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Cross-border mobility

[Project completed] Tens of thousands of commuters move across national borders every day in the Alpine region. Existing traffic routes, however, were mostly built with a purely national perspective and are not geared to cross-border commuter flows. The result is overloaded roads, noise and pollution for local residents.

PlurAlps

[Project completed] The Alpine area is experiencing the combined challenges of an ageing population and new migration models. At the same time, opportunities for social innovation and development arise from increasing cultural diversity and pluralism. Mountainous and peripheral Alpine municipalities and regions are specifically concerned and need technical support and new approaches to develop a welcoming culture, which should be credibly embraced and implemented by municipalities, SMEs and civil society.

Annual Reports

Social Innovation in the Alps

Examples of social innovation

Point of view: The Alpine community must not forget the refugees!

While Eusalp wants to bring together the Alpine regions, migrants are dying on the borders between the Alpine countries. Francesco Pastorelli, Director of CIPRA Italy, asks what has happened to our hospitable, solidarity-based, tolerant Europe?

Thinking ahead together

Sustainable development needs commitment on the part of society. With its theme of «Social Innovation», CIPRA International’s 2017 Annual Report puts people at the centre of change.

How ideas grow and prosper

Marko wants to move to the countryside, but he lacks courage and prospects. Susanne wonders what to do with the many empty buildings. In the project alpMonitor, CIPRA shows how social innovation is preparing the way for the future.

Caught between the season and home

The winter season in the Alps is at an end. The mostly foreign seasonal workers have worked hard for others’ holidays. Initiatives in France and Switzerland are providing ideas on how to improve their situation.

The Brenner Pass: transit trouble

The year 2017 saw record numbers of trucks crossing the Brenner Pass. Now there is an opportunity to find a solution to the problem.

Rejuvenation of mountain farms

Fewer and fewer young people want to become farmers. If no one is willing to inherit and take on the running of a farm, it will close. There is a lack of both recognition and incentives – from EU policy through to searching for partners.

Between the desire for relaxation and the pressure for development

Few topics provoke such heated debates as Alpine tourism. At the end of May 2018 CIPRA International and the «Alliance in the Alps» network of municipalities will be providing an opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions in Bled, Slovenia.

Departure time for helicopters

At a time of declining winter tourism, heli-skiing brings in extra income. While sports enthusiasts might pay a few hundred euros, nature pays a high price.

Strange but true...

BeeAware!

[Project completed] The aim of the project BeeAware! is to inspire communities in the Alps for bee protection and thus to improve the livelihoods of honey and wild bees. Bees are depending on an intact biodiversity. The different bee species need different plants, nesting and drinking places in order to survive. Integral bee protection therefore means securing, improving and enlarging the habitat of these important pollinators.

The Alpine Lab. The experience carried on by CIPRA in the Susa Valley

Kaspar Schuler: new strength for the Alps

Kaspar Schuler is taking over the leadership of CIPRA International in Schaan, Liechtenstein. A native of Switzerland, he brings with him many years of experience and numerous skills in the environmental field, most recently as interim director of Greenpeace Switzerland.

Climate

Alpine Convention

Alpine Politics

People

Bogs – a way out of the climate swamp

One hectare of bog can store as much CO2 as a car produces in a year. The Alps suffer from some of the world’s heaviest traffic – yet fewer and fewer intact bogs remain.

How intact ecosystems improve our quality of life

Nature provides us with enormous benefits. The AlpES project draws on the concept of ecosystem services in order to record these in the Alpine regions and increase their appreciation.

Solutions for borderless commuter mobility

Traffic jams, convoy controls, fine dust pollution and the Brenner base tunnel: while the problems of transit and goods traffic accumulate on political agendas, commuter cars remain stuck in queues.

What now for the Alpine strategy?

Since January, the Austrian federal state of Tyrol has been chairing the European strategy for the Alps. This year will see a decision on how the strategy will be implemented in practice.

Prospects for young people

Like many other rural areas, the Koroška region of northern Slovenia also has to battle against depopulation. Various measures and ideas now aim to persuade young people to stay.

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GaYA

[Project completed] Governance and youth in the Alps - Young people tend to leave the Alpine space because they lack personal and professional fulfilment. Furthermore a majority of decision-makers remain unaware of the benefits a young active population brings to society.

CIPRA Sounding Board

Alpine Partnership for Local Climate Action (ALPACA)

[Project completed] Rising temperatures, rockfalls, lack of snow: global warming is clearly noticeable in the Alpine region. The «Alpine Partnership for Local Climate Action» has the intention to bring together cities, municipalities and networks in order to work together for more climate protection. With this initiative, CIPRA International, «Alliance in the Alps» and «Alpine Town of the Year» want to strengthen the transregional exchange of knowledge and experience. The goal of positioning the Alps as a model region for climate protection is also in line with the Alpine Convention.