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Understandable and visualised ECONNECT website
The ECONNECT website www.econnectproject.eu has recently been translated into the four project languages (French, German, Italian and Slovenian) and will soon be updated with maps.
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Berchtesgaden - Salzburg: Improving the ecological network of extensive grasslands
Extensively cultivated grasslands are important landscape elements for ecological connectivity in the pilot region Berchtesgaden - Salzburg. Improving these habitats will help to safeguard species such as butterflies, dragonflies or grasshoppers. This is one of the tasks of the subprojects within ECONNECT which are currently being finalised.
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Rhaetian Triangle: new online tools and support for local initiatives
The Swiss National Park (SNP) is currently developing a web based tool to analyze barriers and corridors of the large pilot region Rhaetian Triangle. Furthermore, two local initiatives are concretely acting for the restoration of ecological connectivity. The new map application will allow comparing a freely defined area with other areas in the neighbourhood and identifying the fields with high need of action according to selected indices.
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Alpi Marittime: Ecological corridors preventing car accidents
In the Italian Alpi Marittime Natural Park car crashes which involve ungulates are very common. In most cases those accidents, besides being hazardous for drivers' life, could have been avoided with a better territorial planning, a more careful infrastructure planning and a warier use of existing technologies. The Alpi Marittime natural park will make use of the new ways to help the passage for animals across busy roads, which have been tested in the Pilot region of Isère.
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Northern Limestone Alps: Involving local population
In the three provinces of Upper and Lower Austria and Styria interviews with 170 stakeholders were held. People were asked about their knowledge, experience and ideas concerning the connectivity of habitats and possible barriers by using a questionnaire. These interviews aimed at receiving an overview of opinions on this theme as well as information on planned or ongoing projects dealing with ecological connectivity in the region.
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Isère Department: Tearing down the barriers
The French Isère Pilot Region is very active in the field of ecological connectivity. Besides ECONNECT, since February 2009 the region is engaged in another EU Project named "Paths of life". This project will last six years and has a budget of nine million Euro.
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Austria: pressure caused by exploitation rose at the highest altitudes
All across Austria the tendency to build cableways and other skiing infrastructures inside the boundaries of protected areas and other high-value zones can be observed. The Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) warns against the destruction of landscape and recreational resources in the Alps and demands a framework for a well-balanced territorial planning, in order to preserve the typical Alpine landscape.
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New compacts on Transport and Spatial Planning now online
The assessments of climate response measures for the areas of Transport and Spatial Planning have been available online since the end of February. Both background reports (or "compacts") can be downloaded from www.cipra.org/en/cc.alps (de, en).
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Regions tackle climate change
The participants at the start-up meeting for a transnational LEADER project held in Mäder/A on 20 and 21 January 2010 went one step further. The 20 or so representatives from five interested project regions in different Alpine countries met up with CIPRA staff in Vorarlberg to get to know one another and come up with a joint project design.
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CIPRA actively involved in the transfer of know-how
Several events have been scheduled as part of the cc.alps project in 2010. At a workshop entitled "Building with a Future" to be held in Bolzano/I on 22 and 23 April following a field trip, participants from towns and municipalities are to exchange views on energy-efficient construction. For more information visit www.cipra.org/de/alpmedia/veranstaltungen (de/it/sl).
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Communities committed to an improved climate
The international climate conference entitled "Municipalities and the climate - Putting mitigation measures to the test" was held in Mäder/A on 21 and 22 January. Around 130 participants from all the Alpine states responded to the invitation of the Alliance in the Alps network of municipalities and CIPRA International to discuss sustainable climate response measures.
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cc.alps on the international climate stage
In 2009 the cc.alps project team attended a wide range of international events where it presented the results of the project.
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"Cool heads in the hothouse!": Interview with a cc.alps award winner
"Everyone wants to do their bit!" On 6 November 2008 CIPRA rewarded the seven best measures submitted to the cc.alps competition. The Oberallgäu municipality of Wildpoldsried/D won one of the three main prizes for its activities in the area of energy efficiency. Andrea Skiba from the cc.alps team spoke to the Mayor of Wildpoldsried, Arno Zengerle, about their success.
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Energy-efficient Alpine communities and Alpine towns
At the end of February the Vorarlberg communities of Langenegg, Mäder and Zwischenwasser received the European Energy Award® (eea) - Gold. These communities spearhead the international award for energy-efficient communities, which evaluates some 600 towns and communities across Europe.
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Green light for deer and lynx in the Alpine-Carpathian Corridor
In future, wild animals will be able to move more easily between the Alps and the adjoining Carpathian Mountains. That is the objective of the recently initiated cross-border project Alpine-Carpathian Corridor. The EU is providing approximately 2 million Euros for it.
