a moderate slope with numerous

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. The wilderness area is home to a great variety of birds. 272 species have been identified and include the

golden-olive woodpecker The golden-olive woodpecker (''Colaptes rubiginosus'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south and east through Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, Par ...

, the

white bellbird The white bellbird (''Procnias albus'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. The specific epithet is often spelled ''alba'', but ''albus'' is correct due to the masculine gender of "''Procnias''". It is found in forests in the Guianas, ...

and the

blue-backed tanager The blue-backed tanager (''Cyanicterus cyanicterus'') is a species of South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Cyanicterus''. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venez ...

. Two endemic species to the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

are the sharpbill and the

sooty-headed tyrannulet The sooty-headed tyrannulet (''Phyllomyias griseiceps'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest ...

. On 27 July 2012, Lucifer Dékou-Dékou became a protected area.

Gold mining

Gold mining in the area started in 1875 when Paul Isnard discovered gold. Between 1996 and 1999, Columbus Gold, as of 2020 known as Orea Mining Corporation, started to explore the area. Montagne d'Or mine, a massive gold mining project covering was developed, and is the biggest mining project in France. The project is considered controversial, and has resulted in protests by environmental groups. Emmanuel Macron distanced himself from the project in 2019, however the battle has moved to the courts, and is as of February 2021 ongoing. The debate about whether the project can continue, has attracted '' garimpeiros'', illegal gold miners, to the area.

References

{{authority control Apatou Environment of French Guiana Protected areas established in 2012 Protected areas of French Guiana Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Wilderness areas

Overview

Gold mining

See also

References