Brownsberg Nature Park is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected natural area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscape ...

located in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

. The site measures 12,000 ha and is located in the district of

Brokopondo Brokopondo is the capital town of the Brokopondo District, Suriname. It is located on the west shore of the Suriname river, just north of the Afobaka dam. Brokopondo can be reached via the Afobakaweg from Paranam to Afobaka. Nearby is a granite m ...

around 130 km south from the capital city

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's po ...

. The 500 meter high Brownsberg is the central point of the park. The site is located near the

Brokopondo Reservoir The Brokopondo Reservoir, officially named Professor Doctor Ingenieur W. J. van Blommestein Meer, and also called the Brokopondostuwmeer, is a large reservoir in Suriname. It is named after the Surakarta-born Dutch hydrological engineer Wille ...

. 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''.

History

At the end of the 19th century gold miners entered the area now known as Brownsberg Nature Park. One of the first was John Brown after whom both the park as well as the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

(''berg'' meaning mountain in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) are named. After the miners left there was a failed attempt to mine

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

. Since 1969 the site has been a nature reserve and has been managed by STINASU. Gold mining is known to have occurred again since 1999. Action against the illegal miners was taken periodically, but high gold prices have led them to return.

Geography

The geomorphological history of the area led to the current biodiversity of the park. It also left the gold deposits. The Brownsberg, located on the Mazaroni plateau, overlooks the

Flora and fauna

The park is in the Guianan moist forests ecoregion. It has an estimated 1450 species of plants and 350 species of birds. Amongst the species present are

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atele ...

s, grey-winged trumpeters,

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five g ...

s and red-rumped agoutis.

Threats

In 2012 the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...

published a report on the nature park which stated that it was severely threatened by illegal

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, ...

. The organisation found fifty illegal sites of gold miners in three weeks. The number of illegal gold miners was estimated between 1500 and 2000 in the immediate years preceding 2012 by the head of the committee of Gold Mining Regulation. The number has risen due to higher gold prices. Mercury also attained the soil of the park.

Tourism

The park receives around 20,000 visitors each year. Near the mountain there are several sleeping accommodations, an information center and restaurant. Starting at the mountain there are several paths leading to waterfalls and other waters.

References

Bibliography

* {{Nature reserves of Suriname Nature reserves in Suriname Brokopondo District Protected areas established in 1969 Tourist attractions in Suriname