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Point of view: Let's finally press the reset button in tourism!

Mass tourism in the Alps has collapsed due to the ongoing Corona pandemic, and the opportunities for switching to environmentally and socially just tourism have increased. But they must also be exploited, says Hans Weber, Executive Director of CIPRA Switzerland.

AlpWeek. Alps in transition

The AlpWeek is an international event co-organised by the leading Alpine organisations committed to mountain protecion and sustainable development.

A voyage of discovery along the Via Alpina

On with your hiking boots, get set, go! To mark the 20th anniversary of the Via Alpina, the long-distance hiking trail across the Alps, CIPRA International is awarding eight hiking scholarships with the support of the VAUDE Sport Albrecht von Dewitz Foundation. Applications will be accepted up until 6 February.

Abandoned and uncultivated

Remote mountain villages in Piedmont/I have been struggling with heavy emigration for years. The region is now supporting people moving back to the mountains. A study from Austria shows how endangered Alpine agriculture actually is.

Innovations and aberrations

Helicopter flights and Australian white wine on the one hand, an eco-museum and recycled smartphones on the other: positive and negative awards from environmental organisations point the way to a more sustainable future.

Do you speak Alps?

A different dialect in every community: the linguistic diversity of the Alps is fascinating and constantly changing, which also makes it interesting for linguists. Using modern methods such as crowdsourcing, a research project is collecting dialect words across the Alps for a digital, living lexicon.

Under the magnifying glass

What treasures and resources are hidden in the Alps? How do we deal with them as sustainably as possible? These and similar questions are posed in the August 2021 issue of SzeneAlpen.

Mobile in the Alps

By rail, by road, by mountain path: numerous CIPRA projects show just how diverse sustainable mobility can be.

Basecamp 2021

Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on «Rural Commons»: the first «Alpine Changemaker Basecamp» (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps.

Basecamp 2021

Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on «Rural Commons»: the first «Alpine Changemaker Basecamp» (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps.

Changing the Alps together

Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on “Rural Commons”: the first “Alpine Changemaker Basecamp” (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps.

How much is nature worth?

Alpine pastures that provide us with food. Trees that provide a pleasant microclimate. Alpine landscapes that heal and touch. At the beginning of July 2021, around 100 participants from all Alpine countries discussed the benefits and value of nature in the Alpine region at CIPRA’s Annual Conference in Biella/I.

New dual leadership for CIPRA

Bianca Elzenbaumer and Serena Arduino are the new Co-Presidents of CIPRA International. They succeed Katharina Conradin, who has been in office for almost seven years.

Kick-off for innovative youth projects

Outdoor lessons, a sustainably organised music festival, workshops on waste prevention: young people from Italy, Liechtenstein and Slovenia presented their ideas for a more sustainable future at the kick-off of the Alps2030 project on 9 December 2020.

Young, mobile, sustainable

Travelling through the Alps by train in a climate-friendly way: young adults campaigned for more sustainable mobility at the online workshop “Youth Alpine Interrail” in December 2020 at the “AlpenWoche Intermezzo”. They discussed with representatives from politics how nature experiences can motivate more climate protection and which political measures are necessary.

speciAlps2

[Project completed] More and more people are seeking recreation and balance in the natural surroundings of the Alps. This trend is not only being reinforced by the corona crisis, but also by society’s increasing pressure to perform. This puts increasing pressure on animals and plants, but also on destinations with their infrastructure and inhabitants. It is essential for visitors to be guided: the speciAlps2 project raised awareness of the protection of nature and landscape in the Alps and developed measures to guide visitors.

Developing Alpine culinary arts

The first competence centre for regional culinary arts in the Alps opened in autumn 2020 with the “Culinarium Alpinum” in Stans/CH, showing how the cooperation of various players is revitalising and developing Alpine food culture.

Alps2030

[Project completed] Climate change, increasing consumption of resources and waste problems threaten nature and society in the Alps. With their 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), almost all countries worldwide have set themselves the target of making global development socially, ecologically and economically sustainable by 2030.

Youth and climate as the focus of AlpWeek

What do young people think about climate change in the Alps? This is the main theme of the AlpWeek Intermezzo, due to take place in Nice in December 2020.

Re.sources

[Project completed] Water, soil, bees, ideas, motivation, time: the Alps contain a wide range of resources. A large part of the natural capital is under threat, while the social potential for more sustainable solutions still slumbers in many places. What are my resources and what are yours? Which ones are in danger and which ones are our lives dependent on? What resources does it take to make a change towards sustainable development in the Alps?

Bees: small in size, big in effect

Why we need honey, pollinators and biodiversity: This question is the subject of the themed issue of SzeneAlpen, to be published in March 2020.

Sabbatical in the Alps

Take a longer break and give something back: The "Alpine Sabbatical" in Switzerland offers a meaningful alternative way of spending your free time.

Wanted: pioneering renovations and new buildings

The fifth edition of the international architecture prize, "Constructive Alps", has been launched. Renovations and new buildings that set an example for sustainable construction in the Alps can be submitted until 14 March 2020.

The Alps as cultural laboratory

Inspiration, shared experiences and participation: the annual CIPRA conference saw over 100 attendees from every Alpine country meet in Altdorf/CH at the end of October 2019 to discuss the “Alpine Cultural Workshop”. The event was organised by CIPRA International and CIPRA Switzerland.

Solemn vigils for dying glaciers

Many Alpine glaciers have already disappeared due to global warming. In September 2019, vigils in Italy and Switzerland drew attention to this fact.

Youth Alpine Interrail: On track for 2020

With CIPRA's «Youth Alpine Interrail» project, 100 young people travelled environmentally friendly through the Alps this summer. On 27 September 2019, the successful conclusion was celebrated in Bern/CH, where the travellers also worked together to develop demands for sustainable transport.

CIPRA Annual Conference 2019

With the Alps at our backs

The French city of Grenoble aims to become the 2022 “European Green Capital”. It can play its biggest trump card in the build-up to this coveted award: the Alps.

Time and skills as capital

Why you can pay not only with cash but also with talents in Vorarlberg, Austria.

Municipal budget by postcard

How the Italian town of Mals decides how the municipality will spend its money.