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CIPRA conference on cities in the Alpine space
CIPRA's annual conference will be held in Brig/CH on 22 - 24 September. The subject of the 2005 conference is Alpine cities and their role as sustainability actors, with a focus on the following main aspects: - design, management and optimization of relations between Alpine cities and the surrounding areas; - networking, alliances and enhanced co-operation and synergies among Alpine cities to achieve effective positioning in the face of competition from other European locations.
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Increased heavy goods traffic on the Brenner route
In 2004 more than fifty percent fewer trucks were carried by the RoLa piggyback services on the Brenner railway than in the previous year. Whereas 140,000 HGVs used the rail link in 2003, the figure for 2004 was a mere 60,000. In contrast, truck traffic on the Brenner motorway increased by a monthly average of twenty percent (in the period January to October).
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Satellite handsets for Scotland's first mountain museum
If two Scottish visitor centres have their way, tourists in the Highlands will soon be walking about with hand-held computers. That will help turn Schiehallion Mountain into a dedicated mountain museum, and Helmsdale will become a centre for Scottish gold-panning tours. The postcard-sized computers employ a technology that is similar to the GPS system to be found in modern cars, and they are programmed like traditional museum audio guides.
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53rd "Città di Trento" Mountain Film Festival
The 53rd "Città di Trento" Mountain Film Festival is being held from 30 April to 8 May 2005. The festival is devoted to mountain, research and adventure films, with "Arctic & Antarctic - North Pole & South Pole" as the theme selected for 2005.
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Artificial high water affects ecology of running water
A new WWF study shows that the artificial high-water (surges) and low-water (sinks) caused daily by hydraulic power plants are having disastrous repercussions on the ecosystem of running water.
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From vegetable plots to supermarkets: land consumption in France
The French association for regional planning and rural development has recently published a white paper on the subject of land consumption as a result of urbanisation, entitled "The End of the Landscape?". More and more arable land is being built up with residential buildings and industrial parks, and land consumption is progressing at an alarming pace.
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Mount Everest put forward for UNESCO World Heritage in Danger List
The Mount Everest region is at risk from global warming and should therefore be included on the UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger List. Mountaineers and representatives of the environmental group Friends of the Earth submitted a petition to the UNESCO Committee at the end of November.
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Deregulation of public services accentuates regional polarisation in Switzerland's alpine regions
A new study by the Swiss National Research Programme NFP 48 entitled Landscapes and Habitats of the Alps has shown that the deregulation of public services has accentuated inequalities between centres and peripheries in alpine regions.
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Mountains in the Mediterranean Region Project presented at the IUCN Congress
Italy's Environment Minister presented the Mountains in the Mediterranean Region Project at the IUCN Congress held in Bangkok from 17 to 25 November.
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8th Alpine ministerial meeting: mixed results
At the 8th Alpine Conference held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen/D on 16 November the Environment Ministers of the alpine states were unable to reach agreement on drawing up a legally binding "Population and Culture" protocol for the Alpine Convention. In the area of transport however the alpine states intend to set a new direction.
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Glaciers melting faster than anticipated
A new study by Zurich University using satellite images to analyse the surface area of 930 glaciers has shown that Switzerland's glaciers lost around 18% of their surface area between 1985 and 2000.
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Storm Lothar not an ecological disaster
Storm damage does not pose a threat to the long-term conservation of Switzerland's forests; rather it contributes to forest renewal and promotes biodiversity.
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Certification system for sustainable hotel establishments
The Ibex Label is to be used to certify Swiss hotel establishments which excel through particularly sustainable and social management. Depending on achievements one to five of these Ibexes are to be awarded by the Association for Economy, Ecology and Society.
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New publications show: biodiversity still on the wane
The "Biodiversität in der Schweiz" (Biodiversity in Switzerland) study published by the Biodiversity Forum Switzerland has concluded that genetic diversity and biodiversity are more at risk in Switzerland than in most other European countries.
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Who's picking up the bill? New study on external transport costs in Germany and Europe
A study published in early October on the external costs of transport in the EU, Switzerland and Norway by the research institutes IWW (Karlsruhe/D) and Infras (Zurich/CH) shows that the transport system in Germany causes some €150 bn in health and environmental costs each year.
