Articles
Negotiable land use certificates
Through the tool of the land use certificate (FNZ) the growing land consumption in Switzerland shall be limited. With the brochure "Recovering land - land use certificates in land planning" the environmental organisation Pro Natura wants to bring the discussion about this tool in the public arena.
The way of the Wolves - The Alps- Carpathian Corridor
The Austrian Ministry for Transportation Innovation and Technology is committed to the establishment of the wildlife Alps-Carpathian Corridor.
Trucks nose-to-tail on the Brenner, with or without rail tunnel
A study by the Swiss traffic research institute progtrans on plans for a Brenner railway tunnel has called into question the purpose of the project. Even if the base tunnel were to be completed by 2015, the number of trucks on the Brenner would increase by 2,000 a day by 2025.
Ländergender - cross-border gender mainstreaming
As part of the Interreg IIIA Ländergender Project the governments of Vorarlberg/A, St. Gallen/CH and Liechtenstein plan to pool their efforts aimed at equal opportunities for men and women. The aim is to co-ordinate - and assist with - the implementation of gender mainstreaming in the regional administrations of the Lake Constance Region.
GenderAlp!: Gender-sensitive spatial planning is possible
(15.12.2005) The Interreg IIIB Project "GenderAlp! Spatial Development for Women and Men" has been up and running for a year now. The Land of Salzburg/A as lead partner already has a number of project results to show. "Needs-oriented spatial planning for women and men in Salzburg" is just one of 47 partial projects by GenderAlp!
Socio-economic dimension of the Alpine Convention
Austria's Chair of the Alpine Convention sees it as a priority task to focus more on specialist issues during the meetings of the Standing Committee in order once again to develop a greater sensibility for vital issues in the alpine region.
"Pearls of the Alps" - Tourism communities promote gentle mobility
25 communities in Italy, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland have come together to form the "Pearls of the Alps" network. Their objective is to combine tourist sights with the benefits of gentle mobility.
Transalpine exchange on research into protected areas
The third research symposium of the Hohe Tauern National Park/A, which was held for the first time as a transalpine conference on research into protected areas, ended on 17 September. At the conference 72 scientists from eight countries discussed a range of cross-border issues.
Mountains and the modern age: innovative construction at high altitudes
The Austrian Tourist Club [Österreichischer Touristenklub] recently opened the first high-alpine passive building, namely the Schiestlhaus am Hochschwab/A at 2,153 m.
Plug-in IT services for small and medium-sized businesses
The Alise project (Alps IT Service Network) is designed to provide those small and medium-sized businesses for which IT operations have become a burden with all the IT services they require directly from the Network.
New publication: Mountaineering villages to enjoy
The latest brochure of the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV) features hiking and mountaineering regions in Austria which actively implement the Alpine Convention's Tourism Protocol.
Nepalese Sherpas in Tyrol
27 Sherpas from Nepal are currently attending training courses at refuges in Austria's Tyrol province.
2005 Junior Ranger Camp - Protected areas and cross-border co-operation
From 31 July to 6 August the Gesäuse National Park in Austria is hosting an International Junior Ranger Camp. Junior Ranger is the name of a European pilot project co-ordinated by EUROPARC which is targeted at young people from the affiliated protected areas and the regions bordering on them.
Austria in Bid for Alpine Convention Water Protocol
The main areas of focus of Austria's chairmanship of the Alpine Convention have now been defined. At a press conference held in Innsbruck/A on 18 March Environment Minister Josef Pröll outlined Austria's programme. According to Mr Pröll Austria is to focus on adopting a Water Protocol, addressing transport issues and completing the Progress Report on the state of the Alps.
The Alps as a wellness region - New EU project
January 2005 saw the launch of the Alpshealthcomp Project aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the alpine region as a health and wellness destination. The partners of Alpshealthcomp, a project of the EU Community Initiative Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme, come from Italy, Austria and Germany, the project itself being endowed with around one million euros.
New Master of Science Programme on the Management of Protected Areas
The University of Klagenfurt/A has created a new study programme on the subject of the Management of Protected Areas. The two-year course in English is to be launched in September 2005. While the first semester focuses on theoretical and scientific foundations, the second and third semesters look at practical aspects of the management of protected areas.
