Nature

Our goal: For biodiversity to thrive in the Alps

Image caption:

© Jenni Kuck

Rugged rock faces, flowering mountain meadows, buzzing insects: the Alpine landscape and its inhabitants are truly diverse. Around 30,000 animal and 13,000 plant species are native to the Alps: at the same time, humans are shaping and impacting nature as never before, through agriculture, tourism and buildings for settlements, infrastructure, and energy production. Growing or dying villages and expanding agglomerations, an increasingly dense network of roads, railway lines and tourist developments, intensive arable farming, livestock farming that is no longer suited to the location, and the dramatic progression of climate change are all threatening the richness of the species and landscapes of the Alps. The dominant influence of humans on nature is also associated with a great responsibility – the responsibility towards nature and towards future generations.

With its core theme of “Nature”, CIPRA is committed to a holistic understanding of humankind in the midst of nature. The unique biological diversity of the Alpine region can only be preserved in the long term if people prioritise natural cycles over their own immediate needs in their thoughts and actions. CIPRA brings together relevant stakeholders with projects and activities such as those aimed at strengthening natural diversity, managing watercourses or spatial planning. In this way, it helps to network ecosystems and stakeholders and anchor the vital preservation of biodiversity, both politically and in the field.