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Strange but true!

... it’s a real “boar”! Wild pigs are conquering the Alps.

Point of view: Preserving the strongholds of the Alps

Dozens of development projects are simmering in the drawers of investors from Slovenia to France. It is thus even more important to sustain existing protected areas, says Katharina Conradin, member of the executive board of CIPRA International and executive director of Mountain Wilderness Switzerland.

Looking for answers to resource shortages

Resources are finite, including those in the Alps. What solutions are available for living a good life that do not simply depend on ever more consumption? Some answers will be provided at the CIPRA Annual Conference to be held in November 2014 in Annecy, France

Ski tourism: an insatiable hunger

Gigantic artificial lakes, myriads of snow cannons, secret forest clearances. Ski areas are continuing to expand in all Alpine countries, often using questionable methods and concepts. Below are three examples.

Bad atmosphere in the Alps

Never before have atmospheric CO2 levels been as high as those recorded in April 2014. Many Alpine valleys are suffering from poor air quality. This puts the health of many people in the Rhône-Alpes Region at risk - lower motorway speeds can be part of the solution.

Soil Erosion in the Alps

Experience gained from case studies (2006–2013)

Mobile Borders

Alpine Variations

The Human Yardstick

What role does CIPRA play on the international architecture scene? Köbi Gantenbein on the subject of CIPRA's work with Constructive Alps, the competition for sustainable construction and renovation in the Alps.

Bear Report 2013

Young people beyond boundaries

The Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention (YPAC), held in Chamonix, sought to find solutions for creating an open society. Political education and more information were uppermost on the wish list of the participants, who came from all of the Alpine countries.

Municipal network for nature protection

Nature knows no bounds. Therefore, 25 members of the “Alliance in the Alps” network of municipalities are now working together to ensure greater biodiversity and quality of life. Below is a summary of the aims of the international dynAlp-nature projects.

What municipalities can do for hermits and fire salamanders

The Alps possess an especially large and valuable diversity of plants and animals; this can only continue if habitats are preserved and remain connected to one another. Municipalities can contribute to this in many ways: CIPRA has produced a short film for municipal representatives showing how to make use of these opportunities.

Why Sochi is not in the Alps

The idea of the Alps as a venue for the Winter Olympics is these days scarcely conceivable. CIPRA has now produced a review of the reasons underlying this, the experiences gained from the candidatures of Annecy, Salzburg, Munich and Graubünden (Grisons), and what remains of the Turin Games.

Genetic engineering: sinister passengers in the Alps

In Switzerland genetically modified rapeseed is spreading in uncontrolled fashion. Yet its cultivation and use for feeding have been prohibited there since 2008. How is it that such rape is appearing in places where it has no right to be?

Oh...

…the Alps have clearly got wilder, particularly in the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons).

Sustainable means a different kind of Olympics

For Switzerland today, a pioneering spirit means effectively reducing one’s carbon footprint. And using one’s own resources in such a way that generations to come are able to go on living a worthwhile life together with the rest of the world. Anything else is a misrepresentation, like the planned Winter Olympics in Graubünden in 2022. Sustainable Winter Olympics need a change of direction, something that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which dictates the terms, is not even close to initiating.

Salmon coming to the Rhine

From the Atlantic to the Alps: by 2020 the Rhine will once again be a home to salmon. These migratory fish will then be able to swim unhindered all the way to Basel -short-term by unconventional means where necessary.

Who will shape the Alpine macro-region?

With its "Alpen.Leben" (Living in the Alps) project, CIPRA Austria is sounding out the role of the Alpine Convention for a macro-regional strategy and is asking who should actually have a say in shaping this European Union strategy for the Alps.

..oh!

... the rapid pace of climate change in the Alps has seen two huge new residents moving to Monaco. The smallest state in the Alps, which is also a party to the Alpine Convention, is now home to its first elephants!

CIPRA's point of view: Co-operation, not killing

The authorities in Graubünden are demanding that bears be shot in Italy before they cross into Switzerland and potentially cause problems there. Is a preventive shooting really suitable to prevent conflicts with humans?

Project GreenAlps for more species diversity

Laws in future are to aim more directly at promoting ecological networking in the Alps. Regions, protected areas and NGOs, including CIPRA, are therefore jointly initiating the GreenAlps project in the autumn.

Upgrading the high mountains

Austria's highest suspension bridge, including the "Steps into the Void", is intended to lure tourists to the Dachstein Glacier in a similar way to the recently opened "Du Gouter" luxury hut for walkers on Mont Blanc. The ways in which the Alpine mountain world courts visitors.

National parks remove exotic fish species

Collecting what was released into the wild fifty years ago is the order of the day in the Gran Paradiso and Triglav National Parks, where the fish species introduced have had serious effects on the natural environment.

Oh...!

... Honesty pays off in the end. This must have been the thought of a 90-year old inhabitant of the Canton of Wallis who had spent his entire life blasting away at animals against the law.

A public-shared sustainable energy action plan

The Natural Regional Park of Queyras (France, PACA region) launched its own sustainable energy action plan in May 2013. Its primary objective is to be shared among citizens and local stakeholders.

Launch of the International Connectivity Conservation Network

Connecting habitats around the world requires the commitment of a great number of individuals. To help these persons in their work, the World Commission on Protected Areas has established the International Connectivity Conservation Network.

Alps and beyond: better corridors towards the Carpathians and the Mediterranean region

Ecological networks are important within certain geographical areas, such as the Alps, and also with neighbouring regions. Several projects are working to ensure that the Alps are better connected with their surroundings. Major steps have been undertaken in the Alps-Carpathians corridor and in the area connecting the Alps with the Mediterranean region.

Natural forests for woodpeckers, beetles and bats

The new Austrian project, "Network Natural Forests", intends to contribute to the protection of biodiversity by connecting its forest habitats via two elements: close-to-nature stepping stones and the co-operation of different protected areas.

Nature-friendly tourism and connected habitats in the Rhaetian Triangle

Supporting the implementation of an ecological network continues to be a major issue in the Swiss region of the Lower Engadine. The new "Colliar" project intends to improve co-operation on regional initiatives by different sectors.

Better ecological corridors and fewer accidents involving animals on Swiss roads

The Federal Council has drawn positive conclusions as regards the status of ecological corridors in Switzerland. A pilot project has tested how to successfully reduce collisions between animals and cars. The upcoming research field of landscape genetics provides new insights for the planning and implementation of ecological networks.