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Point of view: European elections 2024: why a Swiss citizen would also like to vote

Switzerland’s referendum-based democracy has pitfalls of its own when it comes to environmental and climate policy. There needs to be an overarching corrective, such as neighbouring countries have in their constitutional courts and through the legal institutions of the EU, says Kaspar Schuler – as a Swiss citizen and Executive Director of CIPRA International.

Climate protection becomes a human right

A legal milestone for climate protection: on 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Switzerland is violating the human rights of older women because the country is not doing what is necessary to combat global warming.

The next unused bobsleigh run

The controversial Olympic bobsleigh run in Cortina is being built after all. Despite organisational concerns, Italy’s Infrastructure Minister, Matteo Salvini, has pushed construction through.

EUSALP Youth Camp - Moving mountains together

Meet other young people from the alpine region during an Erasmus+ exchange. On the Agenda: workshops, site visits, mountain activities and intercultural exchanges.

Guiding visitors, preserving the natural experience

From artificial intelligence and the last kilometre to carrying capacity limits and nudging: the speciAlps podcast series and a webinar delve deeper into the topic of visitor guidance for a wide audience.

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.

Implementing simple ideas for more climate protection

Simply do it is the motto of the EmpowerLIFE project launched in 2023. It supports people in realising their do-it-yourself ideas and plans in relation to climate protection. The climate crisis and the energy crisis that emerged in 2022 are motivating many people to take action: they simultaneously want to live more sustainably, help shape the future and reduce costs.

Gigaliners: a danger to people and nature

Trucks weighing up to 60 tonnes and 25 metres long: the European Parliament’s Transport Committee voted in favour of so-called gigaliners in mid-February 2024 – despite the serious concerns expressed by CIPRA.

AlpWeek 2024

Join us for the 8th edition of AlpWeek, themed “Alps in our hands”!

The Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention campaigns for Alpine protected areas

A limited number of entrance tickets for protected areas, the designation of infrastructure-free zones and an excursion to protected areas anchored in the curriculum: the 18th Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention (YPAC) focused on Alpine nature reserves. For the first time, there was also an exchange with the CIPRA Youth Council.

Congrès Nature 2024

« Penser ensemble l’énergie et la biodiversité : Dialogues pour un avenir énergétique durable »

Haus am Katzenturm Association

[Project completed] Along with the association of the same name in Feldkirch/A, the “Haus am Katzenturm” networks NGOs from the environmental and nature conservation sector in the Lake Constance region and makes their topics accessible to a broad public.

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.

Webinar series "Ground:Breaking"

Webinar series on desealing to improve soil, climate and biodiversity.

EmpowerLIFE – simply do it

Simply do it is the motto of the EmpowerLIFE project launched in 2023. It supports people in realising their do-it-yourself ideas and plans in relation to climate protection.

European Mountain Convention

Save the date for the 2024 European Mountain Convention!

Gigaliners: a danger to people and nature

Trucks weighing up to 60 tonnes and 25 metres long: the European Parliament’s Transport Committee voted in favour of so-called gigaliners in mid-February 2024 – despite the serious concerns expressed by CIPRA.

International Youth Worker Training on Inclusion and Sustainability in Mountain Regions

Join us in Wildhaus (SG/Switzerland) from the 27th to the 30th of May 2024

YPAC 2024

General topic: Protected Natural Areas

The urban exodus and the climate

Many mountain regions in the Alps are affected by out-migration. However, climate change is also causing some people to migrate – at least temporarily – from the cities to the mountains, as an Italian research project shows.

The role of forests in climate change

What role will forests play in the future in the face of climate change? At the end of 2023, CIPRA Slovenia co-organized a meeting of various interest groups on this topic. Experts agreed on the need to designate more areas where forests are left unmanaged.

Natural diversity through stones

What do the large woolly bee, the protected fire-bellied toad, the busy ant and the white stonecrop have in common? They all feel right at home in and around cairns, which CIPRA’s “StoneRich” project is creating in seven pilot regions.

Energy transition and the phenomenon "not in my backyard"

Exchanging views and ideas on solutions towards climate-neutral and climate-resilient Alps 2050

Virtual info sessions: Master's Program "Management of Conservation Areas"

Joint Action for the Alps - Conserve, Connect and Restore

Alpine Convention Biodiversity Conference & ForumAlpinum: The Alps - a Refuge for Bio- and Geodiversity?

UNESCO recognizes Alpine season as cultural heritage

In December 2023, UNESCO added the “Alpine season” to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Known for centuries in Switzerland and neighbouring countries, the Alpine season remains alive and well thanks to its many different forms.

6th EUSALP Mobility Conference

Working together for better public mobility

In many rural areas of the Alps, public transport services are inadequate, both for daily needs and for tourism development. The new project by CIPRA France and CIPRA Germany aims to promote cooperation between stakeholders and to stimulate creative processes of international exchange so as to develop solutions.

Point of view: Mountains for everyone? Not a chance!

Access to the mountains and mountain sports is often unfair, exclusive, segregating and discriminatory. Henriette Adolf, Deputy Executive Director of CIPRA Germany, argues in favour of equal participation in mountain sports.

Extreme weather at a glance across the Alps

At the end of November, a new Alpine-wide research centre presented itself to the public at the Schneefernerhaus, the German environmental research station below the Zugspitze peak: the “TUM Alpha – Centre for Alpine Hazards and Risks” will coordinate, on an international basis, the prediction of extreme climate events in the mountains.