Austria

News, publications, press releases, positions... on this page you find current and alpine-relevant information from Austria.

Articles, publications, press releases, CIPRA positions - here you find relevant information on alpine topics from Germany. Please check the other language versions in german, french, italian and slovene for more content.

International workshop series "Disseminating Knowledge - Networking People" Transport and visitor management in mountain areas

On May 10 and 11 CIPRA International and CIPRA Slovenia organised a workshop on the topic of "Transport and Visitor Management in Mountain Areas". It became clear already with the first contributions that there are no straightforward answers when it comes to the relationship between transport development and regional development. There are areas of the Alps which do well economically despite being difficult to access. Read More…

International workshop series "Disseminating Knowledge - Networking People" Rural-urban co-operation: A challenge for the Alpine region

The eighth workshop in the series on "Disseminating Knowledge - Networking People" was held in Autrans on June 4 and 5 and focused on the subject of regional concepts and rural-urban co-operation. The organisers, CIPRA France and the further education organisation Association de Formation des Ruraux aux Activités du Tourisme, provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on the shift in relations between rural and urban areas. Read More…

What's new on www.cipra.org/zukunft

Brig, Klagenfurt and Chiavenna: Workshop documentation is now online The workshop on "The Forestry Sector in Regional Policy - Options for Sustainable Development in the Alpine Region" organised by the Further Education in Forestry and Landscape jointly with CIPRA was held in Brig/CH on March 28 and 29. Read More…

Global know-how transfer: Workshop in the Ukraine and international further education programme

One of the aims of Future in the Alps is to make the findings gained from the project available to mountain regions beyond the Alps, too. To this end, CIPRA, together with the international organisation Green Dossier, held a workshop in the Ukraine from 31 May to 2 June on solving conflicts in protected areas. Read More…

DYNALP² supports the implementation of projects

The closing date for submitting projects seeking co-funding as part of DYNALP² expired on June 29. DYNALP² is a project launched by the Alliance in the Alps network of municipalities in 2006 and it is being financed by the MAVA Foundation for Nature Conservation. Read More…

Gymnaestrada 07: Exemplary sustainability

"SUSPORT" (SUstainibility & SPORT) is the name given to the environmental and sustainability concept for organisers of sporting events which has been drawn up by the organisers of the World Gymnaestrada 2007 together with the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival 2007. Read More…

Nature abhors a border

Nature in the Alps should be networked more effectively; to this end, the hindrances that stand in the way of animal migration and the spread of vegetation and plants should be made more permeable. Four alpine-wide network organisations are aiming to create an "ecological continuum" in the Alps. The preliminary project has just been given the go-ahead. Read More…

Dust cover speeds up snowmelt

A new study reveals that dust blown hundreds of kilometres by the wind from erosion zones or dry regions is capable of speeding up the snowmelt in the mountains of Colorado/USA by around one month. Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder were surprised not by the fact that the dust-covered snow cover was found to melt more quickly but by the extent to which this occurred in measurements and simulations. Read More…

An outgoing airport for the Allgäu

In the view of the project's initiators the opening of the Memmingerberg regional airport in the Allgäu/D on 28 June represents the "opportunity of the century". Bavaria subsidised the project to the tune of €7.3 m, with total investments amounting to €20 m. Read More…

The Alps' longest railway tunnel

Last weekend saw the official inauguration ceremony of the Lötschberg base tunnel in Switzerland after a construction period of eight years. At 34.6 km it is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The new link between the Bernese Oberland and the Valais drastically reduces the journey time. Read More…

Cervino international mountain film festival

The 10th edition of the Breuil-Cervinia/Valtournenche international mountain film festival is to be held in Italy's Aosta Valley from 25 to 29 July. The film festival, which is now being held again under its original name Cervino Cinemountain, is Europe's highest, given that it takes place at 2000 m above sea level. The 40 films featured at the festival cover the entire spectrum of topics from the environment to sports, culture and history. Read More…

Pyrenean ski resort to be revived

The Municipality of Vielha in the Spanish Pyrenees has given the go-ahead for the construction of more than 500 apartments and 1,700 parking spaces in the ski resort of La Tuca. The resort was forced to shut down in 1989 as the lack of snow meant it was no longer viable. But now the ski resort is to be brought back to life with the new project. Read More…

The Alps ideal for generating solar power

According to a study by the EU research laboratory for the environment in Ispra/I the profitability ratings for solar power installations in Alpine regions are similar to those of solar installations in southernmost Spain. Solar irradiance in the hills and mountains of Austria for example reaches an intensity of up to 2,000 kilowatt-hours per square metre. Read More…

Is sustainability marketable in the winter-sports industry?

The aim of the SkiSustain research project is to help create efficient and sustainable business models for ski resorts in the face of climate change and socio-economic changes. Its researchers are looking at ways of developing sustainability as a marketable product and as unique selling propositions for skiing destinations. One product under consideration is a customer-oriented benchmarking which would serve as a guide to snow-sports enthusiasts when selecting the ski resorts of their choice. Read More…

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. Read More…

Budoia: Lots of interest in (and enthusiasm for) the organic canteen

In spite of the difficulties Budoia is pushing ahead with the school canteen project, driven by the enthusiasm of parents, teachers and children. Thanks to the prize money from the Future in the Alps competition it has been possible to continue promoting the Project among the families and maintaining the education on nutrition among the schoolchildren. Read More…

DYNALP²: Visions and actions to ensure young people remain in their mountain communities

The DYNALP² workshop series is now underway in Slovenia. In Bovec the first workshop on 30 and 31 March dealt with solutions on how to prevent youth exodus. At first glance it might seem as if this issue affects only certain Alpine valleys, but the answers put forward can be of interest in many ways to politicians and regional players in the communities. Read More…

New look for www.cipra.org/future

The Future in the Alps website was given a makeover in the spring and has been incorporated into the CIPRA portal. This means that the information on Future in the Alps is now more user-friendly and more easily accessible. The site is regularly updated with news and events. Read More…