Kwamalasamutu Expedition

The Kwamalasamutu expedition, an initiative of CI's long-standing Rapid Assessment Program (RAP), was a three-week survey to explore three remote sites along the Kutari and Sipaliwini Rivers near the village of Kwamalasumutu from August to September 2010.

The purpose of this RAP survey was to establish a baseline of information for local ecotourism and future monitoring efforts, focusing on Werehpai and the surrounding region. We also sought to gather information on plant and animal species important to the Trio people, and provide recommendations for sustainable harvest and management practices.

The overall goal was to bring together the knowledge and expertise of local people with scientific knowledge to study and plan for monitoring of biological and cultural resources of the Kwamalasamutu region.

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© CI/illustration by Heather Woodruff

	IN PHOTOS: Kwamalasamutu, Suriname: Ecotourism Paradise View a gallery of some of this region's most amazing attractions and discoveries.
	VIDEO: Kwamalasamutu, Suriname Expedition RAP experts discuss their findings during the three-week survey of southwest Suriname.
	OVERVIEW OF THE EXPEDITION Learn the how, what, where and why for this Rapid Assessment Program expedition.
	MEET THE TEAM A large team of scientists and supporters made this expedition possible.
	MAPS AND FACTS Learn more about the explored region.

Major Results

• Preliminary number of (morpho) species found in each group
  (number of new or possibly new species in parentheses):

  • Plants: 240
  • Ants: 100
  • Aquatic Beetles: 144 (16-26)
  • Dung Beetles: 94 (10-14)
  • Katydids and Grasshoppers: 78 (7)
  • Dragonflies and Damselflies: 94 (4)
  • Fishes: 99 (8)
  • Reptiles and Amphibians: 78 (1)
  • Birds: 327
  • Small Mammals: 38
  • Medium/Large Mammals: 29

  = 1,321 species, 46-60 new to science

• New distributional records for Suriname from most taxonomic groups

  • Plants: 8
  • Aquatic Beetles: 45
  • Dung Beetles: 5
  • Dragonflies and Damselflies: 14
  • Katydids and Grasshoppers: 29
  • Fishes: 2
  • Reptiles and Amphibians: 2
  • Birds: 4
  • Small Mammals: 2



• 15 species of plants and animals listed on IUCN Red List