Articles
Latest issue of the Journal of Alpine Research
The latest publication in the bilingual series Journal of Alpine Research comprises four specialist articles on different topical issues. The first feature deals with the rivalry for public commodities, illustrated with the specific example of an irrigation system in northern Italy.
Solar thermal power plant in the French Hautes-Alpes
The energy companies Dalkia and Solar Euromed have joined forces and plan to build the first solar thermal power plant in France. The plant is to be built in Chevalet d'Aspres sur Buech and will generate some 60,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Mountain Research Initiative launches new Newsletter
The first issue of MRI NEWS has just been published. The Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) newsletter will be sent out by e-mail in English twice a year and is entirely given over to research on Global Change in mountain areas.
The Andes and the Alps on a single rope team
This year mountain guides from Peru are carrying out part of their training in the Alps at the invitation of their Swiss counterparts. Already back in the early 1980s, the Swiss Mountain Guide Association initiated a professional mountain guide training course in Peru.
Cashmere goats for the Aosta Valley
Italy's Aosta Valley is to introduce cashmere goats in a bid to start a breeding project. The regional office for agriculture states that the goats can be kept outdoors all year round and are happy to graze even on difficult terrain.
EU measures on climate change
When the time comes for the new European Commission to take office in 2009, it is possible that the EU will appoint a Commissioner for Climate Change, according to the environmental news service ENDS Europe Daily.
2008 King Albert Mountain Award
The King Albert I Memorial Foundation held its annual award ceremony in Pontresina/CH on 6 September.
New publication on developments in environmental law
This book is the first to tell the full story in chronological order of the Environmental Law Programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ELP).
Glittering mountain hut in the Monte Rosa massif
Construction work began last week on the new Monte Rosa Hut at the foot of the Dufourspitze above Zermatt/CH. The hut, which resembles a glittering rock crystal, is being built by the Swiss Alpine Club in the framework of the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Water resources under threat in the Himalayas
Climate change is threatening the water reserves of East Asia. An estimated 50 percent of the water from the Himalayas comes from glaciers, permafrost zones and the snowmelt.
Interactive Internet portal for sustainability in South Tyrol
In a research project lasting several years, a sustainability monitor has been developed for South Tyrol, Italy and is now on-line.
Rail tunnel ground water to heat a tropical greenhouse
In the future, the ground water that drains from the Lötschberg Base Tunnel at a temperature of 20°C will be piped into a tropical greenhouse which is to be built at the northern portal in Frutigen/CH to produce fish and tropical fruit, and also to heat the administration building.
Obligatory rentals for planned Swiss resort
The Egyptian entrepreneur Samih Sawiris does not want the resort he is planning in Andermatt/CH to become a ghost town. His solution: anyone who purchases a house or apartment as a second home must sign a contract agreeing to rent the property whenever they are not in residence.
Biodiversity and climate change as subjects for transnational co-operation
The Alpine Space Programme established in the framework of the INTERREG IVB European Community Initiative Programme is being used to fund a dozen new projects.
Knowledge transfer - new pillar of regional development?
The latest issue of the bilingual (fr/en) Revue de Géographie Alpine (RGA) deals with the subject of knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the regional context.
Modifications to Alpine plant communities
A recent French study into 171 woodland plants in temperate regions shows how plant species have already adjusted to climate change, with a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade in response to rising global temperatures.
EU: Legally enforceable right to clean air
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that citizens have a legally enforceable right to clean air. Individuals affected by high concentrations of particulate matter can now call on the courts throughout the EU to ensure that effective measures are taken to improve the quality of the air.
New World Heritage sites in the Alps
In July the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added another 27 cultural and natural sites to the World Heritage List, including three located in the Alpine region, namely the Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona with the Glarus overthrust, the cross-border (CH/I) Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes and the fortifications of Vauban in France.
Database on municipal development in the Alps
How do my town and region perform in terms of employment, demographics, structural diversity, agricultural and near-natural land use, structural change in agriculture, and landscape fragmentation in the Alpine space?
EU Greening Transport Package
On 8 July the Commission of the European Union presented a package comprising various initiatives for environment-friendly and sustainable transport. The package includes a strategy for internalisation of external costs in the transport sector, a proposal for a Directive on road tolls for lorries, and proposals for reducing the perceived noise from rail freight trains.
European regions calling for a green paper for mountain regions
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is calling for the European Commission to deliver a green paper on development for the mountain regions, with such fields as economic and structural funds, employment policy, nature protection, civil defence, the environment and energy policy, and also transport and agricultural policies combined in an integrated approach that does justice to the special character of the mountain regions.
Climate Pact for the Alps - criteria for innovation
Some 350 attendees came to Argentière-la-Bessée/F for this year's AlpWeek from 11 - 14 June to discuss the question of innovation in and for the Alps under the title of "Innovating (in) the Alps".
2009 Alpine Town of the Year award for Bolzano
On 9 June Bolzano/I was officially declared the 2009 Alpine Town of the Year. The decision was taken in recognition of the South Tyrolean town's contribution to climate protection and a sustainable planning policy designed to provide a good quality of life for residents and an attractive destination for visitors.
Alps and Carpathians pulling together for biological diversity
On 29 May, the representatives of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Alpine Convention and the Carpathian Convention agreed to intensify collaboration in the field of nature protection and signed a memorandum of co-operation to that effect.
New publication: "Mapping the Alps"
With its international data sets and maps, this recently published atlas of the Alps provides a solid and up-to-date basis for a wide range of questions relating to the Alpine region. The editors see their work as a tool for studying the differences and the rapid pace of change in terms of place and society, which is so typical of the Alpine region in particular.
More winter passengers handled by France's Alpine airports
Passenger volumes at the airports in Grenoble-Isère/F and Chambéry-Savoie/F increased by 7% and 20% respectively in the 2007/2008 winter season. In the last two years, Grenoble-Isère has had the highest rates of growth in passenger totals of all French airports.
New look for the Via Alpina website
Via Alpina fans can now go the organisation's revamped website with additional functionality for planning and preparing for a walk. The officially designated routes of the Via Alpina, with descriptions of the walks available in several languages, are the ideal way to discover the Alpine Arc.
EU Structural Fund with negative environmental impacts
More than two thirds of the projects financed with the help of the European Union's Structural Fund have effects that are contrary to EU environmental policy objectives.
Geotourism Challenge - public voting for the winning projects
This year the American National Geographic Society launched the "Geotourism Challenge: Celebrating Places/Changing Lives", a new competition designed to find and promote pioneers in the field of geotourism.
The Climate in the Alps is much prized - CIPRA Competition cc.alps: win prizes worth up to €20,000 each
Prizes worth a total of €100,000 await the best measures aimed at a sustainable approach to the consequences of climate change in the Alpine region. CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, has just launched this competition as part of its cc.alps Project.