Articles
World Water Day: Calls for waterway conservation and a stop to deregulation
The motto for this year's International Water Day on March 22 was "Water and Natural Catastrophes". A number of organisations seized the day to put forward their demands for better water conservation.
"Green" holidays in the Alps for Dutch tourists
From this summer several Dutch tour operators, including the TUI subsidiary Holland International and the hiking and cycling holiday specialists SNP, are offering "Green Package Tours" to Switzerland and Austria.
Minority languages of the Alps take to new media
In the past learning the Romansh language nearly always meant having to go through German. But since the end of last year Lia Rumantscha, the umbrella organisation for all Romansh associations, has posted an online English-Romansh dictionary called "myPledari" on the internet for free use.
The Alps are becoming more and more of a theme park
On 29 November Coca-Cola AG inaugurated its Alpen Club Micky Maus in the ski resort of Arosa/CH.
Studies and conference on rail network extensions in the Alpine Rhine region
The A13/E43 network has commissioned a study in the border region between Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein with the following basic requirements for the future provision of public passenger transport services: Rail links to the large agglomerations in southern Germany and from the upper Rhine valley to the central areas of southern Germany and western Austria; expansion of the S-Bahn network in the region comprising eastern Switzerland, the eastern area of Lake Constance and the upper Rhine valley; development of tram/suburban railway systems such a half-hourly S-Bahn link between Feldkirch/A and Buchs/CH.
Biogas - Car fuel of the future?
The SwissFarmerPower Working Group recently presented a study entitled "Agricultural Biogas, the Fuel of Tomorrow" which shows that animal husbandry in the Swiss mountain canton of Lucerne produces enough biogas from faeces to supply 32,000 cars a year with fuel. Biogas fuel would also considerably improve air hygiene and help reduce CO2 emissions.
New four-language dictionary on flood protection
The Swiss Federal Office for Water and Geology and the Swiss Federal Chancellery have published a dictionary on flood protection in German, French, Italian and English.
Prix Wilderness: Award for nature- and environment-minded mountain tours
For the fourth time keepwild!, the specialist environmental department for trend sports of Mountain Wilderness Switzerland, together with the Save the Mountains Foundation, is awarding the Prix Wilderness for Trend Sports.
Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities founded
The Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities, which is modelled on the Alliance in the Alps community network, was founded in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on June 22. CIPRA played a key role in the founding of the Alliance.
Cross-border co-operation for the alpine Rhine and Rhine
The comprehensive survey into the current situation conducted as part of the "Alpine Rhine Development Concept" is now completed. On July 1 experts presented the results before representatives of local communities, environmentalists, anglers, energy suppliers and other parties with a vested interest. For the first time the groups concerned are able to take part in a planning project within an international framework.