The Trésor Regional Nature Reserve (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Réserve naturelle régionale Trésor'') is a regional

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

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

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The reserve is adjacent to the national

Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve The Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve ( French: ''Réserve naturelle nationale des marais de Kaw-Roura'') is a nature reserve in French Guiana, France. The reserve is a wetland, and can only be accessed by boat from Kaw. Overview The Kaw-Roura ...

on the flank of the

Kaw Mountain The Kaw Mountain is a 337 metres high mountain in the commune of Roura in French Guiana, France. It is a narrow tepui with a laterite top. Overview Kaw Mountain is covered in rainforest and is part of the northern range of the Guiana Shield. The ...

. The reserve is located about 20 kilometres from

Roura Roura is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city of Roura is bordered by Matoury and Montsinéry-Tonnegrande in the North, Kourou and Saint-Elie in the North West and West, and ...

Overview

The Trésor Regional Nature Reserve contains a variety of ecosystems ranging from mountain forest, marsh forest to savannah. The high mountain. is an obstacle to the

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

leading to a very high humidity resulting in an abundance of plant- and animal life. Over 1,100 plant species have identified as well as 101 mammals and 70 reptiles. A great number of butterflies can be seen in the reserve. Small forest areas at the base are home to rare and endemic plants like '' Vochysia neyratii'' and '' Astrocaryum rodreguiseii''. In 2006,

Cambior Cambior Inc. was a Canadian based international gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in the Americas. Cambior's shares traded on the Toronto (TSX) and American (AMEX) stock exchanges under the symbol "CBJ" ...

was active in the region with a controversial

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

project. The clearing of 30 km² of

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

near camp Caïman triggered protests from environmental agencies and the

Palikur The Palikur are an indigenous people located in the riverine areas of the Brazilian state of Amapá and in French Guiana, particularly in the south-eastern border region, on the north bank of the Oyapock River. The Palikur Nation, or ''naoné'', ...

Amerindians. On 30 January 2008, the President of France cancelled the project. On 12 February 2010, the

General Council of French Guiana The General Council of French Guiana ( French: ''Conseil général de la Guyane'') was the deliberative executive assembly of the French Department of French Guiana. (French Guiana was also a French region, with a Regional Council, the Regional C ...

voted to protect the mountain and surrounding area as a regional nature reserve.

References

External links

Official website
(in French) * {{authority control Environment of French Guiana Protected areas of French Guiana Roura