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ACCESS: Improving the provision of basic services

ACCESS, the transnational project, was launched in Genoa/I at the end of October. Its objective is to improve the provision of basic public services in rural mountain regions using innovations in organisation.

Projects on transnational networking in the area of natural hazards

AdaptAlp, a recently launched EU project, looks at climate response measures and the evaluation of natural hazards. The work on strategies and proposed solutions aimed at coping with the impact of climate change is to provide the basis for more intensive international co-operation in natural hazard management.

A scientific insight into mountain regions and cultures worldwide

In the October issue of its IHDP Update magazine the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) looks at mountain regions worldwide.

Is climate change drying up the Alps?

The Alpine range will continue to fulfil its role as central Europe's water tower in the future. But not without restrictions, according to the forecasts of a current study by a group of 20 experts commissioned by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Central Asia on the Way to sustainable Development

Actors, Discourses and Interfaces of Rural Tourism Development at the Local Community Level in Slovenia

Guidelines for environmental auditing

€100,000 for exemplary climate protection in the Alps

At a ceremony held in Bern/CH on 6 November, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) awarded prizes for outstanding climate protection to seven municipalities, businesses and organisations, the winners of its cc.alps competition held across the Alps. Weather expert Thomas Bucheli and CIPRA President Dominik Siegrist presented the prizes worth a total of €100,000.

ECONNECT: Nature without limits

The kick-off for the EU project "ECONNECT - Restoring the web of life" took place in Vienna/A on 4 and 5 November. Over the next three years sixteen partners and four observers from all the Alpine States will be working to implement an ecological network across state borders and the confines of protected areas.

New hypothesis on deep erosion in high mountain regions

Researchers in the south-east of the Tibetan plateau have found that the moraine dams created during glacier fluctuations have over the millennia helped to slow down the erosion effect of large rivers known as downcutting.

Rhône Glacier to melt away by 2100

Scientists at the Écoles Polytechniques Fédérales de Lausanne/CH and Zurich/CH have used complex computer simulations to predict that the Rhône Glacier in the Canton of Valais/CH will have disappeared by 2100.

Early warning system for water scarcity in the Alps

The kick-off for the cross-border project "ALP-WATER-SCARCE: Water Management Strategies against Water Scarcity in the Alps" took place in Annecy/F in mid-October as part of the INTERREG Alpine Space Programme.

Latest issue of the Journal of Alpine Research

The latest publication in the bilingual series Journal of Alpine Research comprises four specialist articles on different topical issues. The first feature deals with the rivalry for public commodities, illustrated with the specific example of an irrigation system in northern Italy.

Solar thermal power plant in the French Hautes-Alpes

The energy companies Dalkia and Solar Euromed have joined forces and plan to build the first solar thermal power plant in France. The plant is to be built in Chevalet d'Aspres sur Buech and will generate some 60,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.

Mountain Research Initiative launches new Newsletter

The first issue of MRI NEWS has just been published. The Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) newsletter will be sent out by e-mail in English twice a year and is entirely given over to research on Global Change in mountain areas.

The Andes and the Alps on a single rope team

This year mountain guides from Peru are carrying out part of their training in the Alps at the invitation of their Swiss counterparts. Already back in the early 1980s, the Swiss Mountain Guide Association initiated a professional mountain guide training course in Peru.

Cashmere goats for the Aosta Valley

Italy's Aosta Valley is to introduce cashmere goats in a bid to start a breeding project. The regional office for agriculture states that the goats can be kept outdoors all year round and are happy to graze even on difficult terrain.

EU measures on climate change

When the time comes for the new European Commission to take office in 2009, it is possible that the EU will appoint a Commissioner for Climate Change, according to the environmental news service ENDS Europe Daily.

2008 King Albert Mountain Award

The King Albert I Memorial Foundation held its annual award ceremony in Pontresina/CH on 6 September.

New publication on developments in environmental law

This book is the first to tell the full story in chronological order of the Environmental Law Programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ELP).

Glittering mountain hut in the Monte Rosa massif

Construction work began last week on the new Monte Rosa Hut at the foot of the Dufourspitze above Zermatt/CH. The hut, which resembles a glittering rock crystal, is being built by the Swiss Alpine Club in the framework of the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Water resources under threat in the Himalayas

Climate change is threatening the water reserves of East Asia. An estimated 50 percent of the water from the Himalayas comes from glaciers, permafrost zones and the snowmelt.

Interactive Internet portal for sustainability in South Tyrol

In a research project lasting several years, a sustainability monitor has been developed for South Tyrol, Italy and is now on-line.

Rail tunnel ground water to heat a tropical greenhouse

In the future, the ground water that drains from the Lötschberg Base Tunnel at a temperature of 20°C will be piped into a tropical greenhouse which is to be built at the northern portal in Frutigen/CH to produce fish and tropical fruit, and also to heat the administration building.

Obligatory rentals for planned Swiss resort

The Egyptian entrepreneur Samih Sawiris does not want the resort he is planning in Andermatt/CH to become a ghost town. His solution: anyone who purchases a house or apartment as a second home must sign a contract agreeing to rent the property whenever they are not in residence.

Biodiversity and climate change as subjects for transnational co-operation

The Alpine Space Programme established in the framework of the INTERREG IVB European Community Initiative Programme is being used to fund a dozen new projects.

Knowledge transfer - new pillar of regional development?

The latest issue of the bilingual (fr/en) Revue de Géographie Alpine (RGA) deals with the subject of knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the regional context.

Modifications to Alpine plant communities

A recent French study into 171 woodland plants in temperate regions shows how plant species have already adjusted to climate change, with a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade in response to rising global temperatures.

EU: Legally enforceable right to clean air

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that citizens have a legally enforceable right to clean air. Individuals affected by high concentrations of particulate matter can now call on the courts throughout the EU to ensure that effective measures are taken to improve the quality of the air.

New World Heritage sites in the Alps

In July the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added another 27 cultural and natural sites to the World Heritage List, including three located in the Alpine region, namely the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona with the Glarus overthrust, the cross-border (CH/I) Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes and the fortifications of Vauban in France.