Alps / Europe
News, publications, press releases, positions... on this page you find current and alpine-relevant information from the Alps and the european region.
Alpine Climate Action
[Project completed] From classic forms of political participation to creative methods of non-violent civil resistance: in four online workshops, young adults learn about a range of political engagement – and how they can use it to campaign for climate protection. Read More…
Saving:Soils
[Project completed] With its project “Saving:Soils”, CIPRA is working for a trend reversal in the use of land in peri-urban areas in order to put scientific findings into practice, make pilot examples visible and encourage imitation. Read More…
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). Read More…
New alliance for European mountain regions
Global warming, excessive tourism and landscape degradation require the very highest degree of multifaceted solutions. Three umbrella organizations committed to mountaineering and sustainability in European mountain regions therefore 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). Read More…
Hydropower in the Alps
How much hydropower use is environmentally compatible and ecologically sustainable? This question has been on the minds of people in the Alpine region for decades - all the more so against the backdrop of the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels. There are currently around 21,000 hydropower plants in operation in Europe, 300 under construction and over 8,500 in the planning stage. In many places, climate change with its imponderables such as extreme floods is being countered with more dams and walls, although river widening, for example, would make more ecological sense. Read More…
Mobile in the Alps
By rail, by road, by mountain path: numerous CIPRA projects show just how diverse sustainable mobility can be. Read More…
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. Read More…
Do you speak Alps?
A different dialect in every community: the linguistic diversity of the Alps is fascinating and constantly changing, which also makes it interesting for linguists. Using modern methods such as crowdsourcing, a research project is collecting dialect words across the Alps for a digital, living lexicon. Read More…
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. Read More…
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. Read More…
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. Read More…
Innovations and aberrations
Helicopter flights and Australian white wine on the one hand, an eco-museum and recycled smartphones on the other: positive and negative awards from environmental organisations point the way to a more sustainable future. Read More…
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. Read More…
Abandoned and uncultivated
Remote mountain villages in Piedmont/I have been struggling with heavy emigration for years. The region is now supporting people moving back to the mountains. A study from Austria shows how endangered Alpine agriculture actually is. Read More…
Basecamp 2023
Revitalising valleys, identifying with landscapes, climbing more sustainably, using old irrigation systems innovatively, eating radically and locally: 18 participants honed such project ideas at the second “Alpine Changemaker Basecamp” (ACB), held in Silandro/I at the beginning of July 2023. Read More…
Basecamp 2021
Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on «Rural Commons»: the first «Alpine Changemaker Basecamp» (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps. Read More…
Basecamp 2023
Revitalising valleys, identifying with landscapes, climbing more sustainably, using old irrigation systems innovatively, eating radically and locally: 18 participants honed such project ideas at the second “Alpine Changemaker Basecamp” (ACB), held in Silandro/I at the beginning of July 2023. Read More…
Basecamp 2021
Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on «Rural Commons»: the first «Alpine Changemaker Basecamp» (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps. Read More…
Changing the Alps together
Integrating marginalised groups better, reviving ghost towns in the Alps, or organising a meeting on “Rural Commons”: the first “Alpine Changemaker Basecamp” (ACB) in Valposchiavo/CH at the beginning of July 2021 saw around 30 participants from the Alpine region further developing their projects for a liveable future in the Alps. Read More…
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. Read More…
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). Read More…
Climate protection: from plan to action
The Alps as a climate-neutral, climate-resistant region by 2050: this is the objective of the newly launched “Climate Action Plan 2.0” of the Alpine Convention. Concrete steps will now follow in such areas as mountain farming, spatial planning and biodiversity. Read More…
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. Read More…
New dual leadership for CIPRA
Bianca Elzenbaumer and Serena Arduino are the new Co-Presidents of CIPRA International. They succeed Katharina Conradin, who has been in office for almost seven years. Read More…
CO2 legislation: more courage needed
While the new CO2 law in Switzerland has for the time being failed, a climate protection alliance is forming in Bavaria; Austria is discussing a climate protection law; and in France the Climate Council is taking courageous decisions. Read More…
