On 16 June UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the WWF launched a new partnership between the Alps and the Carpathians in Montecatini/I.
Alps / Europe
Anyone who comes across unused installations or buildings while out hiking or mountaineering in the Swiss Alps should take part in the Wilderness Olympics 2005 and notify Mountain Wilderness (MW) of their "find".
Turin/I is aiming to maximise the reduction in the output of greenhouse gases during the forthcoming Winter Olympics with the aid of its HECTOR (Heritage Climate Torino) programme launched in 2004.
27 Sherpas from Nepal are currently attending training courses at refuges in Austria's Tyrol province.
Lower winter precipitation has been one of the causes, along with global warming, behind melting glaciers over the past 150 years. These are the main findings of a study by researchers at the Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de Grenoble/F and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich/CH, published in the Geophysical Research Letters.
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.