Italy

Italy's Aosta Valley is to introduce cashmere goats in a bid to start a breeding project. The regional office for agriculture states that the goats can be kept outdoors all year round and are happy to graze even on difficult terrain.

In a research project lasting several years, a sustainability monitor has been developed for South Tyrol, Italy and is now on-line.

On 9 June Bolzano/I was officially declared the 2009 Alpine Town of the Year. The decision was taken in recognition of the South Tyrolean town's contribution to climate protection and a sustainable planning policy designed to provide a good quality of life for residents and an attractive destination for visitors.

At a meeting of the Adelboden Group held in Rome on 3 October over 60 representatives from governments, civil society and international organisations from mountain countries across the globe called for a more coherent approach to sustainable development in mountain areas.

Brig, Klagenfurt and Chiavenna: Workshop documentation is now online The workshop on "The Forestry Sector in Regional Policy - Options for Sustainable Development in the Alpine Region" organised by the Further Education in Forestry and Landscape jointly with CIPRA was held in Brig/CH on March 28 and 29.

The 10th edition of the Breuil-Cervinia/Valtournenche international mountain film festival is to be held in Italy's Aosta Valley from 25 to 29 July. The film festival, which is now being held again under its original name Cervino Cinemountain, is Europe's highest, given that it takes place at 2000 m above sea level. The 40 films featured at the festival cover the entire spectrum of topics from the environment to sports, culture and history.