Articles
Young people demand climate-friendly Alpine ticket
High prices, long travel times, complex booking systems: an Alpine-wide survey by CIPRA's Youth Council shows that sustainable travel in the Alps must become more attractive.
Monitoring Alpine biodiversity
Photo traps, audio recorders, soil samples: a unique research project in the Alps documents the effects of the climate crisis on biodiversity in the Berchtesgaden National Park/D. The findings will also benefit other mountain regions.
Freight transport belongs on the rails
EU transport ministers want to reach an agreement on the new Eurovignette Directive for transit traffic by the end of September 2020. CIPRA International and the "iMonitraf!" network are therefore calling for rapid agreement to ease the burden on humans and nature.
Youth and climate as the focus of AlpWeek
What do young people think about climate change in the Alps? This is the main theme of the AlpWeek Intermezzo, due to take place in Nice in December 2020.
Location policy at the expense of the environment
Slovenia’s government wants to restrict the right of civil society to have a say in controversial construction projects. Other Alpine countries are also pursuing location policies at the expense of the environment.
Talking about the climate – but how?
Personal, visual, social: this is how we communicate the climate crisis more effectively. Around 250 people discussed language, psychology and social media in the online conference “Tell stories, prick up your ears, make contacts”.
What can we learn from the coronavirus crisis?
In the Alps, too, the question now arises as to what will happen after the corona crisis. As part of its development of new projects, CIPRA conducted a survey to gain an impression of the current mood.
Vision Velo Alpina: a cycle path through the Alps
The Alpe-Adria cycle path or the Eurovelo routes: in the Alps there already exist cross-border long-distance cycle paths, but there is not yet a route through all the Alpine countries. A project to test the feasibility of a Velo Alpina wants to change this.
Point of view: The mountains, a safe place
During the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, mountain areas have gained in importance as places of retreat. In order to be able to fulfil this role better in the future, they must be strengthened and digitally networked, demands Vanda Bonardo, President of CIPRA Italy.
Hut transport: mules as an alternative
For centuries, mules and horses have transported goods in mountainous regions. What used to be the only means of transport has nowadays mostly been replaced by helicopter. A nature park in Piedmont, Italy, is now organising the delivery of goods to mountain huts by mule, while environmentally friendly alternatives to helicopters are also being tested elsewhere.
Quality from the mountains
Cheese, meat and honey – these and other products from the mountains must meet certain EU requirements to be allowed to bear the “mountain product” quality label, introduced by the EU in 2014. A recent study shows whether and how this term has become established.
One ticket, seven countries, 48 regions
AlpTick, one ticket for all public transportation in the entire Alpine region – this is the vision of the CIPRA Youth Council (CYC). Young people are invited to take part in a survey on mobility in the Alps.
A Matter of the Head: Our Image of Climate Protection
Climate change, climate crisis, climate emergency: how do we find the right words to talk about global warming? At the online conference of the Alpine Partnership for Local Climate Action on 30 June and 1 July 2020, the focus will be on communication about climate protection.
More sustainable living thanks to corona?
Pop-up cycle paths in cities, an organic food boom – corona promotes the trend towards more sustainable lifestyles in the Alpine countries as well. A trend that may be here to stay.
New faces at CIPRA
Vanda Bonardo is the new President of CIPRA Italy, with changes too to the Executive Board. There has also been a change on the Executive Board of CIPRA Austria.
Point of view: A building plan for a resilient society
The corona crisis has broken our lives into pieces: relationships, working models, leisure and consumerism are loose building blocks. It is still unclear how we will reassemble them. We now have the chance to draw up a new building plan that is fit for the future, says Barbara Wülser, Co-Executive Director of CIPRA International.
Via Alpina: 20 years of long-distance hiking
For 20 years, the cross-border long-distance hiking trail known as the “Via Alpina” has connected all eight Alpine countries from Trieste to Monaco. It connects people, living spaces and natural areas along five routes, not only physically but also symbolically.
The landscape that moves CIPRA
From a Slovenian mountain pass, via a dying glacier in Switzerland, to a French shepherd's path: in its Annual Report 2019 CIPRA International shows how landscapes and their stories move people.
Point of view: Water needs no borders – do we?
So far, sufficient water is available in the Alpine regions. If there is to be enough for everyone in the future, despite climate change, water must be treated as a common Alpine resource across national borders, says Marion Ebster, Project Manager at CIPRA International.
Tourism after the ski lift
Milder and milder winters are forcing ski resorts to invest in expensive snowmaking and lift facilities – an arms race in which many are no longer able to compete. Some places in the Alps have already found alternatives to skiing.
Harmful transit traffic
Priority for health and the environment along the Brenner axis: this is what CIPRA Italy and other environmental associations are demanding of the Italian Minister of Transport.
Bees: small in size, big in effect
Why we need honey, pollinators and biodiversity: This question is the subject of the themed issue of SzeneAlpen, to be published in March 2020.
Fit for work
Change to bus, train, bike or e-bike: pilot companies in the Alpenrhein-Bodensee-Hochrhein region are testing healthy ways to work in the three-year Interreg project Amigo.
How diversity is lost
Intensive agriculture and climate change: a recent study from Austria shows how much influence both have on the loss of biodiversity in Alpine regions.
Sabbatical in the Alps
Take a longer break and give something back: The "Alpine Sabbatical" in Switzerland offers a meaningful alternative way of spending your free time.
Wanted: pioneering renovations and new buildings
The fifth edition of the international architecture prize, "Constructive Alps", has been launched. Renovations and new buildings that set an example for sustainable construction in the Alps can be submitted until 14 March 2020.
Point of view: For glaciers without a circus
The largest glacier ski resort in the Alps is to be built in Tyrol, Austria - on already melting glaciers. The planned connection of the ski areas in Pitztal and Ötztal goes against all reason, says Kaspar Schuler, Co-Manager of CIPRA International.
Mountaineering recognized as world cultural heritage
Unesco now lists alpinism as an intangible world cultural heritage. Alpine associations from France, Switzerland and Italy submitted the application.
"We Stay on the Ground"
Explore the Alps by train: For the "Youth Alpine Interrail" participants, flight-free travel is a varied adventure.