he Museum-Library « Memoir of Mauritania and the Sahara » is enriched with a reference work on the Banc d’Arguin and the Imraguen. A few days ago, while browsing the rich documentation of my friend, Dean Gabriel Hatti, known as « Gabou », I had the pleasure of rediscovering a remarkable work by Jacques Trotignon: Mauritania, crossroads of birds (Éditions Nathan), prefaced by Théodore Monod and postfaced by Hadya Amadou Kane, former general manager of the Banc d’Arguin National Park. A real beautiful book, this book offers an immersion in the heart of the Banc d’Arguin National Park, one of the most prestigious natural sanctuaries on the planet. The author traces the geological and human history of this exceptional territory, highlights its remarkable biodiversity and pays tribute to the Imraguen community, whose ancestral fishing practices are intimately linked to this unique ecosystem. At the same time a field story, scientific synthesis and advocacy for the preservation of this natural heritage of exceptional universal value, this book is an essential reference on the Banc d’Arguin. My joy was all the greater because Gabriel Hatti and his wife Nadia had the delicacy to offer me one of the two copies they kept in their library. This valuable donation enriches the documentary collection of the Museum-Library « Memory of Mauritania and the Sahara », by strengthening more particularly the bibliography devoted to the Imraguen and the Banc d’Arguin National Park. May they find here the expression of my deep gratitude for this generous gesture, which contributes to the preservation and transmission of the memory of one of Mauritania’s most remarkable natural, cultural and human heritage.
