Friends of the Sigean African Reserve

In 1989, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Sigean African Reserve, the ” Amis de la Réserve Africaine de Sigean ” (ARAS) association was created under the French law of 1901.

In 2019 ARAS funded a research project led by Sabrina Krief of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. This study investigates the influence of home diet and pesticide exposure on the health of Chimpanzees by establishing comparative measurements between the Reserve group and a group of Chimpanzees from Sebitoli in Uganda.

The aim of this association is to promote environmental protection activities at the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, as well as related educational and cultural activities, and to provide moral and financial support in all matters of interest to this establishment.

The association’s means of action are the creation :

a ” SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS ” commission, whose role is to define protocols for the reproduction and breeding of protected fauna with a view to their reintroduction into the wild, to carry out these breeding operations and to conduct or participate in any scientific studies in these fields. The commission’s work will be carried out in close collaboration with scientific, national and international nature protection authorities.

a commission educational and cultural activities “The purpose of the association is to inform the public about the activities of the Réserve Africaine de Sigean and those of the association, and to promote training activities to ensure a better understanding of fauna, flora and environmental protection. All this through guided tours, courses, lectures, educational workshops, nature classes or any other means serving this purpose.

a commission TRAVEL “The purpose of the association is to organize trips or training courses in France or abroad in zoos, nature reserves, regional or national parks, in order to provide its members with a better understanding of nature protection operations throughout the world.

a ” DOCUMENTATION” commission “The purpose of the association is to create, publish and distribute any periodical document (or not) aimed at raising awareness of the association’s activities and those of the Réserve Africaine de Sigean, and to gather any information in the field specific to the activities of the Réserve Africaine de Sigean and the association, with a view to grouping together and developing the various voluntary activities hitherto carried out spontaneously by the park within the framework of the 1901 law.

an ” ARTISTIC” commission “In 2004, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Réserve Africaine de Sigean and the 15th anniversary of the A.R.A.S., the Friends of the Reserve decided to set up a Commission on artistic expression with nature as its theme or subject, and those who, in one way or another, are its hosts and prime movers, i.e. animals and plants.

a ” COLLECTION ” commission: since 1991, over 800 bone pieces have been collected and archived. They are highlighted during educational activities and in particular since 2018 by the “educational parenthesis”, a workshop based on the discovery of different animals through the observation and manipulation of feathers, fur, eggs, footprints….

Association under French law 1901
Head office: Sigean
Duration: unlimited
Chairman: Albert Pons

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