Utrecht biologist films wildlife from gorillas to elephants in endangered forests
Assistant Professor Joeri Zwerts is researching how tropical animal species, such as elephants, chimpanzees and orangutans, are suffering as a result of deforestation.
Using wildlife cameras, sound recordings and drones with thermal cameras in Congo, Cameroon, and Borneo, among other places, he is mapping the effects of logging and palm oil. He focuses on pragmatic solutions such as refugia — forest fragments within palm oil plantations — and emphasises that consumers can also make a difference through labels such as FSC and RSPO.
RTV Utrecht devoted extensive attention to this topic this summer.