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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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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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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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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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Worsening of regional differences in Swiss mountain regions
Switzerland's rural areas and mountain regions are continuing to struggle with depopulation and unemployment. By contrast large regions and central areas are less affected by this negative trend, which has now been ongoing for several years.
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CIPRA on film
To mark its 50th anniversary CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, produced a film about the Alps and of course the Commission's own activities.
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Flora Alpina - An atlas of all 4,500 plants in the Alps
How many vascular plants make up the flora of the Alps? What do they look like? What is their correct designation? What species are annual, perennial or xyloid? When do they flower? Where can they be found? What ecology characterises the individual species? The answers to these and other questions can all be found in Flora alpina, a new publication in three volumes that covers all the flowering plants and ferns of the entire alpine region, from Vienna to Nice, from valley floor to eternal snow.
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7th CIPRA Summer Academy: Last opportunity to take part
There are still a few places left for the Summer Academy organised by the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA). The final deadline for registration, which can be made at www.cipra.org (de/fr/it/sl/en), is 30 June; the web site has details of this training and education event, including the course programme.
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World's first institute for holiday, travel and altitude medicine
"Our aim with the founding of the Institute for Holiday, Travel and Altitude Medicine at the Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology is to demonstrate and substantiate by medical and scientific means the favourable health effect of a high-altitude holiday. We also intend to establish a form of certification for tourist regions and tourist enterprises," explained Tyrol's Provincial Governor Herwig van Staa at the official presentation of the new Institute in Innsbruck/A.
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Second Himalaya Film Festival: Time to submit your films!
Films can now be submitted for the Second Himalaya Film Festival, which is to be held at the Cultural Centre of the Free University Amsterdam/Netherlands on 6 and 7 November.
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Comprehensive study on mountain areas in Europe
The European Commission recently published the results of a study on the economic and social situation of European mountain areas. The study provides an in-depth analysis of mountain areas in 29 countries in Europe, including the EU Member States, the 10 new Member States and Switzerland.
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Projects to protect bearded vultures and golden eagles show positive results
The species preservation projects "Golden Eagles in the Eastern Alps" and "Resettlement of Bearded Vultures in the Alps" were presented on 26 March as part of the 16th National Park Weeks at the Hohe Tauern National Park in Salzburg/A.
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World Water Day: Calls for waterway conservation and a stop to deregulation
The motto for this year's International Water Day on March 22 was "Water and Natural Catastrophes". A number of organisations seized the day to put forward their demands for better water conservation.
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Presentation of an international umbrella brand for leisure & fitness holidays in the Alps
From the end of this year 80 businesses from Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and southern Tyrol are to join forces and carry the new umbrella brand Alpine Wellness International GmbH.
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Early warning system for wolves
The New York Wildlife Conservation Society has developed an early warning system for wolf attacks to help prevent conflicts between man and beast, and as a result also protect the wolves.
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7th CIPRA Summer Academy: The Alps in three weeks
The 7th Summer Academy of the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) is taking place from 16 August to 3 September. For anyone interested in the Alps as a region this education course provides a detailed insight. The lectures and project work on topics related to the Alps are designed to offer a more comprehensive view of the Alps.
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Preserving priority areas of the Alps
At the UN Conference on Biological Diversity in Kuala Lumpur the WWF presented a study identifying 23 priority areas of the Alps. The alpine study in five languages was drawn up by the WWF, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA), the Network of Alpine Protected Areas and the International Scientific Committee for Alpine Research (ISCAR) with the help of a hundred experts from 90 institutions and bodies.
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Minority languages of the Alps take to new media
In the past learning the Romansh language nearly always meant having to go through German. But since the end of last year Lia Rumantscha, the umbrella organisation for all Romansh associations, has posted an online English-Romansh dictionary called "myPledari" on the internet for free use.
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Third Arge-Alp book award
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Alpenländer (Arge Alp) Working Group is to present its book award for the third time at the Arge Alp Book Festival on June 5, to be held in Trento/I, the Alpine Town of the Year 2004.
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International conference on matriarchy and mountains
On 13 and 14 December 2003 the Centro Multipolare per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (multipolar centre for sustainable development) in Sardagna/I organised the 5th International Mountain Conference, with the theme of "Matriarchy and Mountains".
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52nd International Mountain Film Festival
The 52nd International Film Festival on the subject of mountains, research and adventure is to be held in Trento/I, the 2004 Alpine Town of the Year, from 29 April to 9 May. Countries from all over the world are invited to submit films in the following categories: mountain films, films on alpinism, alpine landscape films, research films, sports and adventure films.
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Nepal: Sports event in aid of the local population
The Friendship Everest Skyrace was held for the first time in Nepal's Khumbu valley on 18 November. The event's main objective was to support the school in the remote village of Thame, and it attracted 150 competitors from Nepal and all over the world.
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A brochure on "nature-compatible winter tours"
Over the past few years nature-based winter activities have increased throughout the Alps. More and more these activities are spilling into regions which have hitherto been spared the impact of leisure tourism. In its new brochure entitled "Nature-compatible Winter Tours" the Club Arc Alpin (CAA), the umbrella organisation of the eight alpine associations operating throughout the Alps, offers simple, easy-to-apply tips for winter sports enthusiasts on how to adopt a proactive approach and prevent a negative impact on nature and the landscape.
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Printed version of the monitoring study Agricultural Genetic Resources in the Alps now available
The Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe has just issued the printed version of its publication Agricultural Genetic Resources in the Alps.
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Extensive documentation of the Earth's ground cover and vegetation
An extensive database of the Earth's ground cover and vegetation in 2000 is now available on the Internet (Global Landcover 2000).
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EU nature protection database
Together with the European Topic Centre for Nature Protection and Biodiversity (ETC/NPB in Paris/F) and the European Environmental Information Observation Network (EIONET) the European Environmental Agency EEA has just published a new database with information on the protection of nature: EUNIS - European Nature Information System.
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New publication: Andes - Himalaya - Alps
The latest volume 2003/8 in the History of the Alps series by the International Society for Historical Research into the Alps (ISALP) is dedicated to urban development in the mountain regions of South America, Asia and Europe from the early Middle Ages to the present. The contributions in German, French and Italian provide new insights into the historical development of these three mountain regions. The studies on the individual regions are preceded by two abstracts of discussion papers in English.
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New four-language dictionary on flood protection
The Swiss Federal Office for Water and Geology and the Swiss Federal Chancellery have published a dictionary on flood protection in German, French, Italian and English.
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Cross-border youth solar project successfully completed
It took 15 adolescents from Austria, Slovenia and Italy only one week to erect a solar installation at the leisure centre of the Austrian Klimabündnis [Climate Alliance] municipality of Gurk. The activity was part of the youth solar project "Together for a Sunny Future", and was supervised by technicians from AEE, the Working Party on Renewable Energy.
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Germany: Regional and ecological produce for Allgäu clinics
In future clinics in the Allgäu region are to be provided with nutritionally balanced meals made from regional and ecological produce. Bavaria's Agricultural Minister Josef Miller referred to the brand programme Aus gutem Grund [On Good Grounds] as a milestone in regional marketing. He added that the initiative could well pave the way for the use of regional produce in community catering.