BALANCE

Tourism & Leisure — Sep 24, 2026
The Alpine region is at a crossroads. While iconic destinations like Lake Garda and Ljubljana attract millions, over-tourism threatens landscapes, increases fragmentation and erodes living traditions. BALANCE brings together 11 partners from 6 Alpine countries to safeguard Alpine landscapes by co- creating 7 biocultural routes that protect and reconnect nature and heritage, and channel visitors in a more responsible way.

The core of BALANCE is the co-creation of interconnected biocultural routes that relieve pressure on sensitive sites, strengthen ecological connectivity and offer experiences rooted in local crafts, gastronomy and ecological storytelling while value remains within local communities. BALANCE aims to empower Alpine communities as stewards of their landscapes and support environmental protection through community co-creation labs and a digital tool for managing visitor flows.

The project will deliver a practical roadmap for community-led tourism, a network of digitally interconnected routes and a jointly developed solution to support policy integration and upscaling. This is only possible through transnational cooperation: partners share methods and knowledge and jointly develop solutions that are adaptable and replicable across the Alpine context.

BALANCE stands out for its integration of community empowerment and heritage valorisation, setting a new standard for landscape-first tourism in the region.

Full project name: BALANCE - Biocultural Alpine Landscapes to Nurture Communities and enhance Eco-tourism

Projet objectives:

  • Planning of biocultural routes by local communities and stakeholders
  • Creating a network of interconnected biocultural routes
  • Supporting the management and upscaling of biocultural routes
  • Dispersion of the model across the Alps
  • Knowledge-sharing on the governance of biocultural routes

Main activities of CIPRA France :

  • To develop ways of jointly planning interconnected biocultural routes and promoting natural and cultural heritage across the Alps,

  • Creation of a roadmap detailing participatory methods, stakeholder engagement, heritage mapping and guidelines for communities to design sustainable tourist routes that incorporate local produce and short supply chains.

  • Coordinating community workshops to co-develop the seven biocultural routes.

  • Designing measures to protect against overtourism and co-creating ‘eco-narratives’ as well as educational activities that combine heritage, landscape conservation and appeal to visitors’ emotions

  • Promoting the adoption and replication of biocultural routes across the entire Alpine region
  • Organising thematic information meetings with Alpine networks to encourage the adoption, across the Alps, of the BALANCE toolkit and guidance notes

Project partners :

Participating countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland

Project dates: Septembre 2026 – August 2029

Projet languages: English, alpines languages

Funding: The project is part of the INTERREG Alpine Space Programme. This programme co-funds and supports cross-border cooperation projects accross the seven Alpine countries.