Articles
"Landscape is not renewable"
Must the Alps really be squeezed to the last drop so they can contribute yet more to the energy transition? The CIPRA annual conference on "The Alps as a Water Trough" saw more passionate debate on this topic than any other. Read More…
Who will shape the Alpine macro-region?
With its "Alpen.Leben" (Living in the Alps) project, CIPRA Austria is sounding out the role of the Alpine Convention for a macro-regional strategy and is asking who should actually have a say in shaping this European Union strategy for the Alps. Read More…
Land for all
Fewer and fewer areas remain untouched by building development. Vorarlberg has therefore seen the establishment of the "Bodenfreiheit" (ground clearance) association, which is now successfully buying up land for public use. Read More…
..oh!
... the rapid pace of climate change in the Alps has seen two huge new residents moving to Monaco. The smallest state in the Alps, which is also a party to the Alpine Convention, is now home to its first elephants! Read More…
NGOs demand participation in the Alpine macro-region
Observer organisations of the Alpine Convention are bewildered at their exclusion from the Alpine macro-region. They are demanding their inclusion in the ongoing process for a macro-regional Alpine strategy. Read More…
CIPRA viewpoint: for an environmentally friendly and participative energy transition
The energy transition is one answer to the threat of global warming and the explosive risks of nuclear energy. Erwin Rothgang, President of CIPRA Germany, speaks about the minimum requirements for the Bavarian Alps. Read More…
Adapting to climate change: see how it's done!
How do you make people sit up and take note of climate change? Using photos and video clips, the C3-Alps collection of examples says more than a thousand words. Read More…
Green winter sports
Ski areas are constructing climate-friendly lift facilities and France has now introduced a new law that obliges lift operators to provide information on CO2 consumption. A report on how ski areas are attempting to be environmentally friendly. Read More…
Italy threatens to grind to a halt
The Gotthard rail tunnel is due to open in 2016, with the aim of transporting the majority of goods between Italy and Switzerland by train. But the necessary infrastructure is lacking in Italy. Will the result be traffic chaos? Read More…
Oh...!
… The Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) is this year celebrating its 150th anniversary and has got Mother Nature to build it a table of snow and ice at an altitude of 2,700 metres. Read More…
Winter Olympics in Munich 2022? No comment
In just two months the citizens of several Bavarian municipalities will be deciding on their candidacy for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, four days before the official deadline for applications. People seem reluctant to discuss the candidacy openly - does anyone actually want the Winter Olympics? Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: Co-operation, not killing
The authorities in Graubünden are demanding that bears be shot in Italy before they cross into Switzerland and potentially cause problems there. Is a preventive shooting really suitable to prevent conflicts with humans? Read More…
Project GreenAlps for more species diversity
Laws in future are to aim more directly at promoting ecological networking in the Alps. Regions, protected areas and NGOs, including CIPRA, are therefore jointly initiating the GreenAlps project in the autumn. Read More…
...And action! Building for the Future
Municipalities in European mountain regions can act as pioneers for sustainable building, as shown by the short film "Building for the Future". Read More…
Alpine Convention: new Secretary-General takes office
Markus Reiterer began his new job on 1 July 2013 as Secretary-General of the Alpine Convention at the "Goldenes Dachl" in Innsbruck. The new head of the Permanent Secretariat talks about his aims. Read More…
Upgrading the high mountains
Austria's highest suspension bridge, including the "Steps into the Void", is intended to lure tourists to the Dachstein Glacier in a similar way to the recently opened "Du Gouter" luxury hut for walkers on Mont Blanc. The ways in which the Alpine mountain world courts visitors. Read More…
Sustainable Buildings: contribute to the EU consultation!
Sustainable construction means not only energy efficiency but takes environmental, social and economic aspects into account on a long-term vision. Read More…
Towards Carbon Neutral Alps - a guideline
The strategies for carbon neutrality are numerous. Municipalities and regions all over the Alps are confronted with various challenges and opportunities on the way to carbon neutrality. The Alpstar-Guideline provides an overview. Read More…
Boost for the macro-region Alps
The European Union is publishing its first analysis of existing macro-regions - encouraging news for current developments in the Alpine space. Read More…
National parks remove exotic fish species
Collecting what was released into the wild fifty years ago is the order of the day in the Gran Paradiso and Triglav National Parks, where the fish species introduced have had serious effects on the natural environment. Read More…
New solidarity between the Alps and surrounding areas. CIPRA position paper on a European Macro-Region Strategy for the Alps
Various political actors in the Alpine space are pushing for a European strategy for a macro-region for the Alps (MRS Alps). The International Alpine Protection Commission CIPRA, with over one hundred member organisations, possesses a wide-ranging network in all Alpine countries that extends beyond the Alps and into the surrounding metropolitan areas. CIPRA is therefore actively joining the process for a Macro-Regional Strategy for the Alps, representing the interests of sustainable, eco-friendly Alpine policies. Strengthened co-operation in such a MRS Alps must take place with the Alpine regions and surrounding areas as equal partners without undermining the achievements of the Alpine Convention. Read More…
Macro-region: Europe goes a step further
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on a macro-regional strategy, while the Alpine Space Programme submitted an expert report to the European Union. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: Shaping the macro-region Alps according to the Alpine Convention - but better
Many people in the Alps are afraid of being marginalised by the surrounding metropolitan areas. But the expansion of the sphere of action and influence also offers numerous opportunities - if we rise to the challenge, CIPRA believes. Read More…
CIPRA's Annual Conference: "The Alps as a Water Trough"
The "blue gold" of the Alps is limited in quantity and thus in high demand for use as drinking water, snow or electricity. At its Annual Conference in Bozen/Bolzano in October 2013, CIPRA will be asking who has the right to this elixir of life and who has responsibility for it. Read More…
