Le Réseau Alpin des Espaces Protégés
The subject is of great topical interest: how can we assure a larger effectiveness of the alpine protected areas’ management measures? How can we monitor the effectiveness during the time?
An increasing number of protection authorities as ministries and local communities request to protected areas managers a veritable evaluation, in terms of effectiveness, of their management measures. Some large organisations, such as IUCN and the Council of Europe (European Diploma of Protected Areas ), dealt with this topic at the level of protected areas.
This project gets in the framework of the meetings and reflections of the working group of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC) concerning the topic of management measures evaluation by comparing their effectiveness at international level. Thanks to the support of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the collaboration with the Swiss Parks Network , the Alpine Network of protected Areas could develop a first version of a catalogue of indicators addressed to protected areas managers. This catalogue (CIME_1), with a first selection of 25 recommended indicators, aims for being a simple and functional application tool.
Each one of the 25 recommended indicators is described in a factsheet where amongst other things are specified:
The suggested approach, which relies on methodologies standardised at international level, has been developed within exchanges and needs expressed by managers themselves during different meetings, in order to create an easy, pertinent and effective tool! In addition, a steering group, constituted by representatives of FOEN, Swiss Parks Network, Swiss Academy of Sciences , Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve and ALPARC, permitted the progress and the summary of scripts pursuant to the workshops.
CIME_1, available in English and in the 4 alpine languages, has to be tested so that it is possible to proceed on its evaluation and improvement.
Are you a manager of an alpine protected area?
Don’t hesitate to use it in your ordinary practices, as both evaluation tool and log.
Send us your opinion and remarks! They would be very useful to refine the catalogue!
Based on interviews with 21 alpine protected areas, the report “Renewable energies in Alpine protected areas” shows the conflicts between the protection and the use regarding the production of renewable energies as well as possible strategies. The study has been elaborated by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (SAS) with the support of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC) and has been funded by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
In the parks, which have been analysed, the majority of conflicts is caused by wind and water power. Regarding the use of water power, the more severe legislation will reduce the potential for conflicts in particular what concerns residual flow, hydro-peaking and river dynamics. Furthermore, the increasing demands lead to new conflicts. Wind turbines generally encounter resistance from landscape conservation organisations. The potential conflict of photovoltaic and biomass is currently lower; however, it will probably grow with the increasing demand for renewable energies.
There is no remedy that applies to all parks, it’s depending on the potential of conflicts and the need for action varies. Thus, only some of the parks would prefer stricter rules and the question about energy targets or concepts are judged differently. Regardless of the path that a park chooses to follow, it will be unavoidable to deal with the topic.
The report, available in a trilingual uncutted version and a concise version in German, French or Italian, can be downloaded at:
A happy day for the Swiss parks: 8 parks got the label “Parks of national importance” by the Swiss federation.
In December 2007, the legal basis for the creation of new parks came into force. Therefore new parks next to the Swiss Nationalpark , which exists now for almost 100 years, were created.
Next to the wildness park Zürich-Sihlwald , which won acceptance as a nature discovery park, the UNESCO biosphere reserve Entlebuch and Val Müstair and as well the region Thal were accepted.
The following eight parks will start their operational phase fort the next 10 years:
• Landschaftspark Binntal VS,
• Parc régional Chasseral BE/NE,
• Naturpark Diemtigtal BE,
• Parc Ela GR,
• Naturpark Gantrisch BE/FR,
• Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut VD/FR,
• Jurapark Aargau AG,
• Naturpark Thunersee-Hohgant BE (on condition that the municipalities accept the project).
Further information, you can find in the press release (in German, French and Italian) of the Swiss Parks Network .
or in the link: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/
Contact: Andreas Weissen, general manager of the Swiss Parks Network. Tel. 0041 79 549 92 41
source: Swiss Parks Network
At the beginning of the XX century, the ibex, an animal proper to the Alps, was threatened with extinction because of the high hunting pressure. Only the population of Gran Paradiso managed to survive, thanks to a law enacted by the king Vittorio Emmanuele II of Savoy.
The 8th May 1911, in the peak of Rappenloch, in the Weisstannen valley (SG) the first specimens have been released. These ibexes have been illegally imported from Italy and formed a stable colony afterwards.
100 years later, Switzerland celebrates the anniversary of this success. Nowadays, in fact, the ibex started to populate vast alpine regions, representing the best result ever achieved on a worldwide scale in the field of re-settlement of species next to extinction in their environment.
