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Think globally, act locally

CIPRA France. The European Strategy for the Alps (Eusalp) examines answers to challenges such as demographic change, economic globalisation, climate change, and energy transition.

Identity needs culture

CIPRA Switzerland. Growth-orientated regional politics in Switzerland today are aimed first and foremost at economic development and at prioritising hubs and development axes. The potential afforded by mountain regions with their diverse culture is barely recognised.

Creating and testing new ways

Climate change, scarce resources, development pressures: there is a global need for new ways and forms of social and economic cohabitation. The Alps too are the setting for social innovations.

A beacon for sustainable tourism

The second weekend in August will once again see the “Fire across the Alps” burning. In this, the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, these watch-fires are intended to stimulate ideas as to the necessary changes for tourism in the Alps.

Give youth a voice! How youth participation can be encouraged in the Alpine space

How can young people become more involved in political processes? What good examples already exist for this? These questions were the central issues at a workshop held in the context of the GaYA project in Bozen/Bolzano.

Pesticides: a tug of war

Pesticides damage the environment, threaten useful species like bees, pollute the water in the Alps, while some are suspected of causing cancer. They nevertheless appear to be indispensable in conventional agriculture.

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Reliable partnerships right across the Alps

CIPRA Austria, CIPRA Germany, CIPRA South Tyrol. Right now the cable car industry is all about superlatives. Indeed, the “world’s greatest glacier ski area” is to be created by linking up the ski resorts in the Austrian Pitztal and Ötztal valleys.

Spray-painting for environmental protection

CIPRA South Tyrol. Urban Green – How does the young generation imagine its city of the future?

“A picture speaks a thousand words” - SPARE Project communicating through multimedia

With a brand new collection of infographics and photo books the SPARE Project partners aim at visually communicating the current river management processes in each of the project’s five Pilot Case Study sites.

Timetables in the Alps 2017

Point of view: Biodiversity Conservation: less talk, more action

May 22nd marks the International Day for Biological Diversity, an initiative brought into life by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2000. Martha Dunbar, Project Manager for Biodiversity and Landscape, fears that now in 2017 we are still treading water.

Alpine Convention puts equality on the agenda

With a women’s conference and a declaration, the Austrian presidency has placed a new topic on the agenda of the Alpine Convention – and raised expectations. But where do things go from here?

No ski-lift connection permitted in nature reserve

The Federal State of Upper Austria gave its legal opinion on the expansion of the “Höss-Wurzeralm” ski area in April. The matter is now on file.

speciAlps

[Project completed] Grasslands, marshes, hedges, biotopes and woods are examples of natural treasures and biological diversity that are of great value to alpine regions and municipalities. Not only do they offer a habitat for plants and animals, but also humans value functioning natural areas for their attractiveness and the quality of life they offer. Nevertheless, –these areas have much more potential than we often realise and there is much more every municipality can do!

Networked for the Alps - CIPRA Annual report 2016

whatsalps youth

[Project completed] Many young people spend most of their time indoors, sit in front of the TV or the computer. The "whatsalp youth"-project lured them out. The CIPRA Youth Council, together with CIPRA International and other project partners, was implementing it.

1. Workshop

3. Workshop

Transit traffic: a partial success on the Gotthard Pass

The Gotthard Pass has seen a historic low in transalpine goods traffic since the adoption of the law governing the modal shift. In contrast, the number of trucks crossing the Brenner Pass continues to increase.

Point of view: A "man's world" and "women's work": time to move on

Equal opportunities are still a women’s topic . Yet there are sufficient reasons to treat it as an issue for society as a whole. Everyone benefits – especially in the Alps, believes Barbara Wülser, deputy director of CIPRA International.

Networked for the Alps

CIPRA is a small organisation that can boast a large network. Its annual report shows how this permits people to tackle the challenges facing the Alps together.

Polluted glaciers

Pesticides, herbicides, medicines – all these materials were found at over 2,700 metres above sea level. The water flowing down from the Presena glacier into the valley reflects this state of affairs.

Paddling for the “blue heart” of Europe

The end of March saw the start of the Balkan Rivers Tour in Slovenia, the largest water protection action in Europe. The aim is to protect its last unspoilt rivers.

Strange but true...

International Day of Action for Rivers

Fishing, farming, swimming, canoeing, hiking, drinking…. All in all, we are thousands of people benefiting from the resources provided by alpine rivers. However, only healthy rivers can provide these so-called ecosystem services. Alpine river ecosystems are vulnerable and often under pressure from various human activities. Can we do more to protect them? Yes!

Economic activity in mountain areas

What can – and cannot – mountain areas do? Two new studies from Germany and Switzerland show the opportunities and weaknesses of regional economies and demonstrate that mountain areas can help in determining their own economic future.

The wandering classroom

Young people spend the majority of their school time indoors. The new “whatsalp youth” project moves the classroom into the mountains and learning into the great outdoors.

Mountain Research and Development, Vol 37, No 1: Special Issue

This issue offers 14 peer-reviewed articles focusing on questions related to water, risk reduction, energy, land use change, biodiversity, vegetation ecology, conservation, gender policy, ethnobotany, indigenous knowledge, economic opportunities, mobility, and glacier monitoring—always with sustainable development in mind. Geographically, papers present insights from Nepal, China, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Ecuador, and Colombia.

Worthwild

[Project completed] Only minimally impacted by human intervention, areas with limited infrastructural development in the Alps provide European societies with a wide range of ecosystem services, such as the conservation of biodiversity and climate regulation.