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Act now to protect forests: sign the #HandsOffNature petition!

More than 40 percent of the Alpine region is covered by forests. They are not only a defining feature of the landscape, but also a cornerstone of Alpine livelihood, providing building materials, supporting biodiversity, and delivering essential ecosystem services.

Winter Olympics on shaky ground

Use as much concrete and steel as possible: that seems to be the sustainability strategy for the Winter Olympics in the Italian Alps. Mountain communities are particularly affected. The icing on the cake is the construction of a new cable car on a slippery slope in Cortina.

After the Games is before the Games

The French people were not involved in the planning of the 2030 Winter Olympics. Environmental organisations are mobilising for public participation and sustainable Games. Meanwhile, Switzerland is preparing its Olympic bid for 2038.

Point of view: Winter Games need to face reality

Major events promise modernity, revitalisation and global visibility. In the Alps, however, these promises are now being made in territories marked by the climate crisis, depopulation and, at the same time, growing tourist pressure. Looking closely at Milan-Cortina 2026, what emerges is not only a celebration of sport, but one of the largest public and infrastructure investment programmes ever concentrated in the Alpine area – with effects that are set to continue well beyond the time of the competitions, says Vanda Bonardo, president of CIPRA Italy.

Petition against oil companies in skiing

An oil giant as a premium partner: energy company ENI is sponsoring the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Athletes are now calling for a rethink in winter sports with the “Ski Fossil Free” petition.

When nature loses, we all lose

The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the safety of our homes – all depend on strong environmental laws. Right now, those protections are under attack. Once they’re gone, we hand the keys of our future to those who see nature only as a resource to exhaust. In the EU, environmental laws are being gutted, under the promise of “simplification” of the legal system. But in reality, these changes will only profit greed, while endangering the lives of all.

Webinar "A focus on certifications as a tool for municipalities to improve quality of life"

Tuesday 3rd of March, 10:00-12:00: a focus on certifications as a tool for municipalities to improve quality of life. Municipalities will be invited to speak about their local practices. The seminar will only be held in English.

Webinar “An introduction to Quality of life as a compass for good governance”

The Interreg Alpine Space project GOVQoL - Empowering local governance of Alpine communities for a better quality of life is pleased to invite you to a series of online seminars we will be organising in February and March 2026! The GOVQoL project is a transnational cooperation project aiming at supporting local communities in improving their governance in the field of quality of life. To reach this objective, GOVQoL conducts several activities such as identifying governance gaps in the Alps, supporting 10 pilot communities in writing their roadmap to improve local governance of quality of life, editing a practical handbook on how to reach this ojective (including lots of good practices!) and ... online seminars to foster Alpine-wide exchange and cooperation. This project stems from the results of the 10th report on the State of the Alps, published in 2025 by the Alpine Convention.

Open letter: Protecting the Alps from excessive transit traffic

The Alpine region is under increasing pressure from the climate crisis, air pollution and ever-growing traffic volumes: 67 organisations, led by CIPRA International, have therefore sent an open letter to EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the transport ministers of the Alpine countries.

Open letter: Protecting the Alps from excessive transit traffic

The Alpine region is under increasing pressure from the climate crisis, air pollution and ever-growing traffic volumes: 67 organisations, led by CIPRA International, have therefore sent an open letter to EU Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the transport ministers of the Alpine countries.

Via Alpina Youth – responsible bivouacking Call to action & points to think about

This paper builds on the Yes We Camp whitepaper and its “call to action & points to think about” and places the concept of responsible bivouacking in direct relation to the Alpine Convention, with a particular focus on the nature protection protocol. It demonstrates that responsible bivouacking can operationalize the objectives of the Alpine Convention by translating international legal principles into concrete, user-oriented practices in the alpine space.

Resource Talks - Voices from AG 6

The EUSALP Action Group 6 invites you to the third ResourceTalk – voices from AG6, a short Webinar series to explore and discuss about natural and cultural resources in the Alpine Region.

Reading Mountains Festival 2025

The cultural diversity of the Alps is so omnipresent in our everyday lives that we all too often take it for granted. Once a year, the Alpine Convention pays tribute to the cultural heritage in the Alps with the Alpine-wide ‘Reading Mountains Festival’, which consists of a mosaic of events organised by our partners throughout the Alpine region and beyond.

Going underground? One tunnel breakthrough, numerous question marks

On 18 September 2025, politicians from Austria and Italy celebrated the breakthrough of the Brenner Base Tunnel between Austria and Italy. They dream of “smooth traffic” through and over the Alps – but many questions remain unanswered.

