Articles
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Climate crisis makes mountains crumble
Rockfalls and rockslides are nothing new in the Alps, but dwindling permafrost is making the situation even worse – for mountaineering and for villages.
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Innovations and aberrations
Helicopter flights and Australian white wine on the one hand, an eco-museum and recycled smartphones on the other: positive and negative awards from environmental organisations point the way to a more sustainable future.
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For drinkable water
In a referendum held at the beginning of July, Slovenia’s citizens voted by a clear majority in favour of preserving the shore and coastal zones. In doing so, they overturned a new law that would also have affected Alpine waters.
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Abandoned and uncultivated
Remote mountain villages in Piedmont/I have been struggling with heavy emigration for years. The region is now supporting people moving back to the mountains. A study from Austria shows how endangered Alpine agriculture actually is.
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How much is nature worth?
Alpine pastures that provide us with food. Trees that provide a pleasant microclimate. Alpine landscapes that heal and touch. At the beginning of July 2021, around 100 participants from all Alpine countries discussed the benefits and value of nature in the Alpine region at CIPRA’s Annual Conference in Biella/I.
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Dangers with wolves
The wolves are back: a CIPRA project now sheds light on why transparent communication, professional herding and more networking are needed.
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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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Where pesticides do not belong
On children’s playgrounds, in schoolyards and at the marketplace: researchers from Italy, Austria and Germany detect 32 different agricultural poisons in public places in South Tyrol.
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Darkness is worth protecting
Insect mortality, fewer pollinated plants, disoriented migratory birds, disturbed sleeping rhythms: the worldwide increase in light pollution has an enormous impact on flora, fauna and humans – including in the Alpine region.
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Monitoring Alpine biodiversity
Photo traps, audio recorders, soil samples: a unique research project in the Alps documents the effects of the climate crisis on biodiversity in the Berchtesgaden National Park/D. The findings will also benefit other mountain regions.