The 6th May 2011 in Weisstannen, the centenary of the reintroduction of ibex has been opened with an official ceremony. During the year span numerous organisations and organisms, among which the association Pro Natura , the Federal Office for the Environment , the Swiss Society of Fauna biology , organised a great number of events and excursions dedicated to ibex in all Switzerland.
The Ecrins National Park created, with the initiative of the Centre of Alpine Orality (General Council of Hautes-Alpes ), an archive of documentaries and sound creations, recorded mainly in the alpine massif. These archives, a contribution to memories of the territory, are available on the webpage “Pierres qui roulent ”.
This webpage offers you to listen to sound creations, documentaries, stories and sound effects of the alpine region. All recordings are produced giving a voice to those who live the mountainous life every day.
Further infomation (in french) at:
The ECONNECT Final Report is out and is ready for download in the section below.
The decision was taken by the region of Geneva and the local Swiss and French municipalities: from April 2011, the road between Mategnin (Meyrin / GE, Switzerland) and France will be removed through populations of amphibians!
The Nature reserves "Les marais des Crêts " and "Les marais des Fontaines", where you can find many species pertaining to this class, of which 70% are on the IUCN Red List of threatened species , in an area of 15 hectares, will again reconnected for the development of flora and fauna. The permanent dismantling of a road happens for the first time in Switzerland. It allows the creation of a large nature reserve, which contributes to the reconstruction of an ecological network.
More information on: http://www.espacemategnin.ch/ and http://www.pronatura.ch
The project “Equilibri Naturali” is designed to bring children closer to nature.It focuses in particular on addressing current social issues such as obesity, short attention spans and dependency on television and computer games by promoting outdoor experiences through creative activities and a more relaxed pace of life.
In addition to the opportunity to teach children about sustainability, the outdoor activities help to create a sense of "belonging" to an area. The activities allow children to rediscover the value of interacting with others (playing games, shared outdoor adventures) whilst also improving the way that they learn.
The Natural Balance programme was developed by the Monti Sibillini National Park in Italy and has been implemented by AIDAP (Italian Association of protected area directors and staff). Many Italian protected areas have signed up to the project, including the Belluno Dolomites National Park, which is very actively involved.
Details of the Natural Balance programme and events are available online at the Italian protected areas website (www.parks.it ).
For further information:
After two and half years of working on the ECONNECT project, innumerable meetings with local stakeholders, project partners and experts, and the long and complex process of developing a methodology, mapping and planning the activities, the project is entering the final phase: implementing the connectivity measures.
The pilot regions have chosen which actions they will implement in order to demonstrate that, after a process of planning and coordination with local stakeholders, it is possible to improve connectivity between our most valuable habitats, which are often also the most fragile.
Naturally the scope of these activities is limited by the funding available, but they do prove that a structured planning process and awareness-raising can produce results.
ECONNECT is essentially a planning project and has trialled a fairly sophisticated methodology (Joint Ecological Continuum Analysing and Mapping Initiative – JECAMI, analysis of potential Alpine habitats for certain species and of the fragmentation of the Alpine region). It also engages the stakeholders who are essential to the creation of an ecological continuum in the Alps.
ECONNECT has certainly achieved its aims. The priority now is to draw conclusions based on the findings of the ECONNECT project, notably strategic recommendations on implementing measures and integrating the ideas into Alpine land management policies with a view to facilitating genetic exchanges and improving the potential for conserving Alpine biodiversity.
We have six months left to achieve these aims, as the project has been extended to November 2011.
Stop, you cannot pass!
A huge wall blocks the path of the pedestrians at the place Hviezdoslavovo namestie, in the center of Bratislava. After some Alpine towns , also one Carpathian city can see one of its street blocked by a huge obstacle. With the action “the Wall”, the CNPA and ALPARC want to show how important are the ecological connections for animal and plant species in the Carpathian area.
The Wall is blocking the path!
At the occasion of the 3rd Conference of Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP3), the 13 meters long and 3 meters high wall was raised for two days in front of the hotel Carlton in center of Bratislava (SK). Mr. József Nagy (Slovak Minister of Environment) and Mr. Mircea Verghelet (president of the CNPA) explained during the official opening ceremony the reasons and objectives of this structure.
