News
Strange but true!
... it’s a real “boar”! Wild pigs are conquering the Alps.
Strange but true...
... a white complexion, slim, almost dainty – truly a feast for the eyes. And, most important of all, very well developed.
Looking for answers to resource shortages
Resources are finite, including those in the Alps. What solutions are available for living a good life that do not simply depend on ever more consumption? Some answers will be provided at the CIPRA Annual Conference to be held in November 2014 in Annecy, France
Help with Decision-Making
Unused knowledge is useless knowledge. In a world of climate change, CIPRA guidelines show how to prepare for unpredictable scenarios.
Tomorrow’s climate: warmer, wetter, costlier
This winter was the second warmest in Italy and one of the wettest since 1800. The world’s largest reinsurer is now also warning of the increasing natural risks as a consequence of climate change.
Adapting to climate change: see how it's done!
How do you make people sit up and take note of climate change? Using photos and video clips, the C3-Alps collection of examples says more than a thousand words.
Towards Carbon Neutral Alps - a guideline
The strategies for carbon neutrality are numerous. Municipalities and regions all over the Alps are confronted with various challenges and opportunities on the way to carbon neutrality. The Alpstar-Guideline provides an overview.
A simple way to communicate climate change adaptation
There exist solutions for dealing with the consequences of global warming. But how can they be successfully communicated? A guide now gives answers for the Alpine Space in 7 steps.
Making mobility the main theme
Why do most of those working in the Alpine Rhine Valley drive to work in their own cars - despite excellent cycle ways and a good public transport network? The Alpstar partners in Liechtenstein, St. Gallen and Vorarlberg investigate.
Energy discussed between mountain and lake…
The Alpstar mid-term conference took place from April 25th to 26th 2013, in the city of Grassau in the beautiful region of the Achental.
A public-shared sustainable energy action plan
The Natural Regional Park of Queyras (France, PACA region) launched its own sustainable energy action plan in May 2013. Its primary objective is to be shared among citizens and local stakeholders.
Energy efficiency in ski resorts!
How to reduce energy consumption and green house gases (GHG) emissions in ski resorts? A pilot action in the Pays Serre-Ponçon Ubaye Durance (Pays SUD, France).
Launch of the Alpstar mobility network in Vorarlberg
Alpstar project partner Vorarlberg launches a mobility network with 9 companies mainly from the producing industry in Vorarlberg. The network partners will share their experiences in the network and they will work on solutions for upcoming challenges within the field of mobility.
Bolzano sent the proposal for FP7-Smartcities-2013
The participation to the FP7 call for proposals might represent an opportunity to further enhance the activities of Bolzano towards carbon neutrality.
Climate action plan of Bressanone
With beginning of 2013 the city of Bressanone (20.000 inhabitants, located northern Italy in the Alps) will issue its climate action plan.
Valtellina Valley toward carbon neutrality by 2050
Considering its typically alpine features, FLA identified Valtellina Valley as the ideal region where to cultivate the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Starting from a preliminary analysis to identify the most critical sectors in terms of carbon emissions, FLA undertook two pilot actions relating to transport and energy issues.
Climate change: cc.alps looked many steps further
With the recently published compact "Water in climate change" the project "cc.alps - climate change: looking one step further" has come to an end. In the last four years, CIPRA International together with a wide range of experts and practitioners has shown what intelligent climate activities should look like.
Joint action on climate change
The forests of the Alps will only be able to cope with climate change if the findings from all the various specialist fields are pooled together. And that requires new forms of co-operation and communication.
Knowing how to shape the climate
Climate protection is possible. It's just that lots of people don't know how to go about it. CIPRA is demonstrating how we can protect the climate and save money at the same time. The whole idea is being trialled in two pilot regions in the Alps
Young, climate-conscious, and thirsting for action
Young people from five Alpine nations campaigned as part of the My Clime-mate Project to make the Alps a carbon-neutral region. At the end of October they took stock - and forged new plans.
"We'll keep at it."
Virtually everyone was there. Idrija's festival hall was packed to the rafters, and the youth symphony orchestra summoned specially for the occasion was in full flow. There was plenty of drama, and the TV people were there, too. A murmur went through the 1,000-strong audience as they got to their feet and began clapping. Then a large burly man in a dark suit walked onto to the stage. Deep creases bracketed his laughing mouth like waterfalls, stretching up to his white temples. Bojan Sever, the major of the small Slovenian town in the alpine foothills, held aloft the certificate confirming their status as Alpine Town of the Year 2011. Cameras flashed and the applause redoubled. That was just over a year ago.
CIPRA's point of view: Knowing how to shape the climate
We should discharge no more greenhouse gases than the natural systems in the Alps, such as forests or moorlands, can absorb - CIPRA's vision, set out in its annual report, argues for sustained climate protection.
The Alps are renewed in Poschiavo
On what sort of resources are the Alps building their future? Can climate change be an opportunity? What ought to be done to ensure that young people have prospects? The Alpine Week being held in the Swiss valley of Val Poschiavo from 5 to 8 September 2012 aims to discuss just how renewable the Alps actually are.
Climate plan for South Tyrol
The Province of Bolzano wants to become more energy efficient by 2050. Every inhabitant of the Province currently produces around five tonnes of carbon dioxide. The aim is to cut that figure to a mere 1.5 tonnes over the next forty years.
Loss of biodiversity in the mountains particularly severe
A study carried out across Europe using new measurement methods has shown that climate change impacting particularly heavily on plants in mountain regions. The vastly different mountain ecosystems are being recorded on a very small and accurate scale using special computer models.
cc.alps climate project: win-win with science
Swiss economic geographer Bruno Abegg has been working with CIPRA for three years. A scientist and a political organisation – how can that work? “It is a clash between two ways of thinking,” says the 45-year-old, which is precisely what he finds so exciting. As the scientific director of the cc.alps project he examines the way in which regions, communities and businesses in the Alps are responding to climate change. CIPRA campaigns to ensure that climate response measures are sustainable. “My research work has always been application-oriented,” says Abegg, “which is why it’s important to me that my findings flow into practical work for the environment.”
Alpine Town of the Year Association: “No town can afford to ignore climate change mitigation”
Hubert Buhl talks about towns that are pioneering climate change mitigation, environmental role models, and an award capable of changing entire communities.
Changing forests
The seminar titled Forestry and Climate Change - Thinking One Step Ahead! looks at the consequences of global warming on the timber industry, forestry and its functions. What sort of strategies are needed to ensure the sustainable development of the forest within the context of regional development?
Network of municipalities: new approaches to climate change mitigation
Over the next two years twenty climate change mitigation projects are to be co-financed with around EUR 280,000 by the Alliance in the Alps local authority network. The strategies adopted by local authorities to deal with climate change vary greatly.
Biodiversity in times of climate change: management or wilderness?
The concrete impact of climate change on biodiversity is still uncertain. However it is expected to be visible particularly in the behaviour of the flora and fauna in the Alps and also to be different for each species. The habitat of butterflies such as the marbled ringlet (Erebia montana) is set to shrink, alike the grouse's. But in a different way, because the grouse is more severely impacted by land use than by climate change.