Alps / Europe

An Alpine transit exchange is seen as a viable option for promoting a shift from road to rail for transalpine heavy goods vehicle traffic. A report commissioned by the Swiss Ministry of Transport has confirmed the technical feasibility and economic acceptability of such a solution.

"Dolomites of Peace" is the name of a series of nine events devoted to the subject of peace to be run by writers, philosophers, actors, church representatives and experts between 1 July and 24 August.

According to the results of research carried out by the Universities of Münster/D and Berne/CH, the advance and retreat of glaciers and lakes can trigger earthquakes.

Eurosolar is again awarding the German and European Solar Prizes in 2005, with 31 August as the deadline for submissions.

Following the decision taken by the Chamber of Deputies on 10 March, the French Senate approved ratification of the remaining protocols to the Alpine Convention in a unanimous vote with just one abstention on 12 May.

From 31 July to 6 August the Gesäuse National Park in Austria is hosting an International Junior Ranger Camp. Junior Ranger is the name of a European pilot project co-ordinated by EUROPARC which is targeted at young people from the affiliated protected areas and the regions bordering on them.

The number of plant species growing on mountain slopes used for ski trails in Switzerland is eleven percent lower than on adjoining sites. The reduction is especially striking in the case of woody and early flowering plants.

This spring saw the launch of ALPNAP, a new project in the framework of the EU's Interreg IIIB Alpine Space Programme.

During the 2006 Winter Olympics the local authority for Valli Po, Bronda e Infernotto plans to illuminate the summit of Monviso, the mountain that is the hallmark of the Piedmont.

28 April saw the breakthrough right in the middle of the almost 3-kilometer-long Lötschberg rail tunnel under the Swiss Alps.