News
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Taking the train and bus to the ski slopes proves popular
More and more skiers are making use of the ski trains and buses operated by the Vorarlberg Transport Authority. The main ski resorts of Austria's westernmost federal province, i.e. the Montafon, the Kloster valley and the Arlberg region, can all be reached by public transport. The good results achieved this season have prompted the Transport Authority to expand its offers as far afield as southern Germany, among others.
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Early warning system for wolves
The New York Wildlife Conservation Society has developed an early warning system for wolf attacks to help prevent conflicts between man and beast, and as a result also protect the wolves.
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7th CIPRA Summer Academy: The Alps in three weeks
The 7th Summer Academy of the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) is taking place from 16 August to 3 September. For anyone interested in the Alps as a region this education course provides a detailed insight. The lectures and project work on topics related to the Alps are designed to offer a more comprehensive view of the Alps.
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New waste prevention initiatives in Europe
The City of Vienna has set up "Scarabeo 2004", the first ever European Youth Competition on Waste Prevention and Separation. Until May 15 young people from more than forty countries can submit projects on ways of preventing and separating waste.
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Preserving priority areas of the Alps
At the UN Conference on Biological Diversity in Kuala Lumpur the WWF presented a study identifying 23 priority areas of the Alps. The alpine study in five languages was drawn up by the WWF, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA), the Network of Alpine Protected Areas and the International Scientific Committee for Alpine Research (ISCAR) with the help of a hundred experts from 90 institutions and bodies.
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"Green" holidays in the Alps for Dutch tourists
From this summer several Dutch tour operators, including the TUI subsidiary Holland International and the hiking and cycling holiday specialists SNP, are offering "Green Package Tours" to Switzerland and Austria.
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Centre for nanotechnology in the French Alps
The first European network for nanobiotechnology, Nano2life, is being co-ordinated in Grenoble/F since February 2. So after Paris Grenoble is now the second largest research centre in France, with 18,200 people working in 200 laboratories.
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The Role of NGOs in Mountain Regions
The conference book of the 2002 Yearly Symposium of the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) in Schaan/Liechtenstein has just been published. Marking the occasion of CIPRA's 50th anniversary the Symposium focused on the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in mountain regions.
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Minority languages of the Alps take to new media
In the past learning the Romansh language nearly always meant having to go through German. But since the end of last year Lia Rumantscha, the umbrella organisation for all Romansh associations, has posted an online English-Romansh dictionary called "myPledari" on the internet for free use.
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Extended mountain stays are good for you
Mountain air has a beneficial effect also on patients with cardiovascular problems. The optimum effect is achieved at altitudes of 2000 metres above sea level and after a minimum stay of three weeks.