Alpine Politics

For more than 70 years, CIPRA has been working to promote sustainable policies for the Alps, looking ahead, putting tomorrow’s challenges on the political agenda and taking policymakers to task.

For a good life in the Alps, it is important to guarantee a balance between economic interests and the needs of the local populations and nature. CIPRA helps to bridge this gap on the political stage. The protocols of the Alpine Convention offer guidance. In combination with other tools, they empower the political actors to adopt appropriate measures.

The tools of Alpine policy

  • The Alpine Convention is an international treaty involving the countries of the Alps and the European Union. As co-initiator, CIPRA helped to create a fundamental requirement: an international political body for sustainable development and protection for the Alps. CIPRA contributes expertise in the Compliance Committee and the working groups.
  • As a mountain chain at the heart of Europe, the Alps are strongly impacted by the policies of the EU. The EU strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is being established to strengthen future cooperation between the Alps and the surrounding regions and cities. CIPRA and its partners are calling for civil society to be involved in this process.
  • In its core activities and beyond, CIPRA is working in national and transnational political bodies for a good life in the Alps.

CIPRA’s vision

  • A strong civil society
    Cities, municipalities, regions and countries of the Alps communicate their experiences and learn from one another. They involve the people in the planning processes and take account of the ideas and visions of young people. They set the framework conditions needed for all three pillars of sustainability – economy, nature and society – to be strengthened in equal measure.
  • A vibrant Alpine Convention
    The Alpine Convention provides a framework for these endeavours. It is an active clearing house. Keen use is made of its various platforms and working groups, while the Compliance Committee provides effective monitoring of observance of its provisions.
  • A responsible response
    The 14 million residents of the Alps can count on the solidarity of the 56 million people living in the surrounding regions – and vice-versa. All these people are aware of the special value of the Alps as a living space for human beings and the flora and fauna.

Alpine Convention

For more than 60 years, CIPRA has been working to promote sustainable policies for the Alps, looking ahead, putting tomorrow’s challenges on the political agenda and taking policymakers to task. More

Macroregional Strategy

The EU strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is to strengthen future cooperation between the Alps and the surrounding cities and regions. CIPRA and its partners are calling for civil society to be involved in the process. More

Sustainable development goals

In its Agenda 2030, the United Nations has formulated a total of 17 goals for sustainable development. What do they mean for the Alps? More

CIPRA's Positions

CIPRA regards it as one of its core tasks to comment on current topics and developments. Its broad support as an umbrella organisation with more than 100 member associations in the Alpine region justifies it. Please check the other language versions for more position papers!

cc.alps: CIPRA Demands on Spatial Planning
cc.alps: CIPRA Demands on Spatial Planning
The Alps are different. The Alpine range is characterized by special features that need to be taken into account in spatial development and climate protection.
cc.alps: CIPRA demands on transport
cc.alps: CIPRA demands on transport
Transport, in particular by car and truck, is one of the main causes of climate change. In the Alpine countries transport accounts for more than 25 percent of the release of greenhouse gases and is of special importance in the increase of these gases since 1990. A wrong development, running counter to the political objective to reduce exhaust emissions. In the Alps, the percentage of journeys made by car is higher than European average.
cc.alps: CIPRA Demands on Nature Protection
cc.alps: CIPRA Demands on Nature Protection
When climate changes, nature feels it. Mountain areas are particularly sensitive, and the greatest losses in terms of plant and animal species may occur precisely there. According to scientific estimates, almost every second plant species in the Alps is threatened with extinc-tion by 2100. For the flora with the highest number of varieties in Central Europe this would be an enormous loss. Because of global warming, also well-known animal species such as the Alpine ibex, the snow grouse and the mountain hare will experience far worse living con-ditions in the Alps.

News on Alpine politics

New alliance for European mountain regions
New alliance for European mountain regions
Three umbrella organizations committed to mountaineering and sustainability in European mountain regions decided, at the end of November 2021, to join forces: the Club Arc Alpin (CAA), the European Union of Mountaineering Associations (EUMA) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA).
For drinkable water
For drinkable water
In a referendum held at the beginning of July, Slovenia’s citizens voted by a clear majority in favour of preserving the shore and coastal zones. In doing so, they overturned a new law that would also have affected Alpine waters.
How much hydropower is ecologically sustainable ?
How much hydropower is ecologically sustainable ?
Renovate power plants instead of building new ones, preserve the last freshwater pearls, coordinate use and protection across countries: CIPRA has published a position paper with detailed technical demands on the use of hydropower in the Alps.
Point of view: Water will not tolerate resistance
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.

Point of Views of CIPRA

Point of view: Let's finally press the reset button in tourism!
Point of view: Let's finally press the reset button in tourism!
Mass tourism in the Alps has collapsed due to the ongoing Corona pandemic, and the opportunities for switching to environmentally and socially just tourism have increased. But they must also be exploited, says Hans Weber, Executive Director of CIPRA Switzerland.
Point of view: Water will not tolerate resistance
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.
Point of view: We need an Alpine Ticket for public transport
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).
Point of view: For a cultural change in transit traffic
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.
Point of view: A plea for colourful cities
Point of view: A plea for colourful cities
Corona has strikingly shown how important accessible local recreation areas are for our well-being. Over 70 percent of the Alpine population live in cities. There is a great deal of potential for action there in particular, says Magdalena Holzer, Project Manager at CIPRA International.
Point of view: The mountains, a safe place
Point of view: The mountains, a safe place
During the lockdown due to the corona pandemic, mountain areas have gained in importance as places of retreat. In order to be able to fulfil this role better in the future, they must be strengthened and digitally networked, demands Vanda Bonardo, President of CIPRA Italy.