A firm commitment from the state

The financial support provided by the state is commensurate with the challenges posed by this exceptional site. It comes to a sum of €600,000 per year.  It serves a number of purposes

Promoting research

The aim of providing this support is to promote research that is necessarily long-term and varied, aimed at improving our knowledge of the biological and climatic landscape of the cave and promoting a better understanding of the phenomena likely to alter it. Within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Cultural Affairs Department, the conservation régionale des monuments historiques (Regional Conservation of Historic Monuments) is responsible for the management and conservation of this site.

Contributing to the stability of this fragile ecosystem

Although relatively stable, the Lascaux cave remains a fragile ecosystem. The Scientific Advisory Board, chaired by Professor Coppens, has therefore sought to pursue or initiate various research programmes over the course of its two terms of office, between 2010 and 2017, with a view to undertaking applied research into its conservation.

The studies carried out over the last ten years or so have enabled considerable progress to be made in our knowledge of the cave and how it functions, and have raised awareness of the environmental sensitivity of the site itself. Although the Lascaux cave has now reached a state of relative stability, it is nonetheless fragile and its closure to the public is now considered by all to be necessary for its conservation.

Find out more about the conservation of the Chauvet cave.