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The new CIPRA compacts Traffic and Spatial Planning are on-line
The results of the climate protection measures taken in the areas of 'Traffic' and 'Spatial Planning' are now accessible on-line. At www.cipra.org/en/cc.alps (de/en) both of the background reports - so-called 'CIPRA compacts' - 'Traffic and Climate Change' and 'Spatial Planning and Climate Change' can be downloaded.
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Restoring the web of life: a new brochure designed to help you understand ecological networks
What is an ecological network? How can you create one and who does it involve? What are their roles? These are just some of the questions to which the recently published brochure Restoring the web of life: ecological network for more biodiversity in the Alps provides answers.
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The upgrading of Alpine winter sports
The Dossier is dedicated to the topic of "The upgrading of Alpine winter sports". The background report describes the latest trends in winter sports in the Alps as well as their economic impact. The catchwords include "fun tourism", increased capacities, artificial snow and new developments. One important conclusion: at a time when the number of skiers is decreasing and global warming is increasing, the Alpine tourist resorts which will survive and succeed in preserving their autonomy are those which see nature and the landscape as their most precious asset and which come up with alternatives to one-sided ski tourism. Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.
Dossier
Modern architecture in the Alps
The building methods which have typically been used in Alpine regions have always focused on the needs of the population living there and the necessities of survival. It is therefore an architectural style which has been dictated by the limitations and peculiarities of the regions themselves. The old buildings which are today considered typical or traditional are not the result of informed decisions, but the consequences of necessity. The different settlements, houses, stables, places of worship and outbuildings were built not according to particular architectural styles or personal tastes, but as a consequence of binding criteria and based on a balance which had to be struck. So is there such a thing as a modern architecture in the Alps? Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.
Dossier
Eco-tourism in the Alps
In the Alps there are already many forms of nature-orientated tourism, which, in some of its fundamental objectives, is very much like eco-tourism. While nature-orientated tourism in the Alps has a great deal of potential when it comes to value added and niche appeal, it does not have the growth potential attributed to global eco-tourism. There are, however, signs that nature-orientated tourism will gain in significance in the Alps in the years to come. Current discussions on eco-tourism can provide the impetus for those responsible for tourism policy to give more thought to an overall strategy for nature-orientated tourism in the Alps, together with the key players operating at the grass-roots level. Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.
Dossier
Conference searching solutions to adapt to climate change
The Berchtesgaden National Park and the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC) organised an international conference on ecological networks and climate change. The conference "Alpine Ecological Network: a response to climate change that will preserve biodiversity?" took place in Berchtesgaden, Germany, on 15th and 16th October 2009.
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International workshop on connectivity methods
More than 80 experts from all over Europe followed the invitation by the ECONNECT project to share and compare their individual experiences of fieldwork and innovative research methods regarding ecological connectivity in Grenoble, France, from the 4th to 6th of October 2009.
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ECONNECT Project – Working full speed for implementing ecological networks
The ECONNECT project has completed half time of its project life. In the pilot regions the teams are highly committed with preparing the implementation of ecological networks on the ground.
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Fourth meeting of the Platform
The Ecological Network Platform of the Alpine Convention held its fourth meeting on 1st December 2009 in Chamonix, France. The French Presidency presented the Platform work programme for the next two years.
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Updated brochure and new eye-catcher posters on ecological networks in the Alps
Just in time for the International Year of Biodiversity, the Ecological Continuum Initiative has printed an updated version of the brochure on Ecological Networks in the Alps. With a new design, the brochure "Restoring the web of life - Ecological networks for more biodiversity in the Alps" illustrates the ecological connectivity topic and makes it understandable to a wide public.
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Think tank: Bundling the Alps-wide expertise on ecological networks
As the Continuum Initiative decided to focus on further connectivity activities with long-term issues, the Continuum partners are now aiming at the preparation of follow-up projects beyond ECONNECT to ensure that the fundaments built up during this project can be used for further concerted implementation projects.
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The Ecological Continuum Initiative in the International Year of Biodiversity
The International Year of Biodiversity, declared by the United Nations, represents even more encouragement for the Ecological Continuum Initiative to further develop its activities in preventing biodiversity loss in the Alps.
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Harnessing expertise for ecological networks in the Alps
The Ecological Continuum Initiative has brought international experts together as part of a think tank whose long-term objective is to setup up an alpine-wide ecological network. The think tank provides the experts from the fields of science and practice with a framework for developing new projects to complement and follow up on existing activities such as the ECONNECT project.
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How do people perceive food products from European mountain regions?
The EuroMarc project looked at this very question from February 2007 to January 2010 and it has now published its findings. Ten teams carried out surveys among consumers, retailers and local initiatives in six European countries (France, Norway, Austria, Romania, Scotland and Slovenia).
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Keeping water-related projects flowing - Awards for a precious resource
Two awards are now up for grabs for projects in the water sector. The International ReSource Award for Sustainable Watershed Management aims to promote innovative projects with regional measures aimed at protecting water as a resource. The Award is open to projects that have a pioneering character in the local context (cultural, institutional or technological).