Articles
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Dutch-Alpine partnership for sustainable tourism
Since 2021 the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association (NKBV) is new supporting member of CIPRA International. Regarding the large impact of Dutch visitors, the aim of the partnership is to contribute to sustainability in Alpine tourism.
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Mountaineering villages: from the Western Alps to the Mediterranean Sea
The “Mountaineering Villages” initiative unites small communities in the Alpine region that focus on gentle tourism and nature conservation. Now there are six new members from Italy, Austria and, for the first time, Switzerland.
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Strange but true!
A “vision,” an innovative “lighthouse project” with “international appeal” – while countless cannons provide the necessary snow in other Alpine regions, eastern Switzerland is planning something really big: an indoor snow sports facility in a mountain tunnel in Flums. What is already possible on Dubai’s indoor ski slope, namely weather-independent winter sports, is to become a reality in eastern Switzerland by 2030.
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Alpine plants: persistent and endangered
Spiked rue, glacier buttercup, saxifrage: the habitat of such alpine plants is shrinking with the glaciers, as a recent study shows. In addition to climate change, mountain plants are also suffering from nitrogen deposition.
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Glacier ice on a stick
Artificial ice cones and “snow ropes”: Swiss glaciologists want to save glacier ice as a water reservoir and make ski resorts more environmentally friendly. The idea comes from the Indian Himalayas.
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Point of view: For a cultural change in transit traffic
Trade has been the driving force behind cultural and social development in the Alpine region. Transit traffic in its current form, on the other hand, mainly benefits regions away from the Alps. To ban noise and exhaust fumes from the Alpine valleys we need more than a watered-down EU directive, says Stephan Tischler, President of CIPRA Austria.
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Young, mobile, sustainable
Travelling through the Alps by train in a climate-friendly way: young adults campaigned for more sustainable mobility at the online workshop “Youth Alpine Interrail” in December 2020 at the “AlpenWoche Intermezzo”. They discussed with representatives from politics how nature experiences can motivate more climate protection and which political measures are necessary.
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Outdoor tourism as the new mainstream
The corona pandemic, digitisation and health are causing ever more people to spend their leisure time in the mountains. At the online conference “Outdoor tourism with a long-distance perspective” on 16 and 17 November 2020, experts from the fields of science and the industry discussed how sustainable and socially acceptable tourism in the Alpine region can succeed.
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The Alps as Commons
How does ecologically sustainable management in the Alpine region contribute to a better quality of life? Answers and food for thought are provided by the themed booklet SzeneAlpen, published in November 2020.
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Young people demand climate-friendly Alpine ticket
High prices, long travel times, complex booking systems: an Alpine-wide survey by CIPRA's Youth Council shows that sustainable travel in the Alps must become more attractive.