for a primeval forest
Our association was born out of serendipitous encounters in the summer of 2018 and the multiple connections established during the following months around the necessity of restoring a primeval forest in Western Europe. Noting both the disappearance of the big tropical forests and the devastating damage done to Europe’s last remaining primeval forest in Poland, Francis Hallé decided to turn his ideas into reality, notably through mobilizing strong citizen support.
On February 25 and 26, 2019, 13 people (1) gathered at the Sainte-Croix Monastery in the Drôme department in France to share their ideas. Scientists, naturalists, artists, wildlife filmmakers and photographers, ordinary citizens, they decided to establish “The Francis Hallé Association for a Primeval Forest”.
An efficient setup
This association has several goals
- 1 -
To contribute to the preservation, knowledge, development and rebirth of the world’s primeval forests wherever human activity has caused them to disappear
- 2 -
To promote – on a national and international level – the recognition of this essential resource that supports biodiversity and a balanced development of life on our planet, including human life
- 3 -
To create all the necessary conditions to transmit new natural, restored and perennial commons to future generations, on a multi-secular scale
- 4 -
To as much as possible promote, in agreement with all concerned parties, all forms of experimentation and expression (be they scientific, legal, economic, social or artistic) conducive to the achievement of these objectives, to the celebration of primeval forests and to the diffusion of their importance and beauty to the general public.
Our project to restore a primeval forest in Western Europe falls within this general framework. The association is the institutional and logistical support for all activity related to the project’s realization. Obviously, at this stage, it is not intended to provide legal, financial or organizational support for the forest area itself. Only once the project has been launched will it be time to develop the most appropriate tools.
Today, the association is recognized as being of general public and environmental interest.
A strong dynamic
Requests for information, membership (over 130 members to date since we started less than two years ago) and collaboration have come from all over France, but also from Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. Today, the project has solid foundations to build upon thanks to the creation of working groups, the support of specialized partners (accounting, international legal advice) and the implementation of communication and facilitation? tools.
A series of initiatives have generated a lot of enthusiasm for the project, not only from nature and environmental specialists, but also from French and European institutions and the general public.
At the UN summit on biodiversity held on September 23, 2019 in New York, Francis Hallé addressed Secretary General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron. He stressed the need for a fundamental shift in thinking and action with regard to forests and made a number of concrete proposals to this end.
The columns, interviews, articles in the press and specialized journals such as La Garance Voyageuse and Le Courrier de la Nature, gatherings (La Médicée, the Forest Convention at the Sheepfold of Villarceaux, The Ménigoute International Ornithological Film Festival), drawing, painting and sculpture exhibitions organized by partner association The Forest Art Project of which Francis Hallé is Honorary President, have all created a real dynamic around the idea of restoring a primeval forest in Europe.
Several foundations have already offered their financial support to our initiative: La Fondation Lemarchand (The Lemarchand Association), La Fondation Pour Une Terre Humaine (The Foundation For a Humane Earth) and Reforest’Action.
Faces
They brought the project to life alongside Francis Hallé. Meet the co-founders and administrators of the association:
Mark Alsterlind
Co-founder
Artist, member of Forest Art Project
Patrick Bleuzen
Co-founder
Naturalist, ethno-entomologist and wildlife filmmaker
Jérôme Bouvier
Co-founder, Administrator
Filmmaker, founding member of Festiwild
Pierre Chatagnon
Administrator
Deputy General Secretary
Naturalist
Gilbert Cochet
Co-founder, Administrator
Naturalist, Qualified High School Teacher (Holder of the Agrégation), Attaché at The French National Museum of Natural History, Expert at the Council of Europe, President of Forêts Sauvages (Wild Forests)
Jean-Baptiste Dumond
Administrator
Naturalist and photographer, co-founder faunesauvage.fr
Eric Fabre
Co-founder, administrator
General secretary
Consultant
Séverine Gaspari
Administrator Teacher CPGE
Béatrice Kremer-Cochet
Co-founder, Administrator
Naturalist, Qualified High School Teacher (Holder of the Agrégation), Expert at the Conseil Scientifique Régional du Patrimoine Naturel, Vice-President of Forêts Sauvages (Wild Forests)
Vincent Lajarige
Co-founder
Doctor, artist
Participated in the movie "Il était une forêt" alongside Francis Hallé
Pierre-François Legal
Administrator
Treasurer
Inspector of Public Finances
Franck Mackowiak
Administrator
Director of property and logistics for the Aurore association
Emmanuel Mathieu
Administrator
Engineer
Christian Riboulet
Co-founder, Administrator
Forestry expert, legal expert, ornamental tree care expert
Clément Roche
Co-founder
Head of the Natural Environments Department for
the Association pour la protection des animaux sauvages (ASPAS)
(Association for the Protection of Wild Animals).
Madline Rubin
Co-founder
Member of the Executive Committee of the Fondation Nature & Découvertes
Annik Schnitzler
Administrator
Former professor, University of Lorraine, Natural Forest Ecology Specialist
Emmanuel Torquebiau
Co-founder, administrator
Research Associate at The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) in Montpellier, Agroforestry Specialist
The team
General Secretariat
Eric Fabre
Volunteer General Secretary - Strategy and global supervision
Noame Hatimi
Project Development Officer
Rozenn Torquebiau
Volunteer educational coordinator
Associative Affairs
Pierre Chatagnon
Volunteer Deputy General Secretary - Head of the Associative Affairs Department
Soline Bouveaux
Administrative assistant
Catherine Vialle-Devos
Volunteer Human Resources Officer
Aurélien Lemaire
Volunteer and associate consultant - Analysis and planning tools
Finance
Pierre-François Le Gal
Volunteer Treasurer, bookkeeping
Anita Rocton
Volunteer Deputy Treasurer
Communication
Damien Saraceni
Head of Communications
Gaëlle Cloarec
Project manager, editorial group, copywriter
Felice Olivesi
Volunteer - editorial group, copywriter
