Political positions of CIPRA International
Hydropower in the Alps
How much hydropower use is environmentally compatible and ecologically sustainable? This question has been on the minds of people in the Alpine region for decades - all the more so against the backdrop of the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels. There are currently around 21,000 hydropower plants in operation in Europe, 300 under construction and over 8,500 in the planning stage. In many places, climate change with its imponderables such as extreme floods is being countered with more dams and walls, although river widening, for example, would make more ecological sense.
Alpine landscape is not renewable!
Landscape is a key to negotiating social and political issues. CIPRA has taken up these issues as part of its Alpine-wide priority theme “Landscape” 2019-2020. This position paper, which was developed in a broad and participatory process with CIPRA representatives, young Alpine women and experts from all Alpine countries, is the conclusion of this priority theme.
Solstice in winter tourism
Tourism has brought wealth to the Alps. In many regions it remains an important source of income, but lack of economic diversification is also a risk. The importance and orientation of tourism differs strongly among Alpine countries, but all of them need new strategies and approaches to cope with shifts in visitor behaviour and climate change. A socio-economic transformation is needed that takes account of tourism’s past, present and future potential.
News on Alpine Politics
Caroline Begle, CIPRA International
Making change possible
Inspirational inputs, heated discussions, fruitful exchanges and excursions into the impressive Valais region in and around the Alpine town of Brig-Glis/CH: AlpWeek 2022, held in early September in Brig-Glis/CH, was all about “Change in the Alps”.
Paul Kuncio, CIPRA Austria and Uwe Roth, CIPRA Germany
Point of view: Let’s create an “Alpine Plan” for all Alpine regions!
The Bavarian Alpine Plan celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. Alpine spatial planning has proven here that it is predestined to find solutions to the pressing issues of the day. Similar planning instruments are lacking in many Alpine regions, although we need them more urgently than ever, claim Paul Kuncio, Executive Director of CIPRA Austria, and Uwe Roth, Executive Director of CIPRA Germany.
Anna Mehrmann, CIPRA International
A signal for climate protection
From Triglav National Park in Slovenia to Radnig in Austria and Gondo in Switzerland, on 13 August 2022 people came together to set an example for climate protection. This year’s «Fire in the Alps» was held under the motto «The Alps need climate protection».
Vanda Bonardo, CIPRA Italy
Point of view: the excessive character of the Olympics
High construction costs, unused sports facilities, environmentally damaging large-scale projects: loud criticism continues to surround the staging of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina/I. We must ask whether such sporting events still have a place in the Alps, says Vanda Bonardo, President of CIPRA Italy.
Standpunkte der CIPRA
Kaspar Schuler, CIPRA International
Point of view: Water will not tolerate resistance
Extreme weather conditions are also increasingly affecting the Alps. The climate crisis is driving this development. Can more and more dams, barriers or power stations solve the problem and at the same time satisfy the growing hunger for energy? We must work with the power of water rather than against it, says Kaspar Schuler, CIPRA’s Executive Director and co-author of CIPRA’s new position paper on hydropower.
Rok Brišnik, CYC
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).
alpMedia
Point of view: For a cultural change in transit traffic
Trade has been the driving force behind cultural and social development in the Alpine region. Transit traffic in its current form, on the other hand, mainly benefits regions away from the Alps. To ban noise and exhaust fumes from the Alpine valleys we need more than a watered-down EU directive, says Stephan Tischler, President of CIPRA Austria.