Dr. Michael Vogel, Head of Berchtesgaden National Park, and Superintendent Don Neubacher, Director of Yosemite National Park in California/USA, agreed a targeted cooperation in the areas of knowledge, research, education and public relations.

As early as spring 2015, a delegation from the USA will visit Berchtesgaden National Park to share experiences and initiate joint projects. The second oldest national park in the USA is particularly well known for its famous mountains, cliff formations and climbing routes. "El Capitan", "Half Dome" and "The Nose". The conservation area, covering around 3,100 square kilometres in the Sierra Nevada, was founded in 1890 and welcomes about 3.7 million visitors every year.

In addition to the Chinese Huangshan and Jiuzhaigou national parks and the Torres del Paine national park in Chile, Berchtesgaden is the fourth official partner park of Yosemite National Park.

Source:Berchtesgaden Press Release

About a hundred delegates: managers of protected areas, representatives of authorities, politicians, ONGs  and local players, citizens and researchers, met together on 13th, 14th and 15th October 2014 in Chambéry (FR) to learn about and discuss the results of the European greenAlps project, in which ALPARC plays the role of lead partner.

The innovative format of the event allowed for plenty of room for exchanges through round tables, interviews of actors and participatory workshops. Notably among the results discussed were political recommendations by the project partners that more importance should be given to the consideration and implementation of biodiversity measures in environmental policies.
These recommendations were subsequently presented at the “Ecological Network” Platform of the Alpine Convention, at the Alpine Conference which was held in Turin at the end of November, and to the representatives of different departments of the European Commission during a specially organised event in Brussels in November. However, the greenAlps project also looked at local issues, notably in the pilot areas of the project. Thanks to field visits and workshops with local actors not only  the principal areas of action in the themes of ecosystem and ecological connectivity services were identified, but also needs such as the facilitation of interregional and transborder cooperation , notably in the context offered by biosphere reserves.  The Prealpi Giulie (IT) Nature Park and the neighbouring Triglav (SL) National Park wish to reinforce this cooperation. They are partners in this project and, moreover, officially recognized as a new transborder pilot area for ecological connectivity by the Alpine Convention, following the activities launched during the greenAlps project.

The final documents of greenAlps will soon be available on the project site:http://www.greenalps-project.eu/ 
The greenAlps project was co-funded in the context of the ETC Alpine Space programme

The 20th edition of the Danilo Re Memorial will take place from 22nd to 25th January 2015 in the Hohe Tauern National Park, in Defereggental, East Tyrol, Austria.

This competition for park rangers and staff of the protected areas, which first took place in 1995, pays tribute to Danilo Re, an Italian ranger from Piedmont who died while in the course of his duties.
Sadly, this year we are also paying tribute to Roselyne Anselmet, a ranger in the Vanoise National Park, as well as to Valentino Chiale, a ranger in the Gran Paradiso National Park, both of whom passed away this year in the course of their assignments.

The thematic seminar, devoted to the exchange of experiences, is as always, highly topical: “The introduction and (natural) return of species, the local population and conflicts: what is the role of the park ranger?”
As usual, the ALPARC General Assembly  will also take place during the same context, on the morning of Friday 23rd January. We await all the members of ALPARC, as well as those who wish to become such!
You will find useful information on the new Danilo Re website.

Inscriptions are still possible until 30th December 2014; don’t miss this important international event!
To register, click on this link

The 8th December 2014, the French Ministry of the environment, Ségolène Royal signed the ministerial decree establishing the Baronnies provençales Regional Nature Park in Vinsorbes (Drôme, France) during a meeting organized by Didier Guillaume (Member of the Senate), the local authorities and with the delegates of the two French Alpine regions Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes.

Source : Press release French Ministry Ségolène Royal (08/12/2014) French only

On Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November, the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) held its annual international meeting in the Mercantour National Park. Around 80 experts in the Bearded Vulture (or Lammergeier) descended on the Ubaye valley to exchange notes about the international re-introduction programme of this species. The meeting, actively supported by the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco, also provided the occasion to announce the continuation of its financial backing for the re-introduction of Bearded Vultures in the Mercantour National Park and Alpi Marittime nature park in 2015.

