Switzerland
News, publications, press releases, positions... on this page you find current and alpine-relevant information from Switzerland.
More sustainable living thanks to corona?
Pop-up cycle paths in cities, an organic food boom – corona promotes the trend towards more sustainable lifestyles in the Alpine countries as well. A trend that may be here to stay. Read More…
AlpTick
Having one ticket for all public transportation in the entire Alpine region – this is our vision. The Alpine Ticket (AlpTick) makes travelling in the Alps easier, more sustainable and more attractive for young people. It is an idea developed by the CIPRA Youth Council (CYC) based on its members’ experiences of travelling on public transport in the Alps. Read More…
Digital and creative: climate strike despite Corona
Global #digitalstrike, climate strike in Switzerland, climate corona deal in Austria, mailbombing in Italy: how climate activists in Alpine countries deal with the initial restrictions and what they take away from the corona crisis. Read More…
Via Alpina: 20 years of long-distance hiking
For 20 years, the cross-border long-distance hiking trail known as the “Via Alpina” has connected all eight Alpine countries from Trieste to Monaco. It connects people, living spaces and natural areas along five routes, not only physically but also symbolically. Read More…
Focus: transit
The strain placed on people and nature by transit traffic in the narrow Alpine valleys is a running sore in European transport policy, and not only at the Brenner Pass. This is nonetheless today’s hotspot for dramatically increasing truck traffic and air pollution, with the population plagued by permanent traffic jams and noise pollution, in part also caused by ever more freight trains. Read More…
The landscape that moves CIPRA
From a Slovenian mountain pass, via a dying glacier in Switzerland, to a French shepherd's path: in its Annual Report 2019 CIPRA International shows how landscapes and their stories move people. Read More…
Point of view: A building plan for a resilient society
The corona crisis has broken our lives into pieces: relationships, working models, leisure and consumerism are loose building blocks. It is still unclear how we will reassemble them. We now have the chance to draw up a new building plan that is fit for the future, says Barbara Wülser, Co-Executive Director of CIPRA International. Read More…
Point of view: Water needs no borders – do we?
So far, sufficient water is available in the Alpine regions. If there is to be enough for everyone in the future, despite climate change, water must be treated as a common Alpine resource across national borders, says Marion Ebster, Project Manager at CIPRA International. Read More…
Tourism after the ski lift
Milder and milder winters are forcing ski resorts to invest in expensive snowmaking and lift facilities – an arms race in which many are no longer able to compete. Some places in the Alps have already found alternatives to skiing. Read More…
Bees: small in size, big in effect
Why we need honey, pollinators and biodiversity: This question is the subject of the themed issue of SzeneAlpen, to be published in March 2020. Read More…
Re.sources
[Project completed] Water, soil, bees, ideas, motivation, time: the Alps contain a wide range of resources. A large part of the natural capital is under threat, while the social potential for more sustainable solutions still slumbers in many places. What are my resources and what are yours? Which ones are in danger and which ones are our lives dependent on? What resources does it take to make a change towards sustainable development in the Alps? Read More…
AMIGO - Active Commuter Mobility
[Project completed] Reducing cross-border car traffic and focusing more on active mobility: these are the aims of the Interreg project "Amigo". Read More…
Fit for work
Change to bus, train, bike or e-bike: pilot companies in the Alpenrhein-Bodensee-Hochrhein region are testing healthy ways to work in the three-year Interreg project Amigo. Read More…
How diversity is lost
Intensive agriculture and climate change: a recent study from Austria shows how much influence both have on the loss of biodiversity in Alpine regions. Read More…
Sabbatical in the Alps
Take a longer break and give something back: The "Alpine Sabbatical" in Switzerland offers a meaningful alternative way of spending your free time. Read More…
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. Read More…
"We Stay on the Ground"
Explore the Alps by train: For the "Youth Alpine Interrail" participants, flight-free travel is a varied adventure. Read More…
Harmful transit traffic
Priority for health and the environment along the Brenner axis: this is what CIPRA Italy and other environmental associations are demanding of the Italian Minister of Transport. Read More…
Wanted: pioneering renovations and new buildings
The fifth edition of the international architecture prize, "Constructive Alps", has been launched. Renovations and new buildings that set an example for sustainable construction in the Alps can be submitted until 14 March 2020. Read More…
Mountain Research and Development Vol 39, No 2: Adaptation to Climate Change and Sustainable Mountain Development
Papers focus on scenario planning in Iceland; risk awareness in Austria; alpine pasture assessment in France; the role of different knowledge sources in adaptation in Venezuela and Colombia, Ecuador, and the Indian Himalaya; local adaptations to water scarcity in the Hindu Kush–Himalaya; declining glacier water in the Mongolian Altai; national glacier monitoring worldwide; and adaptation initiatives in African mountains. The issue was guest-edited by Carolina Adler. Read More…
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. Read More…
Alpine Spheres: Natural limits - Infinite possibilities
Conference documentation CIPRA Annual Conference 2017 Read More…
Sustainable Development Goals
In its Agenda 2030, the United Nations has formulated a total of 17 goals for sustainable development. What do they mean for the Alps? Read More…
Compact "Changing views - Changing thoughts - Changing behaviour"
How come we’re taking the car? Why is it so diffcult to change our habits? How can we deal with switching to sustainable alternatives? Read More…
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. Read More…
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. Read More…
