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Rock ptarmigan may continue to nest

No ski lifts or pistes may be built on the mountain slopes of the Vallaccia Valley in Italy. This decision of the Lombardy Administrative Court now overturns the authorisation granted by the Italian Council of Ministers.

AlpES

[Project completed] Ecosystems and their services go beyond national borders and need a transnational approach for their dynamic protection, sustainable use, management and risk prevention. As a basis for joint action, public authorities, policy makers, NGOs, researchers and economic actors – the AlpES target groups – need a common understanding of ecosystem services, comparable information on their status and support in using appropriate tools for integrating them in their fields of work.

Chemicals in the Alps– unwanted souvenirs

Not only particulates are causing problems for people and animals: chemicals too are accumulating in the Alps. As one of the causes the outdoors industry is only gradually moving to remedy matters.

SPARE – Alpine rivers as society’s lifelines

[Project completed] What is the state of the Alpine rivers? How can we bring those responsible and other interested parties to committing themselves to holistic river management? The SPARE project strives to answer these and other questions.

Victory and defeat for new protected areas

New protected areas are valuable for biodiversity, with many also intended to boost the local economy. There are nevertheless frequent reservations.

Traditional nature conservation in crisis

The European Union is pushing for better implementation of its biodiversity strategy. At the same time protected areas in the Alps are being broken up, weakened or downgraded. Where is the problem?

Crying wolf?

The protected status of the wolf is being ever more vehemently called into question. French sheep farmers have fuelled the debate further by taking hostages. Those living in the mountains meanwhile remain divided.

No pardon for crimes against the environment

Damaging the environment in Italy can henceforth be punished with a jail term of up to fifteen years. Environmental legislation was also a concern of CIPRA co-founder Wolfgang Burhenne. A biography is now dedicated to him.

Strange but true...

Alpine glaciers are a skiing venue in the middle of summer, they supply villages and towns with drinking water and even provide a habitat for glacier fleas.

A Sustainable Life - Wolfgang E. Burhenne and the development of environmental law

Wolfgang Burhenne is a most renowned and highly honoured personality in environmental law worldwide. International instruments such as the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature, the World Charter for Nature, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and others are rooted in his ideas, engagement and professional input. This book shows how passion and talent in a person combined with life experiences and circumstances in society and politics to shape a unique life. In the case of Burhenne, his life achievements benefit us all, as well as future generations.

Connecting Mountains, people, nature - shaping the framework for an efficient european biodiversity policy for the alps

How successful are biodiversity policies, strategies and projects at connecting humans and nature in the Alps? The greenAlps project surveyed how efficient and effective nature conservation instruments are from the European to the municipal level. Our ultimate goal is to stimulate pro-nature governance change in Alpine countries.

Staking a claim for nature - Policy recommendations for the alpine space

The policy recommendations in this document highlight some of the gaps that have to be filled and needs that have to be met in order to implement successful nature protection measures. Moreover, they underline the huge impact that political situations have on nature conservation.

Initiating change for a good life in the Alps

What does it take to ensure a good life in the Alps? What social and political changes are necessary? Answers will be provided at the annual CIPRA Conference to be held on 25 and 26 September 2015 in Ruggell, Liechtenstein.

Getting the modal shift moving

Austria gives the green light for the construction of a controversial rail tunnel. At the same time, the Swiss Federal Office for Transport has published two reports that suggest that the modal shift of goods onto rail can succeed even without large infrastructure projects.

Energy & nature in the Alps: a balancing act. - Perpetual Calendar

This perpetual calendar explains the main project findings, in particular to decision-makers from local to Alps-wide level. It takes readers through the decision-making process that the fictional town of “Alpine Vale” goes through when discussing the potential use of renewable energy.

In tune with diversity - CIPRA's Annual Report 2014

Strange but true...

…Are beavers really just great big clumsy rodents?

CIPRA: in pursuit of harmony on diversity

Animals and plants have to migrate in order to reproduce. That involves crossing land that is also used by human beings. In its 2014 Annual Report, CIPRA shows how animals, plants and people all benefit from networking within the natural environment.

How much protection for protected areas?

The Alps are a bastion of biodiversity, a function that will become even more important in the future as rising temperatures endanger the survival of many species at lower altitudes.

Victory for landscape protection

The controversial application to build a wind farm on the Sattelberg near the Brenner Pass was rejected in a final appeal heard by the Italian Council of State in Rome.

Alpine Rhine Valley Green Belt

[Project completed]

Youthful ideas for “My Green Alps”

What will it take for residents of the Alps to take responsibility for their own habitat? Participants of the Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention provided some answers at Kamnik in Slovenia.

Energy and nature in the Alps: a balancing act

How do we manage the balancing act between renewable energy production and nature conservation in the Alps? The final conference of the recharge.green project can provide the answers. Organised by CIPRA, it will take place from 20 to 21 May 2015 in Sonthofen, Germany.

Bus and train: new moves in the Alps-Adriatic region

Public transport between Italy, Austria and Slovenia is moving forward. The consequences remain to be seen.

No breathing space in the Alpine regions

As CIPRA South Tyrol has flagged up, EU limits for nitrogen oxides are being massively exceeded in the region. There is an acute need for action, both in South Tyrol and in other Alpine regions.

Chamonix is the 2015 “Alpine Town of the Year”

Located at the foot of the highest mountain in the Alps, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, the “Capital of Alpinism”, has been awarded the title of “Alpine Town of the Year 2015”, mainly in recognition of its nature and climate protection policies.

Future in the Alps

[Project completed]

Ill-timed winter tourism developments throughout the Alps

Despite rising temperatures and doubts about profitability, some Alpine regions are building new winter sports facilities. But who will pay the bill?

Strange but true...

…We now have a new hero factory, Trentino, that is “bearing” heavily on the Alps.

How policies can enable biodiversity

From 13 – 15 October 2014, the conference “How Policy can enable Biodiversity” will highlight opportunities for supporting biodiversity at the international and the local level. The conference, which will be held in Chambéry/F, will also present the findings of the greenAlps project.