The 80 experts and scientists (ornithologists, administrators of protected areas, representatives of NGOs…) met this weekend at the Séolane visitors’ centre at Barcelonnette (Vallée de l’Ubaye). Travelling from Alpine countries (France, Italy, Switzerland and Austria), but also from Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Macedonia and Armenia, they met to take their annual stock of the international conservation and re-introduction programme for the Bearded Vulture, and also to plan the next steps.

The project is now entering its final phase: releases will still be carried out for a few years more, with the aim principally of increasing the genetic diversity of the population (this is still weak because of the origin of the birds released so far, all of which were bred in captivity) and to ensure the establishment of links with the Pyrenean population.

The forthcoming releases (2015) are planned for the Alpi Marittime Park, the Vercors and the Swiss Alps. Some vultures will also be released in the two other territories in which re-introduction programmes are already under way: in the Massif Central in France (Grand Causses- Cévennes, along the corridor towards the Pyrenees) and in Andalusia. The meeting also tackled some urgent questions concerning the conservation of the species in Corsica (which is now home to just five pairs), in Morocco, Crete and in the Caucasus, laying the grounds for a restoration in its natural area of distribution around Europe.

Source: Press Release Mercantour National Park. “Report of the International Meeting at Barcelonnette on November 8 and 9”

In order to answer to all the request of the different working groups and in order to support the project coordination, we developed the joint online working space “ALPARC extranet”.
At the beginning it will offer, by the end of the year, a platform given over entirely to the work of the "Education group".

This online tool, created to promote remote working on common projects and the exchange of ideas, resources and good practices, will later be also made available to groups working on other themes within ALPARC.

If you are interested in the ALPARC Extranet and you would like to take part in the work group “Education", please contact us                  

2013, 2014… soon 2015, the years go by – it is now almost 20 years since the beginning of international cooperation between Alpine protected areas. 

In 1995 we saw that managers were very highly motivated to discover new things, to exchange, to question themselves about their own principles of management and to develop common projects.

This motivation still exists… but there is a fundamental change: the Alpine protected areas are “growing up”. In fact, the first one, the Swiss National Park, is already very grown up, having celebrated its 100th birthday this year.
Often, as they get older, the protected areas find themselves confronted with a certain transformation and evolution in their assignments. New challenges, such as more cross-sectoral, international and interdisciplinary approaches, have been added to the traditional ones.

The years 2013 and 2014 have been very difficult for most Alpine reserves and parks because of the cuts in budget following the 2008 recession. We are quite keenly aware that many managers are no longer ready to invest themselves in work at an international level in view of the lack of funds.
Nevertheless, it is precisely this type of investment which is more important than ever. It is becoming more and more difficult to meet new needs, except through cooperation, by sharing knowledge, skills and means, all of which needs to be supported by the experience of fellow-workers and collective “lobbying”, in order to defend our original assignment, the protection of biodiversity, as well as, for some parks, the sustainable development of their region, and in this way meet new challenges.

In this spirit we wish all the managers of the Alpine protected areas of the Alpine Arc a restful Christmas season and a dynamic New Year 2015, the 20th year of our cooperation, full of energy to go forward together in the Alps.

Guido Plassmann
Director ALPARC

After the launching of the ALPARC Facebook page, you can now find us on Twitter. To find out everything about our latest activities, be up to date on what is happening in the Alps, follow us on our ALPARC account: ALPARC@Alparc_info. Post a tweet, leave and share your comments.

This is another way in which you can keep in touch and join us in working together for the Alps!

The Orobie Valtellinesi Regional Park extends on the northern side of the Orobic Alps, the first Alpine chain we meet climbing northwards up the lowlands of Lombardy and the Alpine foothills.
From a geomorphologic standpoint, the Park features a very complex landscape, characterized by fourteen ravines carved by the action of Quaternary glaciers and rushing streams.

Natural environment
The protected area features a typical mountain environment, with broadleaf forests, dominated by the chestnut spread by men in the past, and coniferous forests where the Norway spruce prevails, along with the European silver fir and the larch. Across a transition area marked by misshapen shrubs, we reach the Alpine meadow, exploited for centuries for livestock grazing. At higher altitudes, rocky and periglacial environments are home to plant species that specialise in surviving in extreme conditions.
This is also a biodiversity-rich landscape, as witnessed by the presence of rare and protected species, 3 of which are endemic to the area: the Viola Comollia, a rare species found in high altitude scree habitats, the Sanguisorba dodecandra, abundant in wet valleys, and the Androsace brevis, typically found on mountain ridges.

A rich faunistic heritage
The valleys on the Valtellina side of the Orobic Alps harbour an extremely rich faunistic heritage. The presence of the capercaillie, symbol of the park, testifies to the degree of naturalness of the park. The many different species living in the park include the black woodpecker, the Eurasian eagle-owl, the Eurasian pigmy owl, the golden eagle, the ermine, the rock ptarmigan, and the rare alpine salamander.

A wealth of history, art and ethnography
The Orobie Valtellinesi, characterized by inaccessible valleys and an unfavourable exposure, still remain relatively untouched by mass tourism, therefore representing a real and true treasure chest of historical, artistic and ethnographic records. Signs of ancient works, such as the remains of irons ores, melting furnaces and mills, are still visible. It is also possible to find traditional milk processing plants, called calècc, still in use today. The area abounds with evidence of popular religious customs and remains of the road system, such as the Strada Priula built for the transportation of goods. From the few traces of the first men venturing into the park valleys to the fortifications built during the Great War, History has left its mark.

The role of the Park Authority
The Park Authority has administrative tasks concerning forestry, hydrogeology, environment, and landscape matters, as well as the duty to promote and disseminate education and tourist activities aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the natural, cultural, and human heritage of the area.
The managing authority has always focused on research and land conservation activities, developing throughout the years several projects aimed at safeguarding particularly sensitive habitats and experimenting new forms of agricultural management.

Park's identity card

There are now more than 210,000 protected areas in the world. Among these, 23 have been placed on the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature) Green List, the first worldwide certificate that recognises effectiveness and equity in the managing of Parks. Moreover, included in the Green List is the Gran Paradiso National Park (IT), the only Alpine Protected Area to have obtained this recognition.

The Green List was presented in Sydney on 14th November , in the context of the World Parks Congress organised by the  IUCN (12-19 November 2014) around the theme “Parks, people, planet: inspiring solutions”, or: finding solutions to the problems of the planet and of people through the experiences of parks.

As the IUCN itself asserts, the Green List of protected areas has not been drawn up with the intention of creating categories of winners and losers.This recognition is an incentive to parks to make a quantum leap and take the lead in the territories, ensuring the attainment of high standards of management , both in terms of effectiveness in the protection of nature and  the involvement of the local communities.

The Green List presented in Sydney  was drawn up on the basis of work carried out with 8 countries of the 5 continents, and will be opened up to other countries.The goal is for it to become  a globally recognised certification and a reference for the valorisation of parks which are attentive to their territory and the local community.

ALPARC and the members of the Alpine protected areas offer their congratulations to the Gran Paradiso Park on being awarded this prestigious mark of recognition. Early in 2015 the Gran Paradiso National Park will play host to a IUCN delegation at a special event to be held to celebrate this award which will be tested for renewal as early as 2016.

For more information:

*Gran Paradiso Press release
*Green List IUCN

  One month left to enter the photography competition "Fotografare il Parco" .

The copmetition is organized by the Stelvio National Park (IT), the Gran Paradiso National Park (IT) , Abruzzo, Latinum and Molise National Park (IT) and by the French National Park Vanoise in collaboration with Swaroski Optik Italia.

Photographs,experts and passionate, send your pictures until the 1st December 2014!

The competition is free.
Further information at the official new web site. There you can download the program, the registration form and you have practical information.
From the official web site you can register online for the competition.

For further information  please contact:

Consorzio del Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio              Parc National de la Vanoise
Tel. +39 0342900811                                                 Tel. 0033-0479628964
e-mail: stelviopark@fotografareilparco.it                   e-mail:pn.vanoise@fotografareilparco.it

Ente Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso                       Ente Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise
Tel. 0118606211                                                       Tel. 08639113220
e-mail: pngp@fotografareilparco.it                           e-mail: parcoabruzzo@fotografareilparco.it

Swarovski Optik Italia srl  
Tel. +39 0458349069
e-mail: info@swarovskioptik.it