Relevance of quality of life for local governance

The position paper lays the ground for the future work of the GOVQoL project, the full title Empowering local governance of Alpine communities for a better quality of life. The paper was prepared to assure common understanding of the quality of life, elaborate the relationship between the quality of life and local governance, and emphasise why this relationship should be further strengthened. The position paper lays the ground for the future work of the GOVQoL project, the full title Empowering local governance of Alpine communities for a better quality of life. The paper was prepared to assure common understanding of the quality of life, elaborate the relationship between the quality of life and local governance, and emphasise why this relationship should be further strengthened.

Dialogue on Alpine Spatial Planning: Proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025

How can Alpine Spatial Planning mitigate conflicts between the energy transition and nature restoration? This question was addressed at the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025 in Salzburg, which brought together more than 160 participants. The proceedings show key insights and recommended actions – not in a concluding way, but as part of an ongoing learning process and as an impulse for further debates. They underline the shared understanding that the energy transition in the Alpine region must be approached and implemented in a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary, and transboundary manner.

Alpine Spatial Planning: Spatial planning perspectives for overcoming conflicts of use in the context of the energy transition

The proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025 summarise the participatively developed results, conclusions, and normative policy and planning recommendations on the role of Alpine spatial planning in the context of current EU requirements for nature restoration and the expansion of renewable energies.

MultiBios

[Project completed] In addition to well-known natural hazards such as mudslides and floods, heatwaves and droughts are increasingly affecting the Alpine region. The international project MultiBios is working together with biosphere parks to explore how affected communities and regions can better prepare for multiple climate risks.

Quality of life in the Alps

Report on the state of the Alps - by the Alpine Convention

Position: Transport and mobility in the Alps

In its new 40-page position paper, CIPRA outlines sustainable mobility in the Alpine region with the least possible negative impact of transport on the environment and people. In addition to travel, the paper also addresses commuter traffic, long-distance traffic and freight transport - supplemented with facts, concrete measures and good examples.

Keeping our eyes on the stars

Dark nights have become a rarity in our bright world. Artificial light from settlements, industry, street lighting and billboards illuminates the night sky. In Austria, a new natural night sky area is being created that will preserve the view of the starry sky.

Climate risks: better to prepare than to wait

Early warning systems for heavy rainfall, prediction models for droughts: the MultiBios project, completed in April 2025, saw biosphere parks from German-speaking countries sharing their experiences in dealing with climate risks. A research team investigated their role in natural hazard management.

Voices along the Via Alpina

The Via Alpina has been connecting people, cultures and landscapes across the Alps for 25 years now. A podcast series tells the story of the project, highlights the challenges and opportunities of long-distance hiking and raises awareness of sustainable tourism in the Alps.

GOVQoL – Empowering Alpine communities to improve their quality of life

Alpine communities’ quality of life (QoL) is currently facing several challenges such as the depopulation of remote areas, reduced provision of services of general interest, the impacts of climate change, and mistrust of governance. These issues are not only reshaping the Alpine territories but also impacting the daily lives of its inhabitants. Despite the urgent need for responsive and inclusive governance, there is currently a significant gap in understanding and addressing QoL at the local level which our project aims to address.

Webinars for cities and municipalities

Never again: Racism in nature conservation

How to counter nationalist ideologies in nature conservation: A workshop organized by CIPRA Germany and an excursion to Obersalzberg/D in September 2024 tackled this topic.

10 Key Concepts of the Pastoral economy

Webinar series on cross-border mobility

The webinar series on cross-border mobility and European strategies and grants for mobility solutions aimed to strengthen the common understanding and European approach to local mobility solutions. The workshops were open to all stakeholders interested in these topics and provided a platform for exchange and cooperation.

A delegation from Chartreuse visits Bad Hindelang to discuss mobility in Alpine areas

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised exchange study visits between two pilot territories : the Chartreuse massif in France (represented by the regional natural park and the local authority "Coeur de Chartreuse") and the municipality of Bad Hindelang in Germany.

DINAMO Erasmus+ project: a new white paper on mountain mobility

The "DINAMO" project aims to address the challenges of rural mountain mobility by encouraging cooperation between different stakeholders and stimulating creative processes through international exchanges. The main objective is to promote sustainable mobility solutions in rural mountain areas, to help them become less dependent on individual car transport.