Articles
Youth participation – but how?
More youth participation in the Alps is the aim – but the process is often slow to take shape in cities and towns. The “Toolbox for Youth Participation”, produced by the GaYA project, offers help in starting up. Read More…
Fire and flames across the Alps
On 11 August 2018 the “Fire across the Alps” will be lighting up peaks and valleys for the thirtieth time. The idea behind the anniversary fires is to draw attention to climate change. Read More…
Alpine Convention against the Alemagna motorway
In recent years there have been several attempts to reintroduce the Alemagna motorway from Venice to Munich onto the European agenda. The Permanent Committee of the Alpine Convention has now adopted a resolution against this new transalpine motorway. Read More…
Then there were two...
After the rejection by the Swiss city of Sion, there remain just two candidates in the Alps for the 2026 Winter Olympics. But here too the final word has yet to be spoken. (Update: Two days after the publication of our newsletter, the city of Graz/A has also dropped out as a candidate for the 2026 Olympics. The Austrian Olympic Committee withdrew. This leaves only one Olympic candidature from the Alps.) Read More…
Alpine Convention reaffirms opposition to new Alpine motorways
In recent years there have been several attempts by regions to reintroduce the Alemagna motorway from Venice to Munich onto the European agenda. At the suggestion of CIPRA, on 13 and 14 June the Permanent Committee of the Alpine Convention unanimously expressed its opposition to this new Alpine motorway. Read More…
Tourism: two sides of the same coin
Caught between the difficulties of growth and the quest for sustainability, tourism has a polarising effect. At the end of May 2018 over 200 participants at a conference in Bled, Slovenia discussed how Alpine tourism and the quality of life can complement one another. The event was staged by CIPRA together with the “Alliance in the Alps”. Read More…
Point of view: The tourism dilemma
Travel threatens the very values upon which tourism in the Alps depends, creating a real dilemma. Sustainable mobility in tourism is not simply a competitive advantage, but a “must”, states Barbara Wülser, deputy director of CIPRA International. Read More…
New strength for the Alps
In June 2018 Kaspar Schuler took over the leadership of CIPRA International, based in Schaan, Liechtenstein, with changes also made to the executive board. Read More…
Wolves: we need to debate values openly
No animal can match the wolf when it comes to media attention. Sensation often obscures our view of the essential. Various initiatives in the Alpine region are dedicated to improving the image of the wolf. Read More…
Point of view: The Alpine community must not forget the refugees!
While Eusalp wants to bring together the Alpine regions, migrants are dying on the borders between the Alpine countries. Francesco Pastorelli, Director of CIPRA Italy, asks what has happened to our hospitable, solidarity-based, tolerant Europe? Read More…
Thinking ahead together
Sustainable development needs commitment on the part of society. With its theme of «Social Innovation», CIPRA International’s 2017 Annual Report puts people at the centre of change. Read More…
How ideas grow and prosper
Marko wants to move to the countryside, but he lacks courage and prospects. Susanne wonders what to do with the many empty buildings. In the project alpMonitor, CIPRA shows how social innovation is preparing the way for the future. Read More…
Caught between the season and home
The winter season in the Alps is at an end. The mostly foreign seasonal workers have worked hard for others’ holidays. Initiatives in France and Switzerland are providing ideas on how to improve their situation. Read More…
The Brenner Pass: transit trouble
The year 2017 saw record numbers of trucks crossing the Brenner Pass. Now there is an opportunity to find a solution to the problem. Read More…
Rejuvenation of mountain farms
Fewer and fewer young people want to become farmers. If no one is willing to inherit and take on the running of a farm, it will close. There is a lack of both recognition and incentives – from EU policy through to searching for partners. Read More…
Between the desire for relaxation and the pressure for development
Few topics provoke such heated debates as Alpine tourism. At the end of May 2018 CIPRA International and the «Alliance in the Alps» network of municipalities will be providing an opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions in Bled, Slovenia. Read More…
Departure time for helicopters
At a time of declining winter tourism, heli-skiing brings in extra income. While sports enthusiasts might pay a few hundred euros, nature pays a high price. Read More…
Kaspar Schuler: new strength for the Alps
Kaspar Schuler is taking over the leadership of CIPRA International in Schaan, Liechtenstein. A native of Switzerland, he brings with him many years of experience and numerous skills in the environmental field, most recently as interim director of Greenpeace Switzerland. Read More…
Bogs – a way out of the climate swamp
One hectare of bog can store as much CO2 as a car produces in a year. The Alps suffer from some of the world’s heaviest traffic – yet fewer and fewer intact bogs remain. Read More…
How intact ecosystems improve our quality of life
Nature provides us with enormous benefits. The AlpES project draws on the concept of ecosystem services in order to record these in the Alpine regions and increase their appreciation. Read More…
Solutions for borderless commuter mobility
Traffic jams, convoy controls, fine dust pollution and the Brenner base tunnel: while the problems of transit and goods traffic accumulate on political agendas, commuter cars remain stuck in queues. Read More…
What now for the Alpine strategy?
Since January, the Austrian federal state of Tyrol has been chairing the European strategy for the Alps. This year will see a decision on how the strategy will be implemented in practice. Read More…
Prospects for young people
Like many other rural areas, the Koroška region of northern Slovenia also has to battle against depopulation. Various measures and ideas now aim to persuade young people to stay. Read More…
Mountain Research and Development Vol 37, No 4: Migration and Sustainable Development in Mountains
This focus issue on implications of out- and in-migration for sustainable development in mountains offers papers on asylum seekers, amenity migrants, young in-migrants, depopulation, the elderly, the structurally poor, and resettled migrants; they analyze social, environmental, and economic impacts of migration in mountains in Europe, Chile, Georgia, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Tibet, and Ethiopia. Further topics are vegetation, wildfire observation, and hydro-sociology. Read More…
The Alps as the focus of climate policy
Temperatures in the Alps are rising faster than the global average. The search for solutions is not limited to the World Climate Conference being held in Bonn, Germany. Read More…
Point of view: Skiing, adieu!
Winter is here and in many ski resorts the snow cannons are running at full blast. Yet the number of skiers is in decline, making it hard to justify the immense investments made with the aim of expanding ski areas. It is time to realise that skiing is not a business model with a future, says Katharina Conradin, President of CIPRA International. Read More…
