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Getting stones rolling

Workshops, excursions, art cards, podcasts: the results of the CIPRA “SteinReich” project, which focused on drystone walls and cairns, are diverse and tangible.

Point of view: Let’s prioritise youth over tourism

We want young people to stay on the land, but the demands of tourism, high property prices and the landscape as an object of speculation make this difficult. We talk about the fight against the climate and biodiversity crisis, all while shopping centres and business parks are being built in the countryside. Environmental protection and solutions to the housing crisis should be prioritised, as this would also be in the interests of young people, says Dijana Čataković from CIPRA Slovenia. She asks: Who else will be able to live in the Alps and afford to live there?

AlpWeek 2024: time for action

A look back, a look forwards: twenty years after the first AlpWeek, the eighth edition of the international conference brought over 200 people to Nova Gorica/SL to discuss what is important in the development of the Alpine region.

AlpWeek 2024: Two decades of success and a vision for the future of the Alps

Nova Gorica, Slovenia, 26 September 2024 – Twenty years after the first AlpWeek, over 200 participants left the 2024 event reinvigorated by a shared commitment to a sustainable future for the Alps.

New faces at CIPRA

CIPRA's delegates elected Uwe Roth from Germany as the new President. The Board is becoming younger and more female.

LiveAlpsNature

The LiveAlpsNature project contributes to the preservation of biodiversity in Alpine protected areas, which are increasingly being used for nature and health tourism. To this end, the project team is developing new visitor guidance concepts and leisure activities and integrating them into digital platforms.

AlpsLife – observe globally, act locally

The successful protection of biodiversity in the Alps is only sustainable through Alpine-wide monitoring and management. This is the aim of the AlpsLife project.

10 Key Concepts of the Pastoral economy

Climate-friendly streetscapes

Whether travelling by car, public transport, bicycle or on foot, roads and their immediate surroundings are probably the most important part of our daily journeys. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, they can become a problem because they increase the heat island effect and seal the ground. The project, based in the Alpine Rhine Valley, aims to make road spaces fair, climate-friendly and health-promoting.

Nature-based solutions and their governance structures in the Alpine region

In view of the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, the use of nature-based solutions (NbS) is becoming increasingly important. On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency, ifuplan (lead) and CIPRA International are preparing a report on “Nature-based solutions and governance structures in the Alpine region”. The aim of the report is to analyse the potential of various NbS in the Alpine region and the governance mechanisms behind them that ensure their success. Based on this, their transferability to other Alpine regions will be analysed and recommendations for action formulated.

Webinar series on cross-border mobility

The webinar series on cross-border mobility and European strategies and grants for mobility solutions aimed to strengthen the common understanding and European approach to local mobility solutions. The workshops were open to all stakeholders interested in these topics and provided a platform for exchange and cooperation.

A delegation from Chartreuse visits Bad Hindelang to discuss mobility in Alpine areas

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised exchange study visits between two pilot territories : the Chartreuse massif in France (represented by the regional natural park and the local authority "Coeur de Chartreuse") and the municipality of Bad Hindelang in Germany.

Record run along the renewed Via Alpina

Across the Alps on foot: British endurance athlete Jake Catterall covered more than 2,000 kilometres and 100,000 metres in altitude in just 35 days. He ran the renewed red route of the Via Alpina in record time - he started in Trieste/I on 8 July 2024 and reached Monaco on 12 August.

DINAMO Erasmus+ project: a new white paper on mountain mobility

The "DINAMO" project aims to address the challenges of rural mountain mobility by encouraging cooperation between different stakeholders and stimulating creative processes through international exchanges. The main objective is to promote sustainable mobility solutions in rural mountain areas, to help them become less dependent on individual car transport.

Learning about Alpine cross-mobility in the DINAMO Erasmus+ project webinars

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised two webinars on the topic of cross-border mobility and Alpine mobility strategies in June and July 2024.