Environmental risk assessment partly abolished in Austria
On March 2 Austria's Lower House of Parliament, the National Council, adopted a number of key changes to the statutory basis of environmental risk assessments. Under the amendment mandatory environmental risk assessments have been waived for specific projects (construction of or modifications to leisure and recreation parks, sports stadiums, etc.).
Green energy in Austria
Things are looking good for green energy in Austria. In the region of Lower Austria, for example, 2004 saw the construction of more biomass heating plants, biogas digesters and wind power plants than ever before. Today about seven percent of the electricity generated in Lower Austria is a product of wind, biomass or biogas.
Increased heavy goods traffic on the Brenner route
In 2004 more than fifty percent fewer trucks were carried by the RoLa piggyback services on the Brenner railway than in the previous year. Whereas 140,000 HGVs used the rail link in 2003, the figure for 2004 was a mere 60,000. In contrast, truck traffic on the Brenner motorway increased by a monthly average of twenty percent (in the period January to October).
Landmark NEAT Project under pressure to cut costs
According to the Swiss Federal Office for Transport total costs of Switzerland's "New Alps Transversal Route" (NEAT) are likely to be CHF 302 m higher than calculated in the summer, due essentially to geological fault zones, uncertainties about the planned route and costly rail securing techniques.
Greater co-operation to protect against natural hazards
Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein intend to co-operate even more closely to protect against natural hazards in the Alps. This decision was taken by the four German-language Environmental Ministers at this year's meeting in Potsdam/D. The Ministers concurred that natural catastrophes in the Alps were likely to occur more and more often despite all the efforts being made with regard to climate protection.
New publication: "Path to Nature's Wisdom - Ecological Dialogue Himalaya and Alps"
The Naturschutzbund Steiermark/A has published a German and English conference book following the international conference "Path to Nature's Wisdom - Ecological Dialogue Himalaya and Alps". The conference was held in Graz/A from 9 to 11 October 2002 as part of the UN's International Year of the Mountains 2002, under the patronage of the Dalai Lama.
New tourist complexes in high mountain regions
The Ukrainian project at Bukovel reflects the global trend towards developing increasingly vast ski areas:
Mountain regions and the elderly and disabled
Services for the elderly and the accessibility of accommodation by the disabled are the two key issues of a seminar at Feltre in Italy on July 2. The seminar is being held as part of the Interreg IIIA Programme Montagna Accessibile (Mountains Within Reach) of the Belluno Province and the Federal Province of Tyrol/A.
Ford Environment Award 2004: Special Award for Climate Protection
The Ford Environment Award of the Austrian Umbrella Organisation for the Environment and the Ford Motor Company Austria rewards with a total of €16,000.00 the three best initiatives for the protection of the country's natural and cultural heritage.
World's first institute for holiday, travel and altitude medicine
"Our aim with the founding of the Institute for Holiday, Travel and Altitude Medicine at the Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology is to demonstrate and substantiate by medical and scientific means the favourable health effect of a high-altitude holiday. We also intend to establish a form of certification for tourist regions and tourist enterprises," explained Tyrol's Provincial Governor Herwig van Staa at the official presentation of the new Institute in Innsbruck/A.
Presentation of an international umbrella brand for leisure & fitness holidays in the Alps
From the end of this year 80 businesses from Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and southern Tyrol are to join forces and carry the new umbrella brand Alpine Wellness International GmbH.
Taking the train and bus to the ski slopes proves popular
More and more skiers are making use of the ski trains and buses operated by the Vorarlberg Transport Authority. The main ski resorts of Austria's westernmost federal province, i.e. the Montafon, the Kloster valley and the Arlberg region, can all be reached by public transport. The good results achieved this season have prompted the Transport Authority to expand its offers as far afield as southern Germany, among others.
New waste prevention initiatives in Europe
The City of Vienna has set up "Scarabeo 2004", the first ever European Youth Competition on Waste Prevention and Separation. Until May 15 young people from more than forty countries can submit projects on ways of preventing and separating waste.
"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.