News
Too much water, too little water: excursion to the Vienna Woods
How do drones detect illegal campfires? How do settlements protect themselves from the next flood? What do forest fires have in common with avalanches? At the end of November 2024, an excursion to the Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve by participants in the MultiBios project looked for answers.
Green light for Nature Restoration in the EU
The majority of EU environment ministers voted in favour of the Nature Restoration Law on 17 June 2024. The decisive factor was the courageous and foresighted last-minute approval by Austria's Environment Minister.
After the flood
What role could biosphere reserves play in dealing with climate risks? This was the subject of an international workshop organised by the MultiBios project in Bad Kleinkirchheim/A at the beginning of April 2024, which included a site visit to the Gegendtal valley that was affected by heavy rainfall and flooding two years ago.
The role of forests in climate change
What role will forests play in the future in the face of climate change? At the end of 2023, CIPRA Slovenia co-organized a meeting of various interest groups on this topic. Experts agreed on the need to designate more areas where forests are left unmanaged.
Short story: The sheet of paper
We present one of the five short stories that won an award in the short story competition as part of the "Reading mountains (Berge lesen)" festival 2023in Vaduz.
Mountain forests and climate change
The consequences of climate change are also becoming apparent in the forests of the Alps. In South Tyrol/I and East Tyrol/A this year has seen an explosive spread of pests. What looks like frightening devastation might present a long-term opportunity, however.
Ideas for Jelovica from Pinzgau
Preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage: this is the aim of the project on the Slovenian karst plateau of Jelovica. In mid-September 2022, the Slovenian partners of the “JeloviZA” project travelled to the Austrian Pinzgau region to gain inspiration from the Hohe Tauern National Park region.
The “Green Communities” in the Italian Alps
Sustainable management of the built heritage, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly mobility: how can mountain areas be upgraded and the overuse of natural resources curbed? The first “Green Communities” in Italy want to show that this is also possible in a socially acceptable way.
How much is nature worth?
Alpine pastures that provide us with food. Trees that provide a pleasant microclimate. Alpine landscapes that heal and touch. At the beginning of July 2021, around 100 participants from all Alpine countries discussed the benefits and value of nature in the Alpine region at CIPRA’s Annual Conference in Biella/I.
“The Climalp excursion was a breakthrough”
The local authority in Saint-Jean-d’Arvey decided to use local timber to construct an energy-efficient multipurpose building. In an interview with the Mayor Jean-Claude Monin, we learn how the idea was inspired by a CIPRA visit to Vorarlberg.
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.
Changing forests
The seminar titled Forestry and Climate Change - Thinking One Step Ahead! looks at the consequences of global warming on the timber industry, forestry and its functions. What sort of strategies are needed to ensure the sustainable development of the forest within the context of regional development?
eco.mont - new journal for research in protected areas
The first issue of the new journal "eco.mont - Journal of protected mountain areas research" has appeared.
Results of the Workshop on Global Change Research in Mountainous Regions
A workshop on the global (climate) change and its impact on mountainous regions was held at the University of California Berkeley/US on 14 December 2008.
Modifications to Alpine plant communities
A recent French study into 171 woodland plants in temperate regions shows how plant species have already adjusted to climate change, with a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade in response to rising global temperatures.
Collaboration in regional development
The last workshop in the series "Disseminating knowledge - networking people" is being held in St. Gall/CH on 3 April 2008 on the subject of "Collaboration in regional development".
Strengthening mountain forests
The Interreg IIIC project Network Mountain Forest (NMF), which was launched in 2003, has come to a close with the signing in Lindau/D on 29 October 2007 of a Memorandum aimed at strengthening mountain forests in Europe.
The forestry sector in regional policy
Around 50 experts, mostly from the forestry sector, took part in the two-day workshop on regional policy held in Brig/CH on 29 and 30 March. The event, which was held in French and German as part of the series of workshops entitled "Getting Knowledge Across - Networking People", was attended by participants from France, Germany and Switzerland.
From timber construction to hay wraps - Besides natural resources people's skills and commitment are the Alps' real wealth
Deploring the exodus of the population and the proliferation of tourism, and doing nothing about it, is one approach; the other, far more constructive solution is to show how money can be earned, and secure jobs created, using the resources available locally.
Swiss FSC wood for Harry Potter
(12.01.2006) The latest volume of Harry Potter (in English) was printed largely on eco-friendly FSC-certified paper from the Swiss Alps. The FSC abbreviation stands for Forest Stewardship Council and is a guarantee of ecologically sound and socially and economically sustainable forestry activities. The use of FSC paper was one of the demands made by J.K. Rowling, the star author of the Harry Potter series.
Network of forestry experts for the alpine region
On 16 February representatives of 19 forestry agencies from seven alpine countries launched the Interreg IIIB Project "KnowForAlp" in Vaduz/FL. KnowForAlp is an alpine-wide network for forest owners and foresters whose aim is to enable a comprehensive exchange and transfer of know-how.
Storm Lothar not an ecological disaster
Storm damage does not pose a threat to the long-term conservation of Switzerland's forests; rather it contributes to forest renewal and promotes biodiversity.
Thesis on dead wood and the preservation of biodiversity in forests
At the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne/CH the doctoral candidate Rita Bütler has looked at the question of how much dead wood is enough for biodiversity conservation in managed forests.