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Extracting Stores of Knowledge

The future belongs to those who help to shape it. And in the Alps countless initiatives involving thousands of activists are working to do just that. Yet most of them are unaware of the fact that elsewhere other people are working away on exactly the same problems as they are. This is precisely where the Future in the Alps Project launched by CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, comes into play. It is all about collating practical experience throughout the Alps, classifying it and making it available to those who need it.

Forest bird diversity and ski-runs: a case of negative edge effect

Transalpine transport: beginning to cooperate

Forest Snow and Landscape Research

From winter to all-year tourism

The French département of Savoie aims to promote all-year tourism with its 2007-2013 Tourism Plan.

New publication series on the Alpine region

The "Alpine Space - Man and the Environment" research platform established by the Leopold-Franzens University in Innsbruck/A is publishing a new series of publications by the same name.

Activities

The upgrading of Alpine winter sports

The Dossier is dedicated to the topic of "The upgrading of Alpine winter sports". The background report describes the latest trends in winter sports in the Alps as well as their economic impact. The catchwords include "fun tourism", increased capacities, artificial snow and new developments. One important conclusion: at a time when the number of skiers is decreasing and global warming is increasing, the Alpine tourist resorts which will survive and succeed in preserving their autonomy are those which see nature and the landscape as their most precious asset and which come up with alternatives to one-sided ski tourism. Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.

Stormy times in mountain forests

In the 1990s four storms in the Alpine regions caused quite a stir: in February 1990 Vivian and Wiebke, and in December 1999 Lothar and Martin. What they all had in common was the devastation they caused; what was also remarkable was the short time span between them. The Dossier's background report, which is available only in German, outlines the extent and causes of the damage caused in the forest areas and the way in which the storm areas were addressed depending on the different interests governing the use of those areas. Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.

Modern architecture in the Alps

The building methods which have typically been used in Alpine regions have always focused on the needs of the population living there and the necessities of survival. It is therefore an architectural style which has been dictated by the limitations and peculiarities of the regions themselves. The old buildings which are today considered typical or traditional are not the result of informed decisions, but the consequences of necessity. The different settlements, houses, stables, places of worship and outbuildings were built not according to particular architectural styles or personal tastes, but as a consequence of binding criteria and based on a balance which had to be struck. So is there such a thing as a modern architecture in the Alps? Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.

Eco-tourism in the Alps

In the Alps there are already many forms of nature-orientated tourism, which, in some of its fundamental objectives, is very much like eco-tourism. While nature-orientated tourism in the Alps has a great deal of potential when it comes to value added and niche appeal, it does not have the growth potential attributed to global eco-tourism. There are, however, signs that nature-orientated tourism will gain in significance in the Alps in the years to come. Current discussions on eco-tourism can provide the impetus for those responsible for tourism policy to give more thought to an overall strategy for nature-orientated tourism in the Alps, together with the key players operating at the grass-roots level. Additional relevant material on the issue can be found in other language versions of this page.

Spreading free-riding snow sports represent a new servious threat for wildlife

Urban sprawl in Europe

Alpine Town Alpine Country

Mountain areas as menageries

Delayed succession from alpine grassland to savannah with upright pine: Limitation by ectomycorrhiza formation?

The impact of high-altitude ski-runs on alpine grassland bird communities

Buy fair

Rural landscapes in Europe: principles for creation and management

Manual for candidate cities for the XX Olympic Winter Games 2006

Strategies for reducing the environmental impact of tourism

Greenhouse gas emission trends and projections in Europe 2003

A Regional Climate Model for the Alpine Region

Discussion report on: Alpine Regions

Signals of range expansions and contractions of vascular plants in the high Alps: observations (1994–2004) at the GLORIA master site Schrankogel, Tyrol, Austria

Behind the Hockey Stick

How did humans first alter global climate?

Natura 2000 in the Alpine regions

Sense and Sustainability

AlpCity Project