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International Glacier Caravan

Six stages through three Alpine countries: this year’s international campaign by the Italian environmental organisation Legambiente, with the participation of CIPRA, condemned the retreat of the glaciers and thus raised awareness of climate change.

Too much, too loud, too crowded

From the tunnel blockade in Hallstatt/A to the protest rally on the Sella Pass/I: civil society is protesting against overtourism in the Alpine regions – and demanding relief for people and the environment.

Ground:breaking

Soils are among the most important resources we have. CIPRA's new Ground:breaking project shows why desealing land benefits everyone and what is needed at political, legal and local level in the Alpine region to achieve this.

Controversial railway tunnel between Turin and Lyon

In mid-June 2023, hundreds of people gathered in the French border town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to protest against the construction of a high-speed rail tunnel between Lyon and Turin. In a public statement, CIPRA France and Mountain Wilderness also criticised the project.

Experience the last of the glaciers

Recharge your batteries, go cycling, visit the glaciers: the Alpine Climate Camps project combines mountain sports with climate protection, further encouraging young climate activists. A bicycle tour in Austria at the beginning of September 2023 and other activities in Switzerland and Italy will draw attention to the disappearing glaciers.

Wanted: innovative ideas for the Alps

Young and committed people can now apply for the second “Alpine Changemaker Basecamp” in July 2023, where they can further develop and optimise their project ideas in a professional environment.

IOC favours bobsleigh solution abroad

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally notified the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) that there is no need to build a new bobsleigh track for the Winter Olympics.

Mountain forests and climate change

The consequences of climate change are also becoming apparent in the forests of the Alps. In South Tyrol/I and East Tyrol/A this year has seen an explosive spread of pests. What looks like frightening devastation might present a long-term opportunity, however.

A kindergarten again after 50 years

A small mountain village is reviving: in the 1980s, Ostana/I had shrunk to fewer than ten inhabitants. A slow but steady turnaround then followed: an important step on this path is the newly reopened kindergarten.

Alpine towns – key to sustainable development

The ninth Report on the State of the Alps, entitled “Alpine Towns”, was presented as part of the Swiss presidency of the Alpine Convention. It sheds light on how the Alpine settlement system hinders – or helps – the sustainable development of the Alps.

The “Green Communities” in the Italian Alps

Sustainable management of the built heritage, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly mobility: how can mountain areas be upgraded and the overuse of natural resources curbed? The first “Green Communities” in Italy want to show that this is also possible in a socially acceptable way.

Shoes from a 3D printer

Creative, young, motivated: around 30 young people from all the Alpine countries have spent a year implementing their ideas for a good life in the Alps. At the beginning of July they concluded their year-long journey as “Alpine Changemakers” and presented their projects.

Making vacancies visible

The "Plattform Land" draws attention to vacancies in South Tyrolean pilot communities and shows how they can make good use of empty properties.

Climate-fit mountain regions

The "AdaPT Mont-Blanc" project uses a digital toolbox to show what measures are available for adapting to climate change at the spatial planning level.

Point of view: the excessive character of the Olympics

High construction costs, unused sports facilities, environmentally damaging large-scale projects: loud criticism continues to surround the staging of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina/I. We must ask whether such sporting events still have a place in the Alps, says Vanda Bonardo, President of CIPRA Italy.

Ski resorts for sale

Vail Resorts from the USA is taking over Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland, while a British company is buying Via Lattea in Italy. This is the role played by international investors in the ski circus of the Alps.

Truck promotion instead of ecology

The European Parliament has shown no understanding. Even the last rescue attempts by three parliamentarians were shot down. The new toll regulation for road haulage on European motorways will lead to the one-sided promotion of hydrogen and electric engines. This will lead to a massive disadvantage for freight transport by rail and to even more trucks.

Trucks on (de)tour

One third of the lorries on the Brenner motorway are rerouted to save toll costs. In doing so, they take detours of up to 120 kilometres, as a study from Tyrol/A shows. But the European Parliament does not take this into account.

Winter Games on a slippery slope

History repeats itself: after the fiasco surrounding the construction ruins in Turin in 2006, the plans for Italy's supposedly “green” Winter Games in Milan and Cortina in 2026 are now too coming under criticism.

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.

Online conference: Building an Alpine-wide web of shepherding organisations

The return of large carnivores in the Alps has many consequences on alpine farming and on the work and practises of shepherding. CIPRA International invites representatives from shepherding organisations in the Alpine region, representatives from agricultural schools and organisations as well as responsible authorities that have developed curriculums for herders to a virtual conference to discuss needs and opportunities for a cross-border shepherd organisation.

Kick-Off Italian EUSALP-Presidency 2022

The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region EUSALP, launched in 2015, aims at developing the Alpine region as an attractive, innovative, competitive and green region in the heart of Europe. The focus lies on economic growth and innovation, mobility and connectivity, as well as environmental protection and energy. After the successful French presidency, the autonomous provinces of Bolzano-South Tyrol and Trento will take over the presidency for Italy for the year 2022.

Eco.mont special issue: Biosphere Reserves in Mountain Regions

On the occasion of 50 years Man and the Biosphere Programme the Austrian MAB National Committee has organized and financed a special issue on Biosphere Reserves in Mountain Regions in eco.mont. The special issue contains 16 articles from four out of five MAB regions.

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.

Climate crisis makes mountains crumble

Rockfalls and rockslides are nothing new in the Alps, but dwindling permafrost is making the situation even worse – for mountaineering and for villages.

8th Report on the State of the Alps: Air quality in the Alps