Articles
Mountain regions and the elderly and disabled
Services for the elderly and the accessibility of accommodation by the disabled are the two key issues of a seminar at Feltre in Italy on July 2. The seminar is being held as part of the Interreg IIIA Programme Montagna Accessibile (Mountains Within Reach) of the Belluno Province and the Federal Province of Tyrol/A.
Ford Environment Award 2004: Special Award for Climate Protection
The Ford Environment Award of the Austrian Umbrella Organisation for the Environment and the Ford Motor Company Austria rewards with a total of €16,000.00 the three best initiatives for the protection of the country's natural and cultural heritage.
World's first institute for holiday, travel and altitude medicine
"Our aim with the founding of the Institute for Holiday, Travel and Altitude Medicine at the Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology is to demonstrate and substantiate by medical and scientific means the favourable health effect of a high-altitude holiday. We also intend to establish a form of certification for tourist regions and tourist enterprises," explained Tyrol's Provincial Governor Herwig van Staa at the official presentation of the new Institute in Innsbruck/A.
Presentation of an international umbrella brand for leisure & fitness holidays in the Alps
From the end of this year 80 businesses from Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and southern Tyrol are to join forces and carry the new umbrella brand Alpine Wellness International GmbH.
Taking the train and bus to the ski slopes proves popular
More and more skiers are making use of the ski trains and buses operated by the Vorarlberg Transport Authority. The main ski resorts of Austria's westernmost federal province, i.e. the Montafon, the Kloster valley and the Arlberg region, can all be reached by public transport. The good results achieved this season have prompted the Transport Authority to expand its offers as far afield as southern Germany, among others.
New waste prevention initiatives in Europe
The City of Vienna has set up "Scarabeo 2004", the first ever European Youth Competition on Waste Prevention and Separation. Until May 15 young people from more than forty countries can submit projects on ways of preventing and separating waste.
"Green" holidays in the Alps for Dutch tourists
From this summer several Dutch tour operators, including the TUI subsidiary Holland International and the hiking and cycling holiday specialists SNP, are offering "Green Package Tours" to Switzerland and Austria.
Conference of Regions in Kranjska Gora/SI
On 24 October 2003 representatives of the seven pilot regions of the EU research project REGALP convened at the Conference of Regions for an exchange of experience at Kranjska Gora/SI.
Studies and conference on rail network extensions in the Alpine Rhine region
The A13/E43 network has commissioned a study in the border region between Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein with the following basic requirements for the future provision of public passenger transport services: Rail links to the large agglomerations in southern Germany and from the upper Rhine valley to the central areas of southern Germany and western Austria; expansion of the S-Bahn network in the region comprising eastern Switzerland, the eastern area of Lake Constance and the upper Rhine valley; development of tram/suburban railway systems such a half-hourly S-Bahn link between Feldkirch/A and Buchs/CH.
Alpine wind farms: blessing or curse?
Tiroler Wasserkraft AG (TIWAG) and Salzachwind GmbH are planning to build several wind farms in the Wipptal/Brenner region on the Austrian-Italian border. The Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV) is calling for an immediate stop to the planning work for the wind farms as they are to be erected in a conservation and local recreation area.
Euregio Adria-Alps
The Adria-Alpen Euregio has moved one step closer to its founding following a series of meetings of the Chairmen of Carinthia/A, Veneto/I and Friuli/I and representatives from Slovenia (with Croatia also to be involved soon).
No GMO-free zone in Upper Austria says EU
The EU Commission has rejected Austria's request to approve national measures for a three-year ban on genetically modified organisms. The federal province of Upper Austria was to have been declared a GMO-free zone. The government of the province of Upper Austria felt that a general ban on genetically modified seed stock was justified inasmuch as the issue of the coexistence of agricultural methods of cultivation with and without genetically modified organisms had not yet been fully resolved.
Biogaspark Alpe-Adria: Eco-power for households
As part of the energy project Biogaspark Alpe-Adria biogas plants are to be built and operated in the Alpe-Adria region, of which Austria, Italy and Slovenia are participating members. The plants to be constructed by mid-2006 will generate electricity and heating for around 13,500 one-family households.
Cross-border youth solar project successfully completed
It took 15 adolescents from Austria, Slovenia and Italy only one week to erect a solar installation at the leisure centre of the Austrian Klimabündnis [Climate Alliance] municipality of Gurk. The activity was part of the youth solar project "Together for a Sunny Future", and was supervised by technicians from AEE, the Working Party on Renewable Energy.
"Gene Save": Cross-border preservation of gene resources
The new Interreg Project "Gene Save" is to preserve and maintain old local grain, vegetable and apple varieties in southern and northern Tyrol. Seed and planting stock is to be collected, preserved in a gene bank and then re-introduced into cultivation on a wider scale.
CIPRA Annual Specialist Conference 2003: "All systems Go! for the Alpine Convention?! Traffic as the focus of implementation"
This year's CIPRA annual specialist conference is to address the implementation of the Alpine Convention with a special focus on the issue of (transit) traffic.
Cross-border co-operation for the alpine Rhine and Rhine
The comprehensive survey into the current situation conducted as part of the "Alpine Rhine Development Concept" is now completed. On July 1 experts presented the results before representatives of local communities, environmentalists, anglers, energy suppliers and other parties with a vested interest. For the first time the groups concerned are able to take part in a planning project within an international framework.