APRR signs a new sponsorship agreement to help preserve the lynx

On 5 September, Guillaume Hérent, Managing Director of APRR-AREA, and Françoise Nicolas, President of the Centre Athénas, signed a sponsorship agreement covering the construction of a new care, breeding and rehabilitation clinic for an endangered species: the boreal lynx.

An emblematic animal of the Jura mountains in France, the boreal lynx is one of the most endangered species in existence, with fewer than 200 individuals. The APRR and AREA motorways are perfectly aware of the role they have to play in preserving this species, which is protected by French and European regulations, and their teams are mobilised to diagnose potential collision zones and adapt the motorway accordingly, as in the Ain region on the A404 motroway which runs alongside the Jura mountain ranges.

A lasting partnership with Athénas

Since 2017, the APRR and AREA motorways, along with several Eiffage Group subsidiaries, have forged a lasting partnership with Le Centre Athénas, the only structure in France authorised to care for, breed and rehabilitate the boreal lynx. This partnership has made it possible to coordinate actions to recover injured animals on the motorway network and to recommend measures to limit collisions.

Building on this relationship of trust, APRR is now providing financial support for the design and construction of a new care clinic to be located on the site of the Athénas Centre at l'Étoile (Jura). The future clinic will cover an area of over 90 m2 and will include a reception area, a treatment and recovery room, a kitchen, a nursery and a convalescence room. The clinic was designed jointly by teams from the Eiffage Group and the Athénas Centre, and will be based on a modular architecture that re-uses old shipping containers. Through this powerful gesture, the parties are emphasising their ambition to take action every day to protect biodiversity.