News
Strange but true...
…Are beavers really just great big clumsy rodents?
How much protection for protected areas?
The Alps are a bastion of biodiversity, a function that will become even more important in the future as rising temperatures endanger the survival of many species at lower altitudes.
Victory for landscape protection
The controversial application to build a wind farm on the Sattelberg near the Brenner Pass was rejected in a final appeal heard by the Italian Council of State in Rome.
Youthful ideas for “My Green Alps”
What will it take for residents of the Alps to take responsibility for their own habitat? Participants of the Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention provided some answers at Kamnik in Slovenia.
Energy and nature in the Alps: a balancing act
How do we manage the balancing act between renewable energy production and nature conservation in the Alps? The final conference of the recharge.green project can provide the answers. Organised by CIPRA, it will take place from 20 to 21 May 2015 in Sonthofen, Germany.
Bus and train: new moves in the Alps-Adriatic region
Public transport between Italy, Austria and Slovenia is moving forward. The consequences remain to be seen.
No breathing space in the Alpine regions
As CIPRA South Tyrol has flagged up, EU limits for nitrogen oxides are being massively exceeded in the region. There is an acute need for action, both in South Tyrol and in other Alpine regions.
Chamonix is the 2015 “Alpine Town of the Year”
Located at the foot of the highest mountain in the Alps, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, the “Capital of Alpinism”, has been awarded the title of “Alpine Town of the Year 2015”, mainly in recognition of its nature and climate protection policies.
Ill-timed winter tourism developments throughout the Alps
Despite rising temperatures and doubts about profitability, some Alpine regions are building new winter sports facilities. But who will pay the bill?
Strange but true...
…We now have a new hero factory, Trentino, that is “bearing” heavily on the Alps.
How policies can enable biodiversity
From 13 – 15 October 2014, the conference “How Policy can enable Biodiversity” will highlight opportunities for supporting biodiversity at the international and the local level. The conference, which will be held in Chambéry/F, will also present the findings of the greenAlps project.
Strange but true!
... it’s a real “boar”! Wild pigs are conquering the Alps.
Point of view: Preserving the strongholds of the Alps
Dozens of development projects are simmering in the drawers of investors from Slovenia to France. It is thus even more important to sustain existing protected areas, says Katharina Conradin, member of the executive board of CIPRA International and executive director of Mountain Wilderness Switzerland.
Looking for answers to resource shortages
Resources are finite, including those in the Alps. What solutions are available for living a good life that do not simply depend on ever more consumption? Some answers will be provided at the CIPRA Annual Conference to be held in November 2014 in Annecy, France
Ski tourism: an insatiable hunger
Gigantic artificial lakes, myriads of snow cannons, secret forest clearances. Ski areas are continuing to expand in all Alpine countries, often using questionable methods and concepts. Below are three examples.
Bad atmosphere in the Alps
Never before have atmospheric CO2 levels been as high as those recorded in April 2014. Many Alpine valleys are suffering from poor air quality. This puts the health of many people in the Rhône-Alpes Region at risk - lower motorway speeds can be part of the solution.
The Human Yardstick
What role does CIPRA play on the international architecture scene? Köbi Gantenbein on the subject of CIPRA's work with Constructive Alps, the competition for sustainable construction and renovation in the Alps.
Young people beyond boundaries
The Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention (YPAC), held in Chamonix, sought to find solutions for creating an open society. Political education and more information were uppermost on the wish list of the participants, who came from all of the Alpine countries.
Municipal network for nature protection
Nature knows no bounds. Therefore, 25 members of the “Alliance in the Alps” network of municipalities are now working together to ensure greater biodiversity and quality of life. Below is a summary of the aims of the international dynAlp-nature projects.
Why Sochi is not in the Alps
The idea of the Alps as a venue for the Winter Olympics is these days scarcely conceivable. CIPRA has now produced a review of the reasons underlying this, the experiences gained from the candidatures of Annecy, Salzburg, Munich and Graubünden (Grisons), and what remains of the Turin Games.
Genetic engineering: sinister passengers in the Alps
In Switzerland genetically modified rapeseed is spreading in uncontrolled fashion. Yet its cultivation and use for feeding have been prohibited there since 2008. How is it that such rape is appearing in places where it has no right to be?
Oh...
…the Alps have clearly got wilder, particularly in the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons).
Salmon coming to the Rhine
From the Atlantic to the Alps: by 2020 the Rhine will once again be a home to salmon. These migratory fish will then be able to swim unhindered all the way to Basel -short-term by unconventional means where necessary.
Who will shape the Alpine macro-region?
With its "Alpen.Leben" (Living in the Alps) project, CIPRA Austria is sounding out the role of the Alpine Convention for a macro-regional strategy and is asking who should actually have a say in shaping this European Union strategy for the Alps.
..oh!
... the rapid pace of climate change in the Alps has seen two huge new residents moving to Monaco. The smallest state in the Alps, which is also a party to the Alpine Convention, is now home to its first elephants!
CIPRA's point of view: Co-operation, not killing
The authorities in Graubünden are demanding that bears be shot in Italy before they cross into Switzerland and potentially cause problems there. Is a preventive shooting really suitable to prevent conflicts with humans?
Project GreenAlps for more species diversity
Laws in future are to aim more directly at promoting ecological networking in the Alps. Regions, protected areas and NGOs, including CIPRA, are therefore jointly initiating the GreenAlps project in the autumn.
Upgrading the high mountains
Austria's highest suspension bridge, including the "Steps into the Void", is intended to lure tourists to the Dachstein Glacier in a similar way to the recently opened "Du Gouter" luxury hut for walkers on Mont Blanc. The ways in which the Alpine mountain world courts visitors.
National parks remove exotic fish species
Collecting what was released into the wild fifty years ago is the order of the day in the Gran Paradiso and Triglav National Parks, where the fish species introduced have had serious effects on the natural environment.
Oh...!
... Honesty pays off in the end. This must have been the thought of a 90-year old inhabitant of the Canton of Wallis who had spent his entire life blasting away at animals against the law.