Jacques Verschuren

Jacques Verschuren (born April 9, 1926 in Etterbeek , Brussels-Capital Region , † August 20, 2014 in Forest , Belgium ) was a Belgian biologist, ecologist and conservationist.

Life

In 1943, Verschuren graduated from the Collège Saint-Michel in Etterbeek in Greek and Latin studies . In 1950 he received the License en Sciences in Zoology from the Université catholique de Louvain . In 1955, he received his doctorate in biology and zoology from the same university as a doctor of science (Docteur en sciences) . From 1948 to 1991 Verschuren worked as a scientist and biologist for the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique . His research and activities included studies in the laboratory and in the field, advice to various national and international organizations, intensive cooperation with the authorities of "new" states, the investigation of numerous protected and unprotected areas for the creation of new national parks, mainly but not exclusively , in Africa. For example, he supported the establishment of four national parks in Zaire , including the Salonga National Park and the Maiko National Park . He also made important efforts to save Virunga National Park from destruction during the Congo crisis . He also supported protective measures for the white rhinoceros , the mountain gorilla and the Java rhinoceros . From 1957 to 1962 he was chief biologist in Albert National Park . In 1962 he was appointed to the Serengeti Research Program in Tanganyika, which he headed until 1964 and further developed its content. His responsibilities included, among other things, the scientific observation of ungulate migrations and their connection with the feeding habits of the animals. From 1969 to 1975 he was General Director of the Institut National de la Conservation de la Nature (INCN) and the l'Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo. In 1976 he founded the Institut National pour l'Environnement et la Conservation de la Nature (INECN) in Burundi . From 1978 to 1979, Verschuren advised the Liberian government on the creation of new national parks as a representative of the WWF and the IUCN .

Verschuren published several books about his work in Africa, including in 1970 the work Mourir pour les Eléphants (German: Die for the elephants), to which Bernhard Grzimek wrote the foreword. In 2001 his autobiography Ma vie, sauver la nature was published .

In 1957, Verschuren described the subspecies Hipposideros beatus maximus of the Benito round-leaf nose , which occurs in Sudan, in the Central African Republic and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Awards and dedication names

In 1970, Verschuren was one of the first three winners of the WWF gold medal for nature conservation , alongside Julian Huxley and Bernhard Grzimek. He was also a bearer of the Order of the Golden Ark . In 1977 Walter Verheyen and Erik van der Straeten named Verschurens soft-haired mouse ( Praomys verschureni ) in honor of Jacques Verschuren, who had collected the type specimen of this species in 1959.

Works (selection)

• Ecologie, biologie et systématique des chiroptères. Exploration du Parc National de la Garamba , fascicule 7th Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge, Brussels, Belgium, 1957
• Ecologie et biologic des grands mammiferes (Primates, Carnivores, Ongules). Exploration du Pare National de la Garamba. Mission H. De Saeger. 9: 1-225, 1958
• The Ecology and Biology of Garamba Park, Zaire , 1958
• Le Parc Albert , 1960
• Introduction à l'Ecologie des Ongulés du Parc National Albert. Exploitation du Parc National Albert. Mission F. Bourliere et J. Verschuren , Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge, Bruxelles, Fasc. 1st, 1960
• Rongeurs et lagomorphes. Exploration du Parc National de la Garamba Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo , Bruxelles, 50, 1966 (with Walter Verheyen), 1966
• Exploration du Parc National Albert. Contribution à l'Ornithologie, Introduction à l'Ecologie et à la Biologie des Chéiroptères , Bruxelles, 1966
• Mourir pour les Eléphants (German: Die for the elephants), 1970
• Exploration du Parc National des Virunga, Mission F. Bourlière et J. Verschuren (1957-1961) , Fascicule 4, Rongeurs (with Erik van der Straeten and Walter Verheyen), 1983
• Conservation of tropical rainforest in Liberia. Recommendations for wildlife conservation and national parks. , 1983
• Relations entre la faune, principalement les vertébrés supérieurs, et les eaux thermales. Exploration du Parc National de Virunga. Deuxième Série, Fascicule 27. Fondation pour Favoriser les Recherches Scientifiques en Afrique. Research entreprises par l'Institut Zaïrois pour la conservation de la Nature. Bruxelles., 1986
• Evolution of the habitat en 70 Ans: Parc National des Virunga , 1993
• Habitats and Fauna in Virunga Park after 65 years of Protection , 1993
• Les Habitats et la Grande Faune: Evolution et Situation récente. Exploration du Parc National des Virunga (Zaïre). Fondation pour Favoriser les Recherches Scientifiques en Afrique. Deuxième Série, Fascicule 29, Bruxelles., 1993
• Ma vie, sauver la nature , 2001 (autobiography)

literature

• Celia Jaes Falicov: The Environment Encyclopedia and Directory 2001 . 3rd edition, Europa Publication Ltd, 2001. ISBN 978-1857430899 , pp. 548-549
• Nicholas Polunin and Lynne McCurme: World Who Is Who and Does What in Environment and Conservation , St Martin's Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0312174484 , p. 340

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jacques VERCHUREN de Forest - Annonce de décès sur enmemoire.be. Retrieved June 29, 2019 (French). 
2. ^ Winner of The Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal ( Memento from July 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive )