Hotspots for biodiversity, tourism & outdoor activities - how do they go together? A challenge for the Alpine Protected Areas (APA), covering 30 % of the Alpine territory, which the LiveAlpsNature project aims to tackle.
On September 2nd and 3rd, the kick-off meeting for the Alpine Space project LiveAlpsNature took place at the AlpSeeHaus in Immenstadt.
The project, which officially started on September 1st and will last until August 2027, aims to promote biodiversity protection in Alpine Protected Areas by encouraging sustainable, health-focused nature-based activities (NBA).
Ecologically fragile alpine sites are exposed to overcrowding and nature-based activities, which impact species by fragmenting or destroying their habitats and disturbing their recreation phases. Biodiversity loss from nature-based activities, a trend observed across the Alps, requires region-wide solutions. LiveAlpsNature analyses the impact of nature-based activities on alpine biodiversity, develops innovative biodiversity-friendly solutions for NBA and then directly implements, assesses & enhances the NBA solutions in Alpine Protected Areas and beyond. By involving local stakeholders, LiveAlpsNature addresses the increase in tourism by guiding long-term behavioural changes to reduce impacts on biodiversity and create sustainable nature-based activities.
During the two-day meeting, all 12 project partners gathered to present the three main work packages and further refine the project’s work plan. After productive office sessions, the event concluded with an excursion to the nearby Nagelfluhkette Nature Park, where participants gained valuable insights into the park's digital visitor management system. This helped to promote both theoretical and practical exchange on this important topic, supporting the project’s overarching goal of sustainability in alpine tourism.
For more information about the project: https://alparc.org/livealpsnature
This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Alpine Space programme, which supports cross-border cooperation projects between seven Alpine countries. ALPARC is co-founded in this project by the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUV).
© photo: Guido Plassmann / ALPARC