In August Sondrio/I was officially awarded the title of 2007 Alpine Town of the Year. The award pays tribute to Sondrio's commitment to enhancing the municipality's ecological, cultural and tourist status.
Italy
A new study by WWF Italy shows that snowfall in the Italian Alps has decreased by 20% over the past thirty years and looks at the consequences. The tourism industry, which has been a cash cow for many alpine regions, has come to rely exclusively on artificial snow installations in many cases.
The Montagnalibri mountain book fair is being held in Trento/I between 29 April and 7 May for the 20th time. Book presentations and meetings, discussions and round tables with authors, mountaineers and connoisseurs of Alpine history are to be held daily.
In Turin/I on 22 February representatives of civilian society from the mountain regions of the Piedmont presented their signed Piemonte Alpine Treaty. The document is the result of intensive debate and discussions, and denounces the political, economic and cultural discrimination of the Piedmont mountain regions compared with the power centres in the pre-Alps and cities.
Back when Turin was running as a candidate to host the Winter Olympics, Piedmont representatives of environmental associations criticised the candidature for its lack of environment-related issues.
The Italian mountain community of Cesana Torinese, near Sestriere, has received an award for its efforts aimed at improving the quality of life of its citizens. The community's ethics programme, which it developed specially, has been certified in accordance with the guidelines of international standard SA 8000 (Social Accountability).
(27.01.2006) The International Mountain Film Festival is to be held in Trento/I for the 54th time from 29 April to 7 May 2006. This unique festival worldwide is devoted to mountains, exploration and adventure.
(27.01.2006) Under the heading of "Objective 2 and Leader+. EU co-financed projects for rural areas" in its 24-page brochure the province of South Tyrol has reviewed the initiatives and projects it has successfully implemented.
(27.01.2006) According to data from Arpa Piemonte the Piedmont region/IT had only half the amount of its usual rainfall last year (430 mm). The consequences of this dry spell now include a lack of drinking water and low water levels in the region's lakes.
Swiss researchers have conducted a study to examine the extent to which man-made lighting has penetrated mountain regions since the 1970s. The comparison of satellite imagery shows that areas which previously were lit only in isolated spots - if at all - are now increasingly exposed to night time lighting.