Markus REITERER started office as the new Secretary General of the Alpine Convention on 1st July 2013 at the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat in Innsbruck.

He replaces Marco ONIDA who had held the post since 2007. 

 45 years of age, a lawyer, diplomat and fine connoisseur of the Alps, Markus Reiterer is the first Austrian to take this position.

Brief overview of his professional career:

After his studies of law, he worked at the Institute of International Law and International Relationships of the University of Vienna. He joined the Austrian Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he became the Head of Environmental Law in 2002.

In 2005 he took the position of Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. At the end of 2008, he was entrusted with heading up the political department of the Austrian embassy in Washington. From December 2011, he worked at the cabinet of the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). 

"It is important to me to contribute on the comprehension and valorisation of nature and culture, life and economy in the Alps and to the sustainable development of the Alps," Reiterer says. The designated Secretary-General wants to enhance "team - building", cooperation and solidarity between the Permanent Secretariat, the Alpine states and the observer organisations. (cf Alpmedia ).

Nous lui souhaitons du succès pour ce nouveau challenge ! 

 The journal “eco.mont - Journal of Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management” has been listed in the Thomson Reuters Science Citation Index Expanded since 2012 and received an Impact Factor for the first time in 2013.

This Impact Factor indicates the average number of quotations from an article in a particular journal over a period of two years. For eco.mont this means an important step to increasing the journal’s visibility especially in the world of research. 

 The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention organizes the second "Young scientists Award".

Please find more information in the press release below as well as under following link . 

eco.mont – Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management

publishes peer-reviewed articles on research within protected mountain areas and its potential interest for protected area management. Each issue also includes reports on management issues and showcases one protected area. 

eco.mont Vol. 5 No. 2 - December 2013

Editorial by Christoph Stadel

«This issue of eco.mont truly reflects the fact that protected areas are an important topic of international concern, are researched by scholars of different academic disciplines, and are also of great interest for many practitioners. While protected areas have been established in different terrestrial and maritime zones, they are particularly important in mountain regions, given their ecological and anthropogenic variety and their susceptibility to fragility and vulnerability. Different types of protected areas in mountains can be distinguished, ranging from small pockets of protected ecological niches to provincial and national parks, biosphere reserves, buffer zones, and even transnational protection corridors…»

please find the content at this link

eco.mont Vol. 6 No. 1 - January 2014

Editorial by Günter Köck

« The Alps, or rather the Hohe Tauern part of them, are at the heart of this issue. This is no coincidence, as in June 2013 the Hohe Tauern National Park Centre in Mittersill hosted the 5th Symposium for Research in Protected Areas, which attracted top scientists from 20 different nations. More than 150 researchers presented results of their work there and have elaborated some of these for the current issue. So it is only natural that Kristina Bauch and Ferdinand Lainer, both experts from Hohe Tauern National Park, should introduce ‘their’ park as the Case in Point. They demonstrate that research in the national park has always been a major concern and will continue to be so. In addition, Kupper et al. trace the long and stony path from the first conservation ideas to the implementation of Hohe Tauern National Park in 1995. This article summarizes Kupper et al.’s excellent book Geschichte des Nationalparks Hohe Tauern (Kupper & Wöbse 2013)…»

please find the content at this link

 The Massif des Bauges, natural regional park since 1995, covers between 250 and 2217m and an area of 856 km². The park is divided in the two departments Savoy (46 municipalities) and the Haute-Savoie (18 municipalities). The 64 municipalities in the Park hosts 70 000 inhabitants (in 2008) and are part of the department Rhône-Alpes. There are six towns, which are also members of the Parks joint union, and in total 400 000 people are living in the park.

A wide variety of natural habitats

Forest covers 58% of the parks territory and provides the resource wood which is very important for the local economy. Grasslands, which are represented in 30 % in the parks area, are split in hayfields and pastures.  

 A more detailed analysis of the habitats shows a wide variety, which includes dry grassland in the south-west, wetlands in the lower valleys and rock and scree habitats in the highlands. An exemplar of this diversity is maintained through the Parks’ NATURA 2000 network (7 areas cover 17 000 ha).

