Alps / Europe

Stay overnight on the glacier for over a week, climb peaks, carry out scientific experiments: the “Girls* on Ice” project offers girls an awe-inspiring summer experience.

The consequences of climate change are also becoming apparent in the forests of the Alps. In South Tyrol/I and East Tyrol/A this year has seen an explosive spread of pests. What looks like frightening devastation might present a long-term opportunity, however.

The results of a recent survey from Switzerland are clear: no to energy production in almost unspoilt mountain areas. Intensively used areas around ski resorts or existing power plants would be better suited to the expansion of renewable energy.

More and more people are travelling to the mountains – and staying for shorter and shorter periods. This causes traffic and environmental problems. Pilot regions in Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Germany want to change that. With the speciAlps2 project, which is now coming to an end, they have taken the first steps to manage the flow of visitors.

In the summer of 2022, nine “Via Alpina Explorers” set out to hike the new red route of the Via Alpina. Three of them walked the route from start to finish, visiting all eight Alpine countries along the way – an undertaking that took four months.

Ageing, emigration and dying villages are typical problems for many mountain regions. It must therefore become attractive for young people to live in the Alps again, says Kathrin Holstein, member of CIPRA’s Youth Council and staff member of the Alliance in the Alps network of municipalities.

Four studies from Italy, France, and Cyprus examine how production of Mediterranean mountain food specialties—cheese, beef, and wine—can support sustainable development in the producing regions. Insights for better visitor management in protected areas are offered in an article from Nepal, using geolocated social media images, and in one from the French Alps, based on an analysis of visitors’ attitudes. A study from South Africa’s Drakensberg Mountains analyzes urbanization and land cover change.

The ninth Report on the State of the Alps, entitled “Alpine Towns”, was presented as part of the Swiss presidency of the Alpine Convention. It sheds light on how the Alpine settlement system hinders – or helps – the sustainable development of the Alps.

Seven of eight signatory states to the Alpine Convention today signed a progressive action plan for climate-neutral mobility by 2050 in Brig/CH. CIPRA International contributed to the almost two-year development of the action plan with proposals for the “Simplon Alliance”.

Inspirational inputs, heated discussions, fruitful exchanges and excursions into the impressive Valais region in and around the Alpine town of Brig-Glis/CH: AlpWeek 2022, held in early September in Brig-Glis/CH, was all about “Change in the Alps”.