Articles
Working together for the future of the Alps
On the 22nd of January the Slovenian Presidency of the Alpine Convention hosted the Alpine Conference in Brdo/SI. A central theme was the quality of life in the Alpine region, which is also the subject of the tenth Report on the State of the Alps.
Point of view: Let’s prioritise youth over tourism
We want young people to stay on the land, but the demands of tourism, high property prices and the landscape as an object of speculation make this difficult. We talk about the fight against the climate and biodiversity crisis, all while shopping centres and business parks are being built in the countryside. Environmental protection and solutions to the housing crisis should be prioritised, as this would also be in the interests of young people, says Dijana Čataković from CIPRA Slovenia. She asks: Who else will be able to live in the Alps and afford to live there?
AlpWeek 2024: time for action
A look back, a look forwards: twenty years after the first AlpWeek, the eighth edition of the international conference brought over 200 people to Nova Gorica/SL to discuss what is important in the development of the Alpine region.
AlpWeek 2024 in Nova Gorica
Two decades ago, “AlpWeek” was held for the first time in Slovenia as an international event organised by Alpine organisations. It will return there from 23 to 25 September 2024.
20,000 climate-friendly kilometres
At the end of June 2024, 35 young people – previously unknown to each other – met in Slovenia. They were part of the Yoalin project, in which 105 (out of over 2,200 applicants) are travelling the Alps this summer in a climate-friendly way using an Interrail ticket.
Young people’s demands for a good life in the Alps
Environmental protection, car-free mobility and better work-life balance: these were the political demands of young people from Germany, France, Slovenia and Liechtenstein at the end of the CIPRA “Alpine Compass” project.
The role of forests in climate change
What role will forests play in the future in the face of climate change? At the end of 2023, CIPRA Slovenia co-organized a meeting of various interest groups on this topic. Experts agreed on the need to designate more areas where forests are left unmanaged.
Lawsuits and laws for climate protection
Climate protection laws define clear climate targets, but for many the measures set out are insufficient. Climate lawsuits are increasing political pressure in the Alpine countries.
Commuting made easy
Commuting to work in healthier, more environmentally friendly ways: this is the goal set by the Slovenian municipality of Škofja Loka and local companies in the Trata 2.1 project, inspired by the experiences of corporate mobility management in the Alpine Rhine Valley.
Alpine Policy 2023: the Slovenian-Swiss year
This year, Slovenia and Switzerland will play a decisive role in shaping international cooperation between states and regions in the Alps: Slovenia is taking over the presidency of the Alpine Convention, while Switzerland is the first non-EU country to chair the Eusalp, the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region.
Alpine towns – key to sustainable development
The ninth Report on the State of the Alps, entitled “Alpine Towns”, was presented as part of the Swiss presidency of the Alpine Convention. It sheds light on how the Alpine settlement system hinders – or helps – the sustainable development of the Alps.
Bad atmosphere in the Soča Valley
Slovenia’s largest cement plant is located in the Soča Valley: it is facing criticism for endangering the health of the local population through air pollution. This criticism has now also been confirmed by the UN Special Rapporteur David Boyd after his visit to Slovenia in autumn 2022.
Ideas for Jelovica from Pinzgau
Preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage: this is the aim of the project on the Slovenian karst plateau of Jelovica. In mid-September 2022, the Slovenian partners of the “JeloviZA” project travelled to the Austrian Pinzgau region to gain inspiration from the Hohe Tauern National Park region.
For drinkable water
In a referendum held at the beginning of July, Slovenia’s citizens voted by a clear majority in favour of preserving the shore and coastal zones. In doing so, they overturned a new law that would also have affected Alpine waters.
Do you speak Alps?
A different dialect in every community: the linguistic diversity of the Alps is fascinating and constantly changing, which also makes it interesting for linguists. Using modern methods such as crowdsourcing, a research project is collecting dialect words across the Alps for a digital, living lexicon.
Under the magnifying glass
What treasures and resources are hidden in the Alps? How do we deal with them as sustainably as possible? These and similar questions are posed in the August 2021 issue of SzeneAlpen.
Mobile in the Alps
By rail, by road, by mountain path: numerous CIPRA projects show just how diverse sustainable mobility can be.
Climate crisis makes mountains crumble
Rockfalls and rockslides are nothing new in the Alps, but dwindling permafrost is making the situation even worse – for mountaineering and for villages.
Point of view: We need an Alpine Ticket for public transport
Homeschooling, no public transport and closed borders: the corona crisis has revealed some aspects of life that people did not previously appreciate so much. An Alps-wide ticket for public transport could tackle all of these issues, as Rok Brišnik explains. He studies Geography and History at the University of Ljubljana/SI and is a member of the CIPRA Youth Council (CYC).
Living mountain forests
Climate protector and habitat, recreational area and timber supplier: forests have many functions, both in the natural ecosystem and for humans. CIPRA Slovenia's “GozdNega / Forest Care” project aims to convince forest owners of the benefits of climate-friendly management.
"We Stay on the Ground"
Explore the Alps by train: For the "Youth Alpine Interrail" participants, flight-free travel is a varied adventure.
Budding ideas and flourishing projects
Building raised plant beds, converting parking spaces, replacing plastic bottles: at the end of the local project, young people from Schaan/LI travelled by train to Maribor/Sl and presented their actions aimed at a more sustainable lifestyle.
Rethinking spaces
A picnic at a construction site, the rescue of undeveloped land and the conversion of an old barracks: three examples that rethink spatial planning in the Alps.
Point of view: So the landscape has a future
The guardians of the landscape are the people who live there. They must be involved in the decision-making and development processes, says Špela Berlot, Managing Director of CIPRA Slovenia.
Creative use of vacancies
In order to revive vacant areas and buildings, four Alpine towns have joined forces in the "Tour des Villes" project. Mutual and cross-border exchange of knowledge and ideas were in the foreground during the duration of the project.
Tourism: two sides of the same coin
Caught between the difficulties of growth and the quest for sustainability, tourism has a polarising effect. At the end of May 2018 over 200 participants at a conference in Bled, Slovenia discussed how Alpine tourism and the quality of life can complement one another. The event was staged by CIPRA together with the “Alliance in the Alps”.
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.
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.