Thanks to the landscape diversity, there is also a rich flora diversity to find in the park. 1600 species were identified in the Parks territory, which means a 1/5 of the French flora. Some of them are strictly protected like the lady’s-slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) and the Alpine Sea Holly (Eryngium alpinu). Next to the flora, the fauna is also very varied. The Park observed 117 species nesting in the territory, including many endangered species: golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix). A study of the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS) found out that the chamois is the most symbolic large mammals of the park. In the core area of the natural regional park, the reserve of national hunting and wildlife of the Bauges, the chamois, mountain sheep, grouse and many other animals are protected in a territory of 5200 ha forest and alpine meadows. Since 2003 the park is managing this part of the region in collaboration with the National Forest and National Office for Hunting and Wildlife.  

The missions of the Park

For a better way to accommodate the public and the same moment to preserve and reveal the heritage and landscapes while contributing to a sustainable development of this exceptional area, which is surrounded by six cities, the Park developed a charter. The charta includes the following main axes and the working program:

• sustainable urban planning – the park ensures the compatibility of urban planning documents with the plan of the park
• support of local economy activities with especially local products (agriculture and forest in particular)
• the knowledge, protection and management of the natural and cultural heritage

• support of all forms of sustainable tourism, which are developed in respect of the resources
• environmental education: the park is an active member of the Reema and the Alparc working group « environmental alpin education », which means concretly having exchanges on an international level. The park has also participated at the ViViAlp project , an educative tool (a 3dimensional flight over the Alpine protected areas on a big screen) for understanding, discovering and learning something about the Alps.
• An experimentation like the agri-environmental measure to accountability for results "prairie flowers " (it is the Regional Park Bauges, who, inspired by Swiss and German initiatives, has initiated this program in France, now extended to the entire country.)

GEOPARK, a label given by the UNESCO

In September 2011, the natural regional park Massif des Bauges got the label Geopark . The global network of Geoparks aims to promote the Earth heritage, especially the geological one, to the public, and to support the local sustainable development of territories in form of geotourism. Nowadays there are 50 Geoparks in Europe – 4 of them in France.
On international level the park develops partnerships with the Luberon Geopark (France) and the Geopark d’Arouca (Portugal) concerning a sustainable resource tourism , which is financed by the European LEADER program. Another convention was signed with the Geopark de Leye Fengshan (as well for tourism projects) and the Altai Mountains in Russia.  

Park's identity card

 ALPARC is pleased to invite you to present your latest protected areas research at the next international Symposium for Research in Protected Areas, 10-12 June 2013.

This event aims at providing researchers and staff of conservation organizations with an opportunity to exchange valuable information, new ideas as well as common interests and to discuss a variety of current research and management issues in protected areas.

The symposium will take place at the Hohe Tauern National Park Center in Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria.

The Concept

Six of Austria’s most ecologically valuable regions have been designated as national parks. They reflect the great diversity of this central European country: high mountains, forests, water and riparian marshes and steppes. Austria is part of two biogeographic regions: the alpine and the continental, and most of the Austrian national parks are part of two important regional networks: ALPARC (Alpine Network of Protected Areas) and DanubePARKS (The Danube River Network of Protected Areas ). 

In close cooperation with these regional networks for protected areas, and further supported by scientific institutions - ISCAR (International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps), IGF (Mountain Research: Man and Environment, an Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW )) and IAD (International Association for Danube Research) - we are looking for input from researchers or research groups working on issues related to protected areas across the entire geographic region from the Western Alps to the Danube Delta, from the plains to the highest peaks in Europe, from glacier-fed torrents to one of the world’s biggest wetlands.

Guiding Theme

Dynamics and conservation in protected areas - challenges for research and management.

At the 2013 conference itself, we would like to focus attention on:

Dynamics and conservation in protected areas under conditions of global change and the need to protect diversity.

