French Guiana is the smallest of the three Guianas but it also has the same rich biodiversity, the same remote and forested interior (Table 1). It also shares the same problems of encroaching pressures: In 1988, 97% of the country was forested of which almost 200,000 ha was under logging concession and 110,000 m_ of timber was being harvested per year (Reichart, H. A., et. al., 1997). This timber harvesting has decreased: only 54,000 m_ was harvested in 1997 (Association Kwata, pers. comm., 2001). Further, like its two neighbors, the threat of gold mining and its attendant pollution looms large in the south, far from the arm of the law in Cayenne.

Legal Framework and Hunting Regulations

French Guiana, unlike Suriname and Guyana, is not an independent country but an overseas department of France ­ a piece of France located in South America. As such it does not have a separate legal framework but comes under French and European Union jurisdiction and law enforcement.

France has been a party to CITES since August 9, 1978 and as a founding member of the European Union comes also under its CITES legal framework.

International commerce in endangered species is covered by the law of 1986 and the amended law of 1 March 1993 and applies only to French Guiana. This decree, for all intents and purposes, forbids the capture, killing, holding, export, transit, import, sale or resale of all wild vertebrate fauna and wild flora occurring in French Guiana, including their parts and derivatives. Further, sympatric species (CITES or non-CITES) that also occur in Guyana and/or Suriname, or indeed any Guyanese species held in captivity in any other country, would not be allowed into France even with an export permit from its country of origin or re-export. Therefore, theoretically, there is no legal wildlife export trade of any kind from French Guiana (with a few exceptions for preserved Arachnids and Morpho butterflies exported in small quantities for personal use). There is no legal internal pet trade of any kind either (1982 regulations and 1983 amendments.)

Wildlife species are divided into one of the following categories: 1) Totally protected ­ the majority, 2) May be hunted, 3) Forbidden in trade, and 4) Open to local but not export trade. These last three categories list the species that may or may not be hunted or traded.

The few species that may be hunted for personal use or sold commercially by licensed restaurants that must keep detailed bush meat records subject to inspection (8 mammal, 3 bird, 1 reptile species - see table below) under the decree of 1995. It must be noted that French Guiana is the only French department that does not require hunting permits, this being in consideration of the ancestral hunting rights of the Amerindians and Maroons of the interior.

The law of 1986 prohibits the sale of stuffed specimens or their derivatives, with the exception of some species (like piranhas or Bufo toads) that may be sold locally but not exported. It is under this regulation that sea turtles, sea turtle eggs, and Black caimans (including eggs) may not be collected or sold. Further, all sea turtles are also protected under the law of 1991(including accidental mutilation, capture, egg collecting and sale of meat). Marine mammals (whales, dolphins and manatees) are completely protected under the law of 1995.

Enforcement and record keeping

There are no hunting licenses and there is no closed hunting season in French Guiana. Hunting bag limits were set in 1975 but include, for instance, 2 tapirs per hunter per outing, a species that may be then sold in licensed bushmeat restaurants. The tapir has decreased dramatically from the coastal region. However, with only three enforcement officers, hunting remains under-regulated on the coast and unregulated in the interior. The road system of French Guiana is much better than that in Suriname. Further, the last 18 km of the eastern end of the highway, linking French Guiana to Brazil, will be completed by the end of 2002, giving hunters better access to the interior along the many dirt tracks radiating from it.

Implementation of the game laws was weak until 1993 when the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage known as the ONC (Hunting and Wildlife Management Office) opened an office in Cayenne. Now controls are made along the roads of the well-populated coastal zone and in restaurants. Illegal bush meat is seized and destroyed while live animals, usually pet parrots or monkeys, are transferred to a holding facility, treated if necessary and released. As a result, it is now uncommon to see illegal pets or smuggled bush meat in markets or for sale in unauthorized restaurants in the cities. However, there are few wildlife inspectors patrolling a large area

Hunting pressure

The ONC chief Wildlife Manager confided that the present wildlife management and open hunting season regulations, in particular, were not compatible with the long-term sustainable use of some species like the tapir and the Howler monkey. He thinks that hunting regulations and bag limits should be updated and amended. This is also the opinion of conservation organizations such as l'Association Kwata based on field surveys conducted over the last three years.

It is reported that caimans from the Coesewijne River in northeastern Suriname are shot for their meat and are destined for the restaurants of French Guiana (where its sale as bushmeat is forbidden). We heard this claim on many occasions ­ in fact bush meat of all kinds is said to be smuggled to French Guiana on a regular basis. The main source of this bush meat appears to come from the Marowijne (Maronie) River area.

Reported Smuggling and Enforcement

Both the ONC and Customs officials we interviewed reported several recent smuggling incidents by German tourists involving Dendrobatid frogs, rare reptiles and hummingbirds that were smuggled on their persons and in their luggage. The cases were successfully prosecuted and the smugglers were fined and imprisoned.
The export of souvenirs made from preserved tarantulas and Morpho butterfly wings is allowed for personal use. Insects are not listed on the game laws of 1986 or 1993. There have been some attempts to export large quantities of live tarantulas (e.g., 1200 in one postal shipment) that have been prosecuted.

Recommendations

Update hunting regulations and bag limits. Remove the tapir from the list of hunted and commercial bush meat lists. Studies in Belize have shown that the tapir quickly disappears from areas where it is over-hunted (Fragozo, J.M., 1991).

Review the status of certain species which are subject to considerable hunting pressure such as the Black curassow, Crax alector.

Conduct a study in cooperation with the ONC to determine the quantity of bushmeat consumed in the licensed restaurants and their area of provenance. However, the official restaurant bushmeat logbooks may only contain a portion of the bushmeat consumed and/or sold.

The Chief Customs Inspector requested an annual or bi-annual audio-visual presentation by a wildlife trade expert or by TRAFFIC personnel. He felt that this would motivate his inspectors, who concentrate their efforts on drug trafficking, and who need to be reminded of the international importance of animal smuggling, particularly its dollar value on the retail and collectors' market.

Provide Customs and enforcement personnel with ID manuals for species targeted by the wildlife and plant trade. Create posters with species illustrations, their local names, and degree of endangerment due to over-hunting or trade.

Provide Customs and ONC with current overseas retail prices for Guyanese wildlife in the European wildlife trade retail market in order to assist them in setting fines and penalties for smugglers.