Germany
News, publications, press releases, positions... on this page you find current and alpine-relevant information from Germany.
Articles, publications, press releases, CIPRA positions - here you find relevant information on alpine topics from Germany. Please check the other language versions in german, french, italian and slovene for more content.
Joint action on climate change
The forests of the Alps will only be able to cope with climate change if the findings from all the various specialist fields are pooled together. And that requires new forms of co-operation and communication. Read More…
Knowing how to shape the climate
Climate protection is possible. It's just that lots of people don't know how to go about it. CIPRA is demonstrating how we can protect the climate and save money at the same time. The whole idea is being trialled in two pilot regions in the Alps Read More…
Young, climate-conscious, and thirsting for action
Young people from five Alpine nations campaigned as part of the My Clime-mate Project to make the Alps a carbon-neutral region. At the end of October they took stock - and forged new plans. Read More…
"We'll keep at it."
Virtually everyone was there. Idrija's festival hall was packed to the rafters, and the youth symphony orchestra summoned specially for the occasion was in full flow. There was plenty of drama, and the TV people were there, too. A murmur went through the 1,000-strong audience as they got to their feet and began clapping. Then a large burly man in a dark suit walked onto to the stage. Deep creases bracketed his laughing mouth like waterfalls, stretching up to his white temples. Bojan Sever, the major of the small Slovenian town in the alpine foothills, held aloft the certificate confirming their status as Alpine Town of the Year 2011. Cameras flashed and the applause redoubled. That was just over a year ago. Read More…
"CIPRA is a both a mainstay and a cornerstone"
Chris Walzer, lead partner of Econnect, on ecological networking, psychological barriers and a continuous landscape. Read More…
Alpine regions demand joint strategy
The Conference of the Alpine Regions has decided on an initiative paper for the development of a macro-regional strategy for the Alpine arc. It declares that the need is for greater innovation and economic strength within an intact environment, as well as more co-operation and the bundling of development funds. There is just one thing that is not mentioned: the Alpine Convention. Read More…
Fewer Alpine pastures
It is not the number of Alms (mountain pastures) that is in decline: rather it is the area of pastureland being worked, according to the preliminary results of the work on the "Alm Atlas". Read More…
New vehicle tunnels for goods traffic: a dead end
Traffic chaos in the Alps: this summer the most important transit axes are being closed to rail traffic. Haulage associations are thus again demanding new road tunnels. But the Alpine regions have decided that the solution to the traffic problem lies elsewhere. Read More…
Alp Week: a place for youth
Politics, science, NGOs. All the usual suspects are there at the 2012 AlpWeek in Poschiavo. This time, however, there is a special place for young people. Here is an overview of the programme. Read More…
The future of farming in the mountains
The European Union is negotiating the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). If the "Alliance for Agriculture and Nature Protection in the Alpine Regions" has its way, farming in the mountains will be given particular consideration. The alliance has now submitted its catalogue of demands. Read More…
In summer cool, in winter warm
The European Union Directive on the energy performance of buildings takes effect from July. Low-energy buildings will be mandatory as from 2021. The community centre of Saint-Jean-d'Arvey already meets these criteria. The building, made of regional wood, will open at the end of June - a first. Read More…
Oh! ...
… the bears in Trentino have finally gone too far. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: New solidarity between the Alps and metropolitan areas
Various political actors are pushing for the development of a macro-region for the Alps. CIPRA also says yes to an Alpine macro-region - but only within a clear framework. This offers the opportunity to make the rest of Europe aware of the issues facing its Alpine regions. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: Alpine Convention: Italy says yes but Switzerland still says no
Italy, surprisingly, has ratified eight of nine protocols of the Alpine Convention. Only Switzerland has yet to sign up. We do not need the protocols, stated the Swiss Federal Council recently - Swiss policy is, in its view, more sustainable than in any other Alpine country. Read More…
International support for campaign against Brenner wind farm
With its planned wind farm on the Brenner Pass, Italy is breaching the Alpine Convention, according to the Club Arc Alpin, which has petitioned the Alpine Convention's committee of inquiry. For the first time in the history of the convention, "complaint proceedings" have begun. Read More…
International support for campaign against Brenner wind farm
With its planned wind farm on the Brenner Pass, Italy is breaching the Alpine Convention, according to the Club Arc Alpin, which has petitioned the Alpine Convention's committee of inquiry. For the first time in the history of the convention, "complaint proceedings" have begun. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: 60 years of CIPRA
The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, CIPRA, has reason to celebrate. On 5 May this umbrella organisation, containing some one hundred members from all countries in the Alps, will turn 60. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: Knowing how to shape the climate
We should discharge no more greenhouse gases than the natural systems in the Alps, such as forests or moorlands, can absorb - CIPRA's vision, set out in its annual report, argues for sustained climate protection. Read More…
Work begins on Semmering Tunnel
The authorisation proceedings have yet to be concluded, but the excavators are already on the move for the building of the Semmering rail tunnel. Austrian politicians have given the project the green light, ignoring loud protests and empty state coffers. Read More…
Bruin is back!
The number of bears in the province of Trento has grown, while the damage they cause has fallen significantly, states the report on bears in the province. But not all is well for Bruin and friends. Read More…
Powering ahead towards carbon-neutral Alps
Emit no more greenhouse gases than the environment is capable of absorbing – that’s the vision the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) is advocating for sustainable climate protection. In its Annual Report it highlights ways in which the Alps could become carbon-neutral and how people might be motivated to achieve that objective. Read More…
Transnational ecological networks - history, status quo and potentials
The TransEcoNet Final Symposium presented in March 2012 the results of more than three years of project work. It provided an interdisciplinary view on transnational ecological networks in Central Europe and beyond. Read More…
Swiss want to see fewer second homes
Most Swiss people have approved the "Stop the never-ending building of second homes" initiative, providing mountain communities with more protection for landscapes. But the building moratorium is not universally popular. Read More…
Alps overrun by traffic
Never before have such large quantities of goods been transported through Switzerland as in 2011. The title of "Transit Route Number 1", however, goes to the Brenner Pass. Read More…
Healthy, natural forests: responding to climate change! cc.alps: CIPRA's demands for forest management
As forestry measures have long-term effects, adaptation of the forests to new climate conditions is urgently needed - but it should be initiated with great caution. The carbon storage ability of forests has to be exploited. Wood should first be used as a raw and building material; only under certain circumstances it should be used for heating. Short regional exploitation cycles are to be created. Natural forests should be fostered as they are more resilient to climate change. Forest owners who in the interest of climate protection give up part of their earnings should be compensated. Finally targeted research into practical climate adaptation measures has to become an important long-term task. Read More…
Swiss-Italian cooperation in favor of ecological connectivity
During the last Alpine Conference in March 2011 the Alpine Convention officially nominated 8 pilot regions for ecological connectivity in the Alps. Read More…
Lyon-Turin: Environment Ministry gives bad marks
Criticism of the planned Lyon-Turin rail line is growing: environmental organisations have rejected the megaproject, as has the conservative UMP party in Savoy. The French Environment Ministry is now also expressing doubts. Read More…
CIPRA's point of view: Water on!
Austria's checklist for the building of hydroelectric power plants is technically sound, offering transparency for building permits, but no protection for ecologically intact waters. Read More…
Are XXL trucks coming to the Alps next?
The European Union is seeking advice on authorising "gigaliners". These 25-metre trucks are intended to promote climate protection - at the expense of rail transport and infrastructure. Read More…