- Do protected areas achieve the objectives defined for the protection of processes, functions and diversity and where are the limits?
- What are currently the most relevant research priorities, research questions, methods and recent results – regional and supra-regional, short and long term?
- Long-term ecosystem research: What do we know from science and practice?
- Where do protected areas, their regions and their networks currently stand regarding research and management?
We invite you to contribute to our Symposium by giving a talk or presenting a poster.

The call is open until 12 October 2012 for any topic that relates to the guiding theme.

Call for Papers

If you are interested in presenting your current research at the symposium, we kindly ask you to bear in mind the following information and timetable:
- Conference language: English only
- 12 October 2012 – Deadline for submitting an application with a short description of your presentation (max. 1.800 characters, incl. spaces) and a short Curriculum Vitae. Please use the attached or the online registration form: www.hohetauern.at/symposium2013 (available from 23. July 2012).
- 14 December 2012 – Announcement of accepted contributions (talk and/or poster/-s) and approved thematic sessions by the Scientific Board.
- January 2013 – Announcement of the full programme set by the Scientific Board.
- 25 February 2013 – Deadline for submitting your abstract for the conference proceedings. Detailled information will follow after acceptance.

Registration / Submission of papers

Secretary of the Conference
Hohe Tauern National Park
Gerlos Straße 18/2
A 5730 Mittersill
e-mail: nationalpark@salzburg.gv.at
phone: +43 (0)6562 40849
Further information, registration form and submission form:
www.hohetauern.at

 The Mont Avic nature park covers the area of approximately 5.800 hectares between the high alpine valleys of Champdepraz and Champorcher in the Italian region of Aosta Valley. Together with Gran Paradiso national park and Vanoise national park in France, it forms vast and one of the largest trans boundary protected areas in the Alps. Landscape types, which protection is rather poorly represented on the national level include high mountain ophiolite sites, mountain pine forests and peat bogs.

In the heart of the park there are many lakes that with its surroundings form a typical alpine landscape of great value. 

 The protected area preserves a wide variety of ecosystems and traditional agricultural activities, typical for alpine space. On high mountain pastures grazing cattle, and to a lesser extent sheep and goat is presented. In the early years of 20th century mining activities have gradually depleted forests.

In the last decades, the complete absence of economic exploitation of forests lead to its renewal. Consequently the presence of forest fauna improved (especially wood-eating insects, black woodpecker, boreal owl and Eurasian pygmy owl). 

The role of protected area management

The park has acquired the labels SIC and ZPS, that safeguard habitats and species of particular interest. Among the most important ones we can mention the forest fauna, flora and fauna of less spread and therefore particularly vulnerable areas such as peat bogs and surfaces of serpentinite and schist rocks.

The Mont Avic nature park is the first protected area that obtained the label EMAS. European commission granted this certificate to the park in 2003. EMAS is an environment management system designed to encourage institutional, surveillance and other activities (especially agriculture and tourism) to undertake more appropriate environment treatment measures. 

 In order to promote proper visit to the park, more than 100 km of regularly maintained footpaths, accompanied with information panels and viewing points are arranged. In the visitor centre an interactive museum exhibition, devoted to habitats in the valley of Champdepraz is installed. A second visitor centre is currently in construction in the village of Champorcher, that will be design to present high altitude environments.

Park rangers and naturalist guides will provide guided and teaching visits. With nature conservation topics of internships, park welcomes students. On the web page www.montavic.it , you can find all further information, publications and full description of the park. 

Park's identity card

The scientific group dedicated to research in the Swiss parks has been commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) to create a thematic catalogue.

The catalogue covers themes pertaining to sustainable regional development, with a particular emphasis on comparative research in parks of national importance. This provides the basis for initiating cooperation between scientists, local, regional and national authorities, and park management bodies. It represents the first step towards developing a research strategy.

The catalogue can be downloaded in French or German at :

http://www.parkforschung.ch/downloads//Parkforschung_Themenkatalog_franz.pdf

http://www.parkforschung.ch/downloads//Parkforschung_Themenkatalog_deutsch.pdf

(Source: Research coordination in the Swiss parks)  

 Du 7 au 11 juillet 2012, le Parc national du Mercantour et Mountain Wilderness, association nationale de défense de la montagne, ont célébré dix ans de fructueuse collaboration sur les opérations « Installations Obsolètes ».