DINAMO Erasmus+ project: the return trip from Bad Hindelang to Chartreuse

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised exchange study visits between two pilot territories : the Chartreuse massif in France (represented by the regional natural park and the local authority "Coeur de Chartreuse") and the municipality of Bad Hindelang in Germany.

Alpine huts: the first victims of the climate crisis?

Water shortages, disintegrating mountains and renovation needs: managing Alpine huts has always been difficult, but the climate crisis is making the situation even worse. The Austrian Alpine Association has already issued an “Emergency call from the Alps”.

AlpWeek 2024 in Nova Gorica

Two decades ago, “AlpWeek” was held for the first time in Slovenia as an international event organised by Alpine organisations. It will return there from 23 to 25 September 2024.

20,000 climate-friendly kilometres

At the end of June 2024, 35 young people – previously unknown to each other – met in Slovenia. They were part of the Yoalin project, in which 105 (out of over 2,200 applicants) are travelling the Alps this summer in a climate-friendly way using an Interrail ticket.

Young people’s demands for a good life in the Alps

Environmental protection, car-free mobility and better work-life balance: these were the political demands of young people from Germany, France, Slovenia and Liechtenstein at the end of the CIPRA “Alpine Compass” project.

Young people’s demands for a good life in the Alps

Environmental protection, car-free mobility and better work-life balance: these were the political demands of young people from Germany, France, Slovenia and Liechtenstein at the end of the CIPRA “Alpine Compass” project.

Sustainable traffic management, not lawsuits

CIPRA representatives along the transport axis over the Brenner Pass are calling for sustainable traffic management instead of populist grievances. Now Switzerland is facing a renewed increase in traffic.

Healthy Alps, healthy people

What risks and side effects does the climate crisis have for our health? How can we best treat the symptoms? These are the questions explored in AlpsInsight no. 111, published in June 2024.

Green light for Nature Restoration in the EU

The majority of EU environment ministers voted in favour of the Nature Restoration Law on 17 June 2024. The decisive factor was the courageous and foresighted last-minute approval by Austria's Environment Minister.

Reading Mountains Festival 2024

Celebrating Alpine cultural heritage in the scope of International Mountain Day - 11 December. The Reading Mountains Festival is a way to connect people who love books and mountains, even if they are physically apart. Book lovers and authors, mountaineers and artists throughout the Alps (and beyond) have a chance to discuss similar issues and evaluate the meaning, impact, and purpose of Alpine literature. Some of these discussions are captured in the film “People, Books and Mountains - The Quest for Alpine literature” that was produced as a follow up to the first editions of the Reading Mountains Festival.

Dossier Quality of life and young in the Alps the case of Slovenia, Germany and France

Between January 2023 and May 2024, CIPRA Slovenia was together with CIPRA Germany, CIPRA France, and CIPRA International working on researching the topic of quality of life for young people in the Alps. With the support from ERASMUS+, a Dossier, which is part of the project Alpine Compass: Youth for the quality of life in the Alps, was created.

International training on inclusion and sustainability in mountain regions

Between May 27th and 31st, over 30 people from the Alpine region gathered in Wildhaus/CH to attend the training within the project »Via Alpina Youth«. The aim was to explore and discuss the potential of mountain and nature experiences within the work with young people. The workshop was organised by CIPRA Switzerland and CIPRA International.

Ars vivendi

[Project completed] How can the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be learned and taught? In the project «ars vivendi» a didactic tool for the Global Agenda 2030 is being developed.

DINAMO

[Project competed] In many rural areas of the Alps, public transport services are inadequate for daily needs and tourism development. In some remote mountain regions, this is one of the reasons why there is a considerable amount of car traffic, especially on weekends, public holidays and during rush hours. There are various reasons for this, including the high cost of public transport solutions due to low population density, inadequate public transport options (such as timetables, accessibility, connectivity, travel time and costs) and political and social preferences in favour of private motorised transport.

Via Alpina reborn with a new look

Good news for long-distance hikers: the new Via Alpina website is now online, making it easier and more fun to plan hiking trips through the Alps.