Political positions of CIPRA International
Factsheet to the „Eurovignette III“
The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA International) very much welcomes the fact that the EU now intends to set a course that reflects the true costs of transport and is taking a first step by amending Directive 2006/38/EC ("Eurovignette III"). The Directive must also relieve the burden on the Alpine region, which is particularly sensitive ecologically and whose population has to bear particularly high external costs; it must also contribute more to sustainability in freight transport. One important step is a sound directive on transport infrastructure costs, i.e. one that includes the efficient and consistent allocation of all relevant costs. Everyone stands to benefit from its success: the population, with a healthier, safer and better quality of life, and the transport industry, with more reliable transit routes. Indeed, the risks affect the local population as much as they affect those travelling through.
Schaan Memorandum on the Future in the Alps
The future belongs to those who shape it. In the Alps countless initiatives involving thousands of activists are working to do just that. Yet many are unaware of the fact that elsewhere other people are working on precisely the same problems as they are. This is where the Future in the Alps, a project launched by CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, comes into play. The scope of the project is to collect practical experience throughout the Alps, classify it and make it available to those who need it. It consists of a phase of collating knowledge and good projects, called alpKnowhow, a phase of processing and disseminating it, called alpService, and an implementation phase, called alpPerformance. CIPRA itself is not a research body, nor is it an educational institution; it is a non-governmental organisation, so it is mainly concerned with the questions of what the results of alpKnowhow mean politically and what demands can be derived from these results. To answer these questions CIPRA representatives from seven countries convened in Schaan/Liechtenstein on 8 and 9 December 2006. The demands and political conclusions on all topics are set out in the present Schaan Memorandum on the Future in the Alps.
Resolution: Climate Protection and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies
The Alpine region is particularly affected by global climate changes, many of which are the result of man’s impact. The Alps are a particularly sensitive region and are affected all the more by the forecast changes such as the rise in annual average temperatures, the increase in extreme meteorological events, summer droughts and melting glaciers. It is CIPRA’s view that climate change represents one of the 21st century’s greatest challenges. Given the above it calls upon the European Union, the bodies of the Alpine Convention, all the Alpine states, the federal provinces, regions and cantons as well as all governmental and non-governmental authorities .. to intensify their climate protection efforts in order to reduce the greenhouse effect; .. to draw up sustainable strategies for dealing with the growing repercussions of climate change.
News on Alpine Politics
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
Under the magnifying glass
What treasures and resources are hidden in the Alps? How do we deal with them as sustainably as possible? These and similar questions are posed in the August 2021 issue of SzeneAlpen.
Veronika Hribernik, CIPRA International
Mobile in the Alps
By rail, by road, by mountain path: numerous CIPRA projects show just how diverse sustainable mobility can be.
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
Climate crisis makes mountains crumble
Rockfalls and rockslides are nothing new in the Alps, but dwindling permafrost is making the situation even worse – for mountaineering and for villages.
Ill-chosen incentives may fuel transit
More e-trucks instead of a shift to rail: a new EU directive could further fuel the burden of freight traffic through the Alps.
Standpunkte der CIPRA
alpMedia
Point of view: Preserving the strongholds of the Alps
Dozens of development projects are simmering in the drawers of investors from Slovenia to France. It is thus even more important to sustain existing protected areas, says Katharina Conradin, member of the executive board of CIPRA International and executive director of Mountain Wilderness Switzerland.
alpMedia
Point of view: Second homes – no end in sight
By voting “Yes” in 2012 in the referendum “No to the unrestricted building of second homes”, Swiss voters expressed their desire for new tourism policies. Dominik Siegrist, President of CIPRA International, expresses doubt that the population’s demand canactually be implemented.
alpMedia
Point of view: who will fill the macro-regional Alpine house with life?
Just as in the building of a house, the inhabitants are the most important persons involved in the Alpine macro-region. But, eight weeks after the start of the process, states and regions have yet to indicate to the representatives of civil society whether they may contribute. R.S.V.P.