Act now to protect forests: sign the #HandsOffNature petition!
More than 40 percent of the Alpine region is covered by forests. They are not only a defining feature of the landscape, but also a cornerstone of Alpine livelihood, providing building materials, supporting biodiversity, and delivering essential ecosystem services.
Who is CIPRA?
Find out more!
More articles
Vanda Bondaro, CIPRA Italia
A journey through the endangered ice world of the Alps
The glaciers of the Alps are melting silently and inexorably. Since 2019, the “Glacier Caravan” has been making this loss visible, documenting the dramatic consequences of the climate crisis and calling for action. A guest article by Vanda Bonardo, President of CIPRA Italy and Head of Legambiente in the Italian Alps.
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
When mountains break away: living with danger
The collapse of the Birch glacier in the Swiss canton of Valais at the end of May 2025 buried a mountain village beneath it. What solutions are there for dealing with such devastating natural events in the Alpine region?
Anna Planitzer, CIPRA International
Green instead of white: the new face of glaciers
The melting of glaciers is creating new habitats: glacier forefields. According to a recent study in Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park, both vegetation cover and biodiversity are increasing on glacier forefields. However, species that are specialised for cold conditions are at risk.
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
Controversial dams
New dams for electricity and water supply are being planned across the Alpine region. Environmental organisations are warning of irreversible damage to the Alpine environment and calling for a rethink in favour of nature-friendly alternatives.
Events
|
Symposium 2: Vernacular Buildings in the Anthropocene | Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria) |
Projects
CIPRA International
AlpInnoCT
[Project completed] The Alps are a sensitive ecosystem that has to be protected from pollutant emissions and climate change. The alpine road freight transport has enormous ecological and sociocultural effects on the alpine habitat. Most actors such as forwarders, port operators, administrations and consumers, are aware of these negative effects and they are working on their own technical or regulatory solutions. However, a constructive and participatory dialogue between all involved actors, in order to promote sustainable freight transport within the Alps, has not been established so far.
CIPRA International
AlpES
[Project completed] Ecosystems and their services go beyond national borders and need a transnational approach for their dynamic protection, sustainable use, management and risk prevention. As a basis for joint action, public authorities, policy makers, NGOs, researchers and economic actors – the AlpES target groups – need a common understanding of ecosystem services, comparable information on their status and support in using appropriate tools for integrating them in their fields of work.
CIPRA International
SPARE – Alpine rivers as society’s lifelines
[Project completed] What is the state of the Alpine rivers? How can we bring those responsible and other interested parties to committing themselves to holistic river management? The SPARE project strives to answer these and other questions.