the wo nder fu l wor l d o f Suri name Dear readers, It is quite an honour for me, as a foreign guest to write about my recent Suriname adventures, great passion for nature and nature photography. in this 10th edition of the I love Suriname Magazine. From my 昀椀rst trip to the tropics in 1977, I have been touched by the enormous diversity of 昀氀ora and fauna you can 昀椀nd in the forests. Besides my love for travelling, this started my passion for nature photography. Since childhood, I was drawn to everything nature had to o昀昀er in my surroundings. As a toddler, I went with my father to his vegetable garden to search for small animals. I live(d) in the Netherlands, so I had nothing to fear from dangerous animals. At the age of eight, I got my 昀椀rst camera with which I started capturing nature in my native region. During summer holidays, I travelled with my parents through southern Europe where I marvelled at an even greater variety of insects and reptiles. In the Netherlands, after studying forestry, agricultural engineering and nature management, I went to work for the Dutch Forestry Commission. There I worked until my retirement in 2021, as a forester ecologist surrounded by plants and wildlife in the nature reserves of south-eastern Netherlands. The archipelago of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal (India) was my 昀椀rst introduction to tropical forest. There for the 昀椀rst time I saw white coral beaches with overhanging palm trees and behind them dense impenetrable jungle, where until then, hardly any Westerners had set foot. Colourful coral reefs, where you swam among unreal coloured 昀椀sh while snorkelling, left a deep impression on me. This was followed by Indonesia, Papua, Thailand, Madagascar, even more India, and West Africa. In South America, I travelled through Ecuador, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. In early 2020, I visited Suriname for the 昀椀rst time, immediately followed by 3 more visits in the following years. I immediately fell in love with the country. Of course, this could not be otherwise in a country that consists of more than 80 per cent undisturbed tropical forest and has an unparalleled rich nature. I wish the reader of ILSUM much reading and viewing pleasure while reading about my adventures in Suriname and hope it encourages others to take up the adventure themselves and be amazed by Suriname’s tropical beauty. Jap Smits I su magazine su magazine 5 5 Wi l d l i f e of Sur i name F O R E WO R D Foto: Dick Lock
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