A cette occasion, plus de six tonnes d'installations militaires et agricoles obsolètes ont été évacuées de différents sites : sur la commune de Jausiers (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) au lac des Sagnes, Granges communes et Restefond et sur la commune de Belvédère (Alpes-Marittimes) à la Cime de Tuor.

Une centaine de bénévoles de l'association âgés de 3 à 83 ans, des gardes du Parc et des éleveurs locaux se sont relayés durant le week-end sur les abords du lac et les pentes occupées par le troupeau du groupement pastoral pour extraire des lignes de barbelés, des déchets de casernement et ménagers agricoles.

Les chantiers de démontage co-organisés par Mountain Wilderness et le Parc national du Mercantour ont débuté en août 2002 dans le secteur de la Vésubie avec deux tonnes de déchets prélevées. Depuis, allant de Vésubie en Ubaye en passant par la Moyenne-Tinée, ce sont 153 tonnes au total, en métal principalement, qui ont été arrachées du sol, conditionnées et acheminées vers les différentes déchetteries. Ce travail entrepris sur 10 ans correspond à 2 700 journées de travail/homme.

( Source:communiqué de presse de Mountain Wilderness)

 Une « nouvelle » convention pour la pratique de l'alpinisme, de l'escalade et du canyoning a été signée cet été dans le Parc national des Ecrins .

Les « règles » que se donnent ses signataires restent dans l'esprit du partenariat engagé depuis plus de vingt ans dans les Écrins sur ce sujet. En effet, ce document réunit 9 partenaires autour des grands principes de défense d'une montagne sauvage : le Parc national des Écrins, la Fédération française de la montagne et de l'escalade, la Fédération française des clubs alpins et de montagne, la Compagnie des guides Oisans-Ecrins, Mountain Wilderness, l'Association des élus des communes du Parc national des Ecrins, le Syndicat national des gardiens de refuges et gîtes d'étape, l'Office national des forêts, le Ministère de la jeunesse et des sports.

Source et informations à ce lien .  

Facilitating and supporting the creation of new enterprises is acknowledged as an important activity to maintain and reinforce the economic vitality of a territory and its enterprises. The Regional Nature Park Chartreuse is therefore encouraging and supporting the transfer of enterprises and the creation of new activities.

In partnership with the regional economic actors (intern and extern) the Park aims at support possible candidates with a project in Chartreuse in their efforts.

It therefore proposes:

1) An individualised assistance in order to help the potential candidates in the development of their project
2) Facilitating the exchanges with potential support structures
3) Access to relevant socio-economic data for the territory
4) Help in the search of available premises

Further information:http://www.parc-chartreuse.net/vivre-en-chartreuse

 Article 10 of the Tourism Protocol of the Alpine Convention foresees “the creation of quiet zones were no touristic infrastructure shall be developed”. Mountain Wilderness France has started working on this topic and published in 2008 the first French study on this subject. This study offers an analysis of various existing concepts as well as proposals for sites to be classified under this label based on a precise cartography.

Quiet zones are areas that present no particular interest from a strict biological point of view but they are exceptional and merit protection for their natural dimension, their particular calm and silence… their tranquility. They are conceived as new measure of landscape planning and their aim is to define areas were no infrastructure and other equipment should disturb the quiet of nature and man; their implementation should be done based on existing legal instruments.

In order to define , propose and implement this quiet zones Mountain Wilderness France has created an working group gathering actors like the Petzl Foundation, the Regions Rhône-Alpes and PACA, the national regional agencies, the Conservatoire régional des espaces naturels, regional and local politicians, WWF, CIPRA, ALPARC and others.  

 After several meetings and interviews with numerous stakeholders the working group has presented in July the first conclusions and defined the future orientations for the work. Generally the concept is well accepted and a common agreement of a wish to manage the territory according to new innovative way offering a harmonized relation between man and nature was identified.

Members of the network ALPARC as the Regional Nature Park Chartreuse for example are closely involved in these activities.