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As free as a bird? Light pollution a hazard for migratory birds
More and more migratory birds are falling prey to night-time lighting conditions as they fly south. A closed cover of low-lying fog such as the one that prevailed over large areas of Switzerland in mid-October seriously disrupts the migratory birds' ability to orientate themselves; combined with towns and villages that are brightly lit at night it can represent a death trap for the birds.
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International Mountain Day focuses on conflict resolution
December 11 is to be celebrated worldwide as International Mountain Day. This year the main focus of interest is the overriding significance of peace for sustainable development.
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Landmark NEAT Project under pressure to cut costs
According to the Swiss Federal Office for Transport total costs of Switzerland's "New Alps Transversal Route" (NEAT) are likely to be CHF 302 m higher than calculated in the summer, due essentially to geological fault zones, uncertainties about the planned route and costly rail securing techniques.
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More protection against GMO crossover
The Environment Ministers of Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Germany have called for genetically modified plants to be regulated by cross-border legislation. At the traditional annual meeting held in Potsdam on 16 September the four Ministers discussed not only ecological and transport policy issues but also how to deal with gene technology in agriculture.
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Are the Alps fit for the future? "Future in the Alps" project gets underway
At the Alpine Week 2004 in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) presented its new project entitled "Future in the Alps", a broad-based project aimed at promoting sustainable development in the alpine region.
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Greater co-operation to protect against natural hazards
Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein intend to co-operate even more closely to protect against natural hazards in the Alps. This decision was taken by the four German-language Environmental Ministers at this year's meeting in Potsdam/D. The Ministers concurred that natural catastrophes in the Alps were likely to occur more and more often despite all the efforts being made with regard to climate protection.
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The Emmen valley - The vision of a valley heated without oil
Timber and solar energy rather than oil, gas and electricity are to be the heating resources of the future in Switzer-land's Emmen valley. Although the Emmen valley region is densely forested, each year it still buys in some CHF 30 m's worth of oil, gas and electricity - while more than half the wood accruing each year simply rots away in the region's forests. It's a situation the "Oil of Emmental" project hopes to remedy.
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Hydrogen-powered piste vehicles in the Alps
The Swiss association Swiss Alps 3000 has launched a new campaign aimed at zero-emissions mobility in the Alps. As part of the campaign it presented the prototype of a hydrogen-powered piste vehicle. The first vehicle of this type was tested during winter 2003/2004.
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King Albert I Memorial Foundation Award
For the sixth time now the King Albert I Memorial Foundation presented awards for outstanding achievements in connection with the mountains of the world at Pontresina/CH on 11 September 2004.
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Ultra-low energy building gains altitude
The highest ultra-low energy business premises of the Alps were officially opened in Punt Muragl (En-gadine/Switzerland) at the end of August. Gasser Building Materials' 23,000 m3 warehouse with integrated DIY store is situated at an altitude of 1,728 m above sea level and is heated almost exclusively by solar energy.
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Environment Award of Switzerland
For the fifth time already the Pro Aqua-Pro Vita Foundation is organising its Environment Award of Switzerland. The Award is open to private individuals, companies and institutions from all countries, and the closing deadline is 15 December.
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Europe's changing climate and the hot summer of 2003
Europe's climate has changed considerably over the past one hundred years, and the impact of that change is visible in many areas. An extensive study in English by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that Alpine glaciers for instance have lost more than half their ice mass.
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New publication: "Path to Nature's Wisdom - Ecological Dialogue Himalaya and Alps"
The Naturschutzbund Steiermark/A has published a German and English conference book following the international conference "Path to Nature's Wisdom - Ecological Dialogue Himalaya and Alps". The conference was held in Graz/A from 9 to 11 October 2002 as part of the UN's International Year of the Mountains 2002, under the patronage of the Dalai Lama.
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New competences at the EU for the Alpine Convention
As of November a new Commissioner at the European Union is to be officially responsible for the Alpine Convention. Stavros Dimas, currently Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, is to take over as Commissioner for the Environment.
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2004 Award for Sustainable Tourism: Take part now!
The authorities of the département of Haute-Savoie/F is presenting an award for the most sustainable tourist project as part of the 6th Tourism Summit of Chamonix Mont-Blanc.