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The Better-Cities Event

The world's most enthusiastic urbanists, city leaders and changemakers meet in Ljubljana.

Webinar - Glaciers explained: Science behind the melting ice

Learning from a region that spans four countries

From the Carpathians to the Alps: in mid-September 2025, partners in the Central Mountains project visited Feldkirch/A. The focus was on cross-border cooperation in tourism, spatial planning and youth participation.

Renovation Days

The leading event dedicated to innovative approaches in the renovation of the built environment

Symposium 1: VERNACULAR FUTURES - Intertemporal and interdisciplinary perspectives on vernacular architecture and climate

This symposium will explore various ways in which locally specific and culturally embedded forms of architecture are shaped through dynamic interactions between climatic, environmental, social and technical processes.

Symposium 2: Vernacular Buildings in the Anthropocene

This symposium asks what comfort, sustainability and adaptability mean for locally specific and culturally embedded forms of architecture as climate change pushes our planet into a period of major transformation.

Renewable energies: Alpine Convention becomes decisive

The EU wishes to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. In the Alps, however, this must not come at the expense of sensitive natural areas. CIPRA International has now achieved two important clarifications through legal action: as a treaty under international law, the Alpine Convention takes precedence over secondary European Union law – that is, EU regulations and EU directives; consequently, its provisions must also be complied with when implementing the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

Renewable energies: Alpine Convention becomes decisive

The EU wishes to accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. In the Alps, however, this must not come at the expense of sensitive natural areas. CIPRA International has now achieved two important clarifications through legal action: as a treaty under international law, the Alpine Convention takes precedence over secondary European Union law – that is, EU regulations and EU directives; consequently, its provisions must also be complied with when implementing the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

Dialogue on Alpine Spatial Planning: Proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025

How can Alpine Spatial Planning mitigate conflicts between the energy transition and nature restoration? This question was addressed at the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025 in Salzburg, which brought together more than 160 participants. The proceedings show key insights and recommended actions – not in a concluding way, but as part of an ongoing learning process and as an impulse for further debates. They underline the shared understanding that the energy transition in the Alpine region must be approached and implemented in a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary, and transboundary manner.

Expert Workshop "State of the Territory"

The Alpine region is facing crucial challenges: How do we shape spatial development so that nature, society, and the economy are in harmony? How do we address growing challenges such as climate change, land use conflicts, and the energy and mobility transition in an integrated manner? The workshop brings together experts and stakeholders from administration, science, civil society, planning, and practice.

Alpine Spatial Planning: Spatial planning perspectives for overcoming conflicts of use in the context of the energy transition

The proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025 summarise the participatively developed results, conclusions, and normative policy and planning recommendations on the role of Alpine spatial planning in the context of current EU requirements for nature restoration and the expansion of renewable energies.

Position: Transport and mobility in the Alps

In its new 40-page position paper, CIPRA outlines sustainable mobility in the Alpine region with the least possible negative impact of transport on the environment and people. In addition to travel, the paper also addresses commuter traffic, long-distance traffic and freight transport - supplemented with facts, concrete measures and good examples.

GOVQoL – Empowering Alpine communities to improve their quality of life

Alpine communities’ quality of life (QoL) is currently facing several challenges such as the depopulation of remote areas, reduced provision of services of general interest, the impacts of climate change, and mistrust of governance. These issues are not only reshaping the Alpine territories but also impacting the daily lives of its inhabitants. Despite the urgent need for responsive and inclusive governance, there is currently a significant gap in understanding and addressing QoL at the local level which our project aims to address.

JeloviZA

Climate-friendly streetscapes

Whether travelling by car, public transport, bicycle or on foot, roads and their immediate surroundings are probably the most important part of our daily journeys. Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, they can become a problem because they increase the heat island effect and seal the ground. The project, based in the Alpine Rhine Valley, aims to make road spaces fair, climate-friendly and health-promoting.

