Combining flood protection and nature-based solutions

In the FLOW-BIOS project, five biosphere reserves are working together with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, and CIPRA International to explore how nature-based solutions can be successfully implemented on privately owned land.

CIPRA Switzerland

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Tourism & Leisure — Feb 04, 2026

Sofie Terzer, CIPRA International

After the Games is before the Games

The French people were not involved in the planning of the 2030 Winter Olympics. Environmental organisations are mobilising for public participation and sustainable Games. Meanwhile, Switzerland is preparing its Olympic bid for 2038.

Alps in Motion: new Alpine-wide Day of Action

People — Feb 04, 2026

Manuel Herrmann, CIPRA Switzerland

Alps in Motion: new Alpine-wide Day of Action

The Alpine Fire is being reimagined. With Alps in Motion, CIPRA Switzerland and CIPRA International are launching an Alpine-wide Day of Action on 29 August 2026.

[3 questions to … ] Francesca Pasetti Bombardella

Agriculture — Feb 01, 2026

Lauren Mosdale

[3 questions to … ] Francesca Pasetti Bombardella

2026 is the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026) aimed at raising global awareness of the critical importance of rangelands and pastoralist communities, managed by FAO during the whole 2026. Francesca Pasetti Bombardella is co-chair of the Regional IYRP Support Group Europe.

Dialogue on Alpine Spatial Planning: Proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025

Energy — Aug 19, 2025

Magdalena Praun, CIPRA Austria

Dialogue on Alpine Spatial Planning: Proceedings of the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025

How can Alpine Spatial Planning mitigate conflicts between the energy transition and nature restoration? This question was addressed at the CIPRA Annual Conference 2025 in Salzburg, which brought together more than 160 participants. The proceedings show key insights and recommended actions – not in a concluding way, but as part of an ongoing learning process and as an impulse for further debates. They underline the shared understanding that the energy transition in the Alpine region must be approached and implemented in a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary, and transboundary manner.

Events

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Nov 09, 2026

SmartAlps Webinaire Cybersécurité pour communes

Projects and activities

Climate — Oct 23, 2026

AfterAlpineIce

What will the Alps look like without ice and glaciers? The climate crisis is accelerating glacier retreat and fundamentally transforming the Alpine region. What may at first appear to be a change in the landscape has far-reaching consequences: ecosystems and water cycles are being disrupted, soil development is changing, local climates are shifting, and natural processes in high mountain areas are being permanently affected.

People — Oct 23, 2026

WISER

The Alps have a rich heritage of using and processing local natural fibres, such as wool, hemp, flax and silk. Yet much of this potential remains untapped today: regional processing infrastructure has largely disappeared, traditional knowledge is being lost, and much of the value creation takes place outside the Alpine region. At the same time, the textile industry is seeing growing demand for sustainable and circular alternatives.

Water — Jun 01, 2026

CIPRA International

FLOW-BIOS

Nature-based solutions play a vital role in addressing the rising risk of flooding across the Alps, but this requires land that is often privately owned. That is why the FLOW-BIOS project, in collaboration with Austrian and Swiss UNESCO biosphere reserves, is investigating how nature-based solutions can be successfully implemented on private land.

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