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Microland strengthens entomological knowledge of the biodiversity archipelago
The new Microland team, led by Gérard Filippi and in partnership with Opie, has organised a second mission to inspect the insects living in the remains of primary forests, located on both volcanic islands. From October 21 to November 5, scientific experts flew to the archipelago to perpetuate the objectives and commitments established with local populations since February 2019.
A new route, a new team, new goals
Microland and Opie have assembled a team of six entomologists including an expert in bats, for this second scientific expedition particularly focused on insects.
Insects are the first ring in the food chain and represent 80% of the world's biomass. Unfortunately, they are today largely threatened by human actions.
The authenticity and richness of these mysterious volcanic islands are full of endemic species, but also new for science, that we must imperatively preserve. The scientific journey was shared in three stages between both the islands of Sao Tomé and Principe, to fulfil the objectives studying almost intact primary forests' vestiges.
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First stage: the centre of the Obô Park, called “Bom Sucesso”. It is a strategic point of convergence between the Pico de São Tomé and Príncipe, Lago Amelia and Monte Café.
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Second stage: the island of Principe, in the southern region of “Infante Roca” to then join a primary forest in the sector of “Azeitona” in the north, old abandoned rock and therefore little explored.
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Third and last step: the island of São Tomé, then the savannah ecosystems in the South and Southeast. To do this, the team of entomologists first went to the village of Jalé and its Ecolodge. The choice of this place represents a point of transition before more distant natural environments, close to large mangroves rich in biodiversity. Then they will return to the west coast to go up to “Praia xixi”. Their objective will be to reach “Cao Pequeno” on foot, where vestiges of primary forests are still present.
“The future of biodiversity is a global issue. The equation is simple, we need to enrich our knowledge of the living species around us to implement these sustainable solutions adapted to today's environment. I picture a rustling butterfly wing on the other side of the planet, which can affect our ecosystems. Global warming carries its share of upheavals. So we can't protect what we don't know. ”
- Gérard Filippi, President and Founder of Microland, entomologist and naturalist expert.
Microland's actions tend to achieve its commitment to the country through direct contact with the ministry and the local consul.
To do this, the association holds the agreement of the Nagoya Protocol, which is closely linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Microland undertakes to maintain:
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Conservation of biological diversity
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Sustainable use of its components
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The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.
Thanks to the Nagoya protocol, the association was able to fulfil other objectives, such as:
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A duplicate collection for São Tomé / Bon Successo as well as for the Ministry of Agriculture
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The formulation of a biodiversity charter, previously developed with OPIE and its international group of experts,
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Microland agreed to place itself as one of the main supports of local biodiversity's preservation while meeting the country's expectations.
The mysterious jungle of São Tomé. Credit: Association Microland
October 2019, “Archipelago's Biodiversity, the São Tomé and Príncipe Project”. Meet the new team.
We are a team of enthusiasts. Committed to the study and conservation of biodiversity, we put our knowledge and skills at the service of the São Tomé and Príncipe Project, "Biodiversity Archipelago". Come and meet us!
GÉRARD FILIPPI
"Getting to know better the species that surround us is an infinite task, filled with wonder and compassion for life. Sharing this curiosity with a wider community is also giving a message of hope on the fragility of the living world around us. "
Entomologist, mission coordinator, Founder and President of NGO Microland, Gérard Filippi is a passionate autodidact for 40 years and travelled all over the world. He has also created several educational exhibitions telling the planet and biodiversity story. He hosts numerous conferences and radio chronicles. In 2009 he created a naturalist expertise firm Ecotonia, then recently Inveo, a research company which implements scientific management protocols for sensitive flora and fauna in partnership with the MNHN and the CNRS of Montpellier. Finally, he supervises Microland's scientific expeditions and will be in charge of entomological inventories.
ANDRÉ PROST
"The islands are isolates where evolved a protected fauna of invasive species and genetic recombinations. In this sense, it has a singularity which must be defined before the competition does not impoverish it or make it disappear. The entomologist in this frame is similar to the astronomer who tracks at the bottom of the celestial vault the first jolts of the universe. "
André Prost is a parasitologist, graduated in epidemiology from the Institut Pasteur. For 12 years, from 1969 to 1981, Dr Prost worked in West Africa, first as a sector head doctor in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) then throughout West Africa as responsible for the evaluation of the International Onchocerciasis Control Program. Former Director of WHO in charge of Relations with Governments and the Private Sector, he was from 2007 to 2013 member of the Board of Governors of the GAVI Fund, which finances the operations of the Global Fund for Vaccines in disadvantaged countries.