Nature-based solutions and their governance structures in the Alpine region

In view of the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, the use of nature-based solutions (NbS) is becoming increasingly important. On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency, ifuplan (lead) and CIPRA International are preparing a report on “Nature-based solutions and governance structures in the Alpine region”. The aim of the report is to analyse the potential of various NbS in the Alpine region and the governance mechanisms behind them that ensure their success. Based on this, their transferability to other Alpine regions will be analysed and recommendations for action formulated.

Webinar series on cross-border mobility

The webinar series on cross-border mobility and European strategies and grants for mobility solutions aimed to strengthen the common understanding and European approach to local mobility solutions. The workshops were open to all stakeholders interested in these topics and provided a platform for exchange and cooperation.

A delegation from Chartreuse visits Bad Hindelang to discuss mobility in Alpine areas

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised exchange study visits between two pilot territories : the Chartreuse massif in France (represented by the regional natural park and the local authority "Coeur de Chartreuse") and the municipality of Bad Hindelang in Germany.

DINAMO Erasmus+ project: a new white paper on mountain mobility

The "DINAMO" project aims to address the challenges of rural mountain mobility by encouraging cooperation between different stakeholders and stimulating creative processes through international exchanges. The main objective is to promote sustainable mobility solutions in rural mountain areas, to help them become less dependent on individual car transport.

Learning about Alpine cross-mobility in the DINAMO Erasmus+ project webinars

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised two webinars on the topic of cross-border mobility and Alpine mobility strategies in June and July 2024.

DINAMO Erasmus+ project: the return trip from Bad Hindelang to Chartreuse

As part of the European ERASMUS+ project "DINAMO - Developing International Nature Adapted Mobility Options", CIPRA Germany and CIPRA France organised exchange study visits between two pilot territories : the Chartreuse massif in France (represented by the regional natural park and the local authority "Coeur de Chartreuse") and the municipality of Bad Hindelang in Germany.

DINAMO

[Project competed] In many rural areas of the Alps, public transport services are inadequate for daily needs and tourism development. In some remote mountain regions, this is one of the reasons why there is a considerable amount of car traffic, especially on weekends, public holidays and during rush hours. There are various reasons for this, including the high cost of public transport solutions due to low population density, inadequate public transport options (such as timetables, accessibility, connectivity, travel time and costs) and political and social preferences in favour of private motorised transport.

LISTEN

The LISTEN project is analysing the use of space in suburbs on the basis of three pilot regions in Belgium, Sweden and Austria. CIPRA Lab GmbH is working together with partners from research and regional stakeholders.

Challenges for alpine agriculture

Loss of biodiversity, climate change, migration: just some of the problems affecting the Alpine region. The concept of agroecology offers sustainable solutions - but we have to implement them together.

Unsuitable landscapes for energy production

The results of a recent survey from Switzerland are clear: no to energy production in almost unspoilt mountain areas. Intensively used areas around ski resorts or existing power plants would be better suited to the expansion of renewable energy.

Alpine towns – key to sustainable development

The ninth Report on the State of the Alps, entitled “Alpine Towns”, was presented as part of the Swiss presidency of the Alpine Convention. It sheds light on how the Alpine settlement system hinders – or helps – the sustainable development of the Alps.

Point of view: Let’s create an “Alpine Plan” for all Alpine regions!

The Bavarian Alpine Plan celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. Alpine spatial planning has proven here that it is predestined to find solutions to the pressing issues of the day. Similar planning instruments are lacking in many Alpine regions, although we need them more urgently than ever, claim Paul Kuncio, Executive Director of CIPRA Austria, and Uwe Roth, Executive Director of CIPRA Germany.

Alps in transition

The ecological transition is already happening in the Alps – and we are in the middle of it. The AlpWeek 2022 from 5 to 7 September 2022 in Brig-Glis/CH will bring together citizens and decision-makers to discuss the many aspects of transformation in the Alps. CIPRA is co-organiser of the international event.

Heatwave aggravated by soil sealing

All of Europe is currently groaning under the heat – and the growing numbers of concreted-over areas are heating up the environment even more. In a background report, CIPRA's Saving:Soils project shows good examples and solutions for the sustainable use of soil and summarises current strategies in the Alpine countries.

Save land, save soil

What do we need for a turnaround in land management in peri-urban areas?