News
Point of view: For glaciers without a circus
The largest glacier ski resort in the Alps is to be built in Tyrol, Austria - on already melting glaciers. The planned connection of the ski areas in Pitztal and Ötztal goes against all reason, says Kaspar Schuler, Co-Manager of CIPRA International.
Mountaineering recognized as world cultural heritage
Unesco now lists alpinism as an intangible world cultural heritage. Alpine associations from France, Switzerland and Italy submitted the application.
"We Stay on the Ground"
Explore the Alps by train: For the "Youth Alpine Interrail" participants, flight-free travel is a varied adventure.
A top combination: From road to rail
It is technically and politically possible to shift freight traffic through the Alps onto rail. The AlpInnoCT project shows how it could work.
Two regions, one Nature Park
Nature protection across borders. The Veglia-Devero Nature Park in Italy and the Binntal Landscape Park in Switzerland have together been certified as a “Transboundary Park”.
To work by car? No thanks!
There are well developed public transport systems and cycle paths in the Alpine Rhine valley, yet the majority of commuters – who number up to 50,000 a day – travel to work by car. A CIPRA project is looking for solutions in this international quadrangle.
Point of view: Equal opportunities for trains and trucks!
224 million tonnes of goods rolled through the Alps last year, a new record – more than two thirds of it on trucks. To decrease the pressure on nature and humans along the transit axes, railways and roads have be on the same level playing field, says Jakob Dietachmair, Project Manager at CIPRA International.
The key to local development
Pluralism as a strength of the Alps: ten organisations have committed themselves to this as part of the PlurAlps project. They presented their findings at the final conference held in Bolzano/I, including an innovation toolbox for integration together with policy recommendations.
The Alps as cultural laboratory
Inspiration, shared experiences and participation: the annual CIPRA conference saw over 100 attendees from every Alpine country meet in Altdorf/CH at the end of October 2019 to discuss the “Alpine Cultural Workshop”. The event was organised by CIPRA International and CIPRA Switzerland.
Budding ideas and flourishing projects
Building raised plant beds, converting parking spaces, replacing plastic bottles: at the end of the local project, young people from Schaan/LI travelled by train to Maribor/Sl and presented their actions aimed at a more sustainable lifestyle.
Solemn vigils for dying glaciers
Many Alpine glaciers have already disappeared due to global warming. In September 2019, vigils in Italy and Switzerland drew attention to this fact.
Youth demonstrates for Climate- and Alpine Protection
Hundreds of thousands of school students across the Alps went on strike at the end of September. They demanded appropriate action be taken for climate protection across the Alps. CIPRA supported the call together with participants from Youth Alpine Interrail.
A Landscape of Ideas
What does the future of the mountainous regions look like? Young people from all over the Alps sought answers in the CIPRA “Living Labs” project – on joint excursions, in workshops and through discussions on the topic of landscape.
Starting signal for the Alpine Ticket
In summer, 100 young people are travelling sustainably through the Alps with the “Youth Alpine Interrail”. At the beginning of June they met for a kick-off in Feldkirch, Austria and forged travel plans together.
Cultural laboratory Alps
Screeching saws, purring guitars, sizzling pans – that’s the sound of culture in the Alps. The CIPRA Annual Symposium on 25 and 26 October in Altdorf, Switzerland will focus on the impact of culture and how it can contribute to sustainable development.
Déjà-vu: Winter Olympic Games in Italy
Twenty years after the 2006 Games in Turin, the 2026 Winter Olympics return to the Italian Alps. The venues are jubilant and expectations are high. But a look at past games warns us to be cautious, because all too often they have merely left behind debts and ruined buildings.
Making politics with fire
From the Trift Glacier in Switzerland to the Vrsič Pass in Slovenia, around 30 “Fires in the Alps” will burn across the Alpine peaks on 10 August 2019. People from all Alpine countries are thus setting a common sign for living waters and the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Alps.
Rethinking spaces
A picnic at a construction site, the rescue of undeveloped land and the conversion of an old barracks: three examples that rethink spatial planning in the Alps.
“There's no other way”
As a minister, 55-year-old Slovenian Alenka Smerkolj has already drawn up a strategy for Slovenia's sustainable development. As Secretary General of the Alpine Convention, she now intends to continue along this path.
Sectorial Development of Green Economy in the Alpine Region
The final document on the Green Economy Action Programme has been adopted by the alpine ministers at the XV. Alpine conference in Innsbruck on the 4th of April 2019. The Action Programme was elaborated by the consortium blue!, CIPRA International and Spatial Foresight.
Point of view: So the landscape has a future
The guardians of the landscape are the people who live there. They must be involved in the decision-making and development processes, says Špela Berlot, Managing Director of CIPRA Slovenia.
Holidaying with a clear conscience
From Germany’s first mountaineering village, to the Italian “Albergo Diffuso”, to coworking space in a Swiss holiday region: three inspiring examples that show how environmentally friendly and socially responsible holidays in the Alps can be.
For visitors and for locals
What is a good life in the Alps? How can tourism be reshaped? CIPRA International has dedicated its 2018 Annual Report to both local residents and visitors to the Alps and, under the motto “Visitors and residents”, has illustrated how tourism and quality of life can be compatible.
Point of view: Europe and its Alps
The fundamental question facing the direct elections to the European Parliament in May 2019 is: hat is the outlook – in Europe and in the Alps – for democracy and “good governance”? Erwin Rothgang, Vice-President of CIPRA International, argues for new forms of co-operation.
Creative use of vacancies
In order to revive vacant areas and buildings, four Alpine towns have joined forces in the "Tour des Villes" project. Mutual and cross-border exchange of knowledge and ideas were in the foreground during the duration of the project.
Networking sustainable tourism
At the suggestion of CIPRA, international specialists from every Alpine country have developed a job profile aimed at networking sustainable tourism approaches.
The future of the Alps begins now
What will the Alps of tomorrow look like? This question and political demands for the XV Alpine Conference lay at the heart of the “AlpWeek Intermezzo” held at the beginning of April in Innsbruck, Austria.
Youth are making climate policy
The theme of this year’s “Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention” was highly topical: how to cope with climate change. A declaration of intent confirmed the long-standing partnership between the organising schools and CIPRA International.