Specialist in the field, he served as a rural doctor for the Ministry of Health of the Upper Volta and then carried out numerous epidemiological assessments around the world. In the Health Department of the World Bank in Washington, from 1981 to 1985, he was responsible for operations in China and worked in Thailand and Ghana. He taught at the Master of Epidemiology in Paris VI, in the Humanitarian Education Program of the University of Geneva as well as in the Course in Ophthalmology of Public Health in Rabat, Morocco. He was also a member of the National Research Coordination Committee for Development at the French Ministry of Research. Amateur entomologist since adolescence, he practised collections and research on the fringes of his professional activities. He specialized in the study of African neurotropic, a little inventoried group, but also published notes on praying mantis, Saturniid heterocercal, or even West African scorpions, and collaborated in several works of parasitic entomology. He is currently secretary of the International Association of Neuropterologists. He was called in by the Russian Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg to reassess his collection of African neurotics and more recently identified Nigerian collections at the Museum of Natural History in Sofia, Bulgaria.
PATRICK BONNEAU
“The world of insects represents a wealth generally unsuspected because the number of species of insects is greater than the sum of the species of all other living things. It is estimated to know little more than half of them. There is still a lot to discover, especially since it is currently disappearing more than the number we describe every day. ”
Self-taught entomologist, he studies the Beetles of France and begins to specialise in the family Tenebrionidae before entrusting them to two young researchers who have since become our greatest specialists in this family worldwide.
Currently interested in African Cerambycidae, specifically the fauna of Madagascar, from where he described a new species for science.
In 1980, he brought together amateurs in the OPIE-Provence group, a local branch of the national OPIE (Office For Insects and their Environment), which would later become the association OPIE-Provence / Alpes-du-Sud.
His technical training also guided him towards the understanding of all instruments for entomology (except optics) as well as the study of trapping systems and breeding equipment.
ODILE FRANK
"The question is to know if the history of this era will one day be told by the human being, that the effort of our species to save the fauna and the flora of its planet will, therefore, have been recognised and that the terrestrial depredation will have been voluntarily stopped by him successfully, where if our descendants will have disappeared leaving only archaeological and bio topic traces of the transformation of an exhausted planet, which will be discovered - or not by a conscious observing entity, produced by another molecule of life than DNA, or recycled DNA, having emerged here or coming from elsewhere. In current debates, it is human behaviour that interests me. Can we bet on homo sapiens sapiens? "
Odile Frank is a scientific specialist, a doctor in public health as well as in cognitive psychology from Harvard University who has long experience in the field and in demographic and health policy research in Africa. She has conducted surveys in West Africa on infant mortality and published numerous researches on reproductive health in the African context. Dr Frank has been responsible for the WHO global cause of death database by country; she worked at the Population Council of New York, at the OECD in Paris, was Director of Social Integration in the Social Development Division at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York, and finally led global policy research on workers' rights in the context of the HIV and AIDS epidemics at the International Labor Organisation.
CÉDRIC CAUQUIL
"It is essential to observe and try to understand the nature around us to make our communities aware of the respect and protection of this biodiversity, both in terms of biocenosis and in terms of biotopes."
It is since his first stick insect's discovery in the family garden that Cédric Cauquil has been fascinated by the insects' life observation and its understanding, especially through their breeding. Cédric was then ten years old. Self-taught entomologist, Cédric holds a BTS in Agriculture. For the past ten years, he and his partner have been developing cultural practices and techniques on a 24-hectare farm to reconcile agriculture, respect and protection of the environment. Founder of the association Mimétisme, which raises awareness of the world of Arthropods and more particularly insects. Finally, he hosts an entomological conservatory bringing together several species of tropical stick insects.
GABRIEL NÈVE
“You can only protect what you know. The description of insects is a first step towards preserving their populations by protecting their habitats. In São Tomé, there are many species present, but what proportion of them exist only on these islands? What are the richest habitats? Here are some of the questions we will try to answer. ”
Gabriel Nève is a lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille, where his work highlights the diversity of species in different habitats. In São Tomé, it focuses on the Diptera and more particularly on the Syrphidae which are important pollinators, predators of other insects, or decomposers.
CAMILLE FILIPPI
"We all have to invest in one way or another in the preservation of our planet. Supporting meaningful projects thanks to communication strategies adapted to the environmental cause is what excites me today. "
With a Master in Media Strategy and Advertising (ISCPA Paris), Camille turned to press relations for a few years between Paris, London and now Melbourne. Passionate and intrigued since always by nature, she specialized in the environmental cause, through various projects promoting responsible architecture, or ensuring the reputation of an animal park specialized in the preservation of Australian species on the way of disappearance. With a spirit that is both creative and strategic and endowed with great perseverance, Camille is now in charge of Communication and Press Relations for Microland, Ecotonia and Inveo.