The following day, the Wall was the center of interest of the pedestrians on one of the most frequented places in Bratislava. Surprised inhabitants of the Slovak capital, scholars and tourists asked for some explanations about the ecological networks.
The highlight of the COP3 was the signature of two protocols of the convention: “Protocol on Sustainable Forest Management to the Carpathian Convention” and “Protocol on Sustainable Tourism to the Carpathian Convention”. Nevertheless, the permanent arrangements for the secretariat of the Carpathian Convention and for the CNPA coordination unit, the most pressing decisions, are, once again, pushed away to the following COPs…
For more informations: www.carpathianparks.org
In Berlin today Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen officially opened the UN Decade on Biodiversity, responding to a call from the UN General Assembly to halt the loss of biological diversity in the decade between 2011 and 2020. Worldwide, countries and private stakeholders have been called upon to commit themselves to nature and the conservation of biological diversity.
The Federal Environment Minister stressed that biodiversity conservation is a worthwhile investment in the future: "Those who use and consume our natural capital instead of conserving it in the long term, act unwisely – ecologically, but also economically. The current financial crisis entails the danger of thinking that nature conservation is not affordable in times of crisis. In fact, the opposite is true: Economically it is better to invest in the conservation of biological diversity and to consider, from the start, the impact of human action on ecosystems and on the services they render. Worldwide a host of examples prove that this is the right approach".
Environment Minister Röttgen invited civil society players to actively shape the UN decade and to contribute with their own activities to the focal topic "enjoy diversity - nature is recreation (Vielfalt genießen - Naturzeit ist Freizeit)”. He launched a competition to find the best decade projects. Applications can be submitted from today. At the same time, well-known decade ambassadors and actively committed young people, so called young ambassadors, will voice their support for biodiversity conservation. Minister Röttgen said: "I am convinced that together we will be able to increase awareness of biological diversity everywhere and to integrate this topic into important political and societal processes".
At national level the Federal Environment Ministry has launched several initiatives and taken responsibility for nature conservation investments. Under the successful promotion programme entitled "representative large-scale nature conservation projects of national importance", 76 projects have been supported so far with more than €400 million. Moreover, an area of 125,000 hectares, owned by the Federation, will be conserved as "national natural heritage". With an annual €15 million the new "Federal Biodiversity Programme" supports concrete projects geared towards implementing the National Strategy on Biological Diversity. Under the "Forest Climate Fund" the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) will also support measures geared towards supporting the adaptation of domestic forests to climate change, measures to prevent greenhouse gas emissions and measures to secure and conserve forests and wood products as carbon sinks. The goal is to achieve the best possible link between climate, environment and biodiversity aspects. As from 2013, €35 million are to be made available for this purpose.
Information to the national strategy of biodiversity and to federal biodiversity programme biodiversity: www.biologischevielfalt.de
Information to UN Decade on Biodiversity, tot eh competition and to the decade ambassadors: www.un-dekade-biologische-vielfalt.de & www.cbd.int/2011-2020
Source: BMU-Pressedienst Nr. 137/11, Berlin, 08. November 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by: Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Stresemannstraße 128-130, 10117 Berlin
editor: Dr. Christiane Schwarte(verantwortlich) Dr. Elke Mayer, Juergen Maaß, Frauke Stamer
Tel.: 030/18 305-2010/-2011/-2012/-2014. Fax: 030/18 305-2016
email: presse@bmu.bund.de
-------------------------------------------------------------------
An example of how trans-Alpine meetings can mark the beginning of beautiful new partnerships.
The 2008 AlpWeek held in Argentière la Bessée in France entitled "innovating (in) the Alps" provided an opportunity to compare a range of innovative Alpine initiatives, including the Achental Eco-Model (Germany).
Following the presentation, news of the Achental model for sustainable tourism and energy reached the ears of the Trièves regional land-use planning body (SAT) in France. The two areas got together and two years later are now partners in the EU BioRegions project, which was launched in May 2010 as part of the Intelligent Energy Europe programme.
Eleven partners from different rural areas in Europe are involved in the project, which focuses on identifying and sharing methods and good practice. The project seeks to promote the development of so-called bioregions – areas that aim to obtain at least one-third of their energy needs from local and sustainable bioenergy sources.
This is just one example among many which proves that our international thematic events bring together stakeholders from different Alpine regions and can genuinely enhance cooperation and practical action on the ground.
For more information about the BioRegions project, go to http://www.bioregions.eu/
Source: CIPRA France