News
European tourism prize for Bohinj
For years slow mobility has been a priority in the Slovenian town of Bohinj. It has now been awarded the EDEN network’s innovation prize.
Strange but true...
When it comes to superlatives, the French also want to get in on the act.
Traditional nature conservation in crisis
The European Union is pushing for better implementation of its biodiversity strategy. At the same time protected areas in the Alps are being broken up, weakened or downgraded. Where is the problem?
Alpine municipalities strengthen youth participation
If municipalities wish to introduce policies that will meet the expectations of coming generations, they have to be able to offer their young people something. The YSAM project has shown how youth participation can be strengthened in Alpine communities. A new label is being used in Switzerland to mark youth-friendly municipalities.
Alpine regional strategy on the starting blocks
The European strategy for the Alps is ready. There nevertheless remain some challenges to its effective and sustainable implementation.
Swiss reheat Olympic candidacy
Two Swiss cantons, Graubünden (Grisons) and Wallis (Valais), are now competing to host the Winter Olympics – even though voters in Graubünden rejected a proposed candidacy in 2013, and it has already failed several times in Wallis.
Crying wolf?
The protected status of the wolf is being ever more vehemently called into question. French sheep farmers have fuelled the debate further by taking hostages. Those living in the mountains meanwhile remain divided.
Point of view: Change begins in the heart
Claire Simon, Executive Director of CIPRA International, used the occasion of the 2015 CIPRA annual conference to call for more engagement with people and their ways of thinking in order to strengthen the natural and cultural diversity of the Alps.
CIPRA strengthens youth participation
Numerous young people want to get involved in the issues affecting the Alps. Proof of this was provided by the “Youth Alpine Express” at the CIPRA annual conference in Liechtenstein. The new YAPP online platform provides a link for these activities.
No pardon for crimes against the environment
Damaging the environment in Italy can henceforth be punished with a jail term of up to fifteen years. Environmental legislation was also a concern of CIPRA co-founder Wolfgang Burhenne. A biography is now dedicated to him.
A warm welcome to the new Alpine residents!
With an aging population and falling birth rates, depopulation and a boom in the immigration of the “new Highlanders”, the demographic change is marking the entire Alpine area – but different regions are being affected to varying degrees.
Better protection for Alpine rivers
A European legal ruling has strengthened the protection of Alpine rivers. Derogations for hydro plants or snow-making facilities are now more difficult to obtain. The politicians are up in arms.
Strange but true...
Alpine glaciers are a skiing venue in the middle of summer, they supply villages and towns with drinking water and even provide a habitat for glacier fleas.
Sustainable building from the Arctic circle to the Mediterranean
Attractive public buildings, built of wood and stone to passive house standards: this is how the schools and community centres of the future will look. With its 35 pilot buildings the MountEE project is putting sustainable building into practice in different climate zones.
The real treasure of the Alps
A Swiss energy producer is to receive a prize for finding a successful compromise between the protection and use of water: while the head of the Upper Allgäu district authority has approved the building of a small power plant in a protected area over the head of his own officials. Two examples of the tension existing between conservation and the energy transition.
Point of view: Making the Alpine Convention more interactive
The effectiveness of the Alpine Convention is often called into question. A new approach could help reposition it as an engine of co-operation and sustainable development in the Alpine regions, says Claire Simon, Executive Director of CIPRA International.
Initiating change for a good life in the Alps
What does it take to ensure a good life in the Alps? What social and political changes are necessary? Answers will be provided at the annual CIPRA Conference to be held on 25 and 26 September 2015 in Ruggell, Liechtenstein.
Young voices at the Expo
Giving a voice to mountains all over the world – this is the idea behind the theme week on mountain areas being staged at the World Expo in Milan. CIPRA is there too, with brave young people and a very special concert.
Getting the modal shift moving
Austria gives the green light for the construction of a controversial rail tunnel. At the same time, the Swiss Federal Office for Transport has published two reports that suggest that the modal shift of goods onto rail can succeed even without large infrastructure projects.
New French policy for the mountains
Thirty years ago, France passed a special law for its mountain areas. It is now undergoing a review. Here is a summary of the most significant amendments.
Ski lifts in Italy to become liable for tax
The Supreme Court in Italy has now ruled that cable cars and chair lifts do not count as public transport, meaning that municipal tax on real estate is therefore now payable. The judgment has led to uproar in ski resorts.
Strange but true...
…Are beavers really just great big clumsy rodents?
Our green lungs are running out of air
Animals and plants have to migrate in order to reproduce. That involves crossing land used by human beings. Ecological networking therefore needs the support of a variety of stakeholders. CIPRA brings them together.
New format, new content
In 2014, CIPRA Italy created a new format for work on its territory: a Development Workshop for the Alps.
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.
Sustainable transport policy for an improved quality of life
On Liechtenstein’s doorstep, in the Austrian town of Feldkirch, the planning process is currently underway for a gigantic road construction project in the form of the Feldkirch Urban Tunnel.
Working together for the future of the Alps
In terms of policymaking for the Alps, 2014 was an eventful year. The stage was set for the development of a macro-regional Alpine strategy to find transnational solutions to problems encountered throughout the Alpine space and develop innovative projects specifically targeted at the Alps, and progress was made in defining the terms of reference.
Reducing road traffic is a long distance race
We face many problems relating to excess traffic, especially in cities. It causes air pollution and noise, and hampers land use.
New models for a better life
The western economic model consumes the natural resources of three planet Earths. And it is spreading to developing countries – we are their role model.
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.