La Rete delle Aree Protette Alpine
ALPARC, the Alpine Network of Protected Areas, was founded in 1995 to support the implementation of the Alpine Convention, in particular the Protocol on "Nature protection and landscape conservation.” ALPARC's activities cover a large geographical area, ranging from the French to the Slovenian Alps.
The association’s main goal is to promote the exchange of expertise, techniques and methods among the managers of all the large protected areas in the Alps such as national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves, tranquility zones, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, geological reserves and sites granted a special protection status. This exchange allows for parks to take part in and carry out projects that they may not have been able to do on their own. Through international cooperation, ALPARC serves as an intermediary between institutions, local actors and Alpine communities within the region in implementing the Alpine Convention.
ALPARC carries out its actions under three main topics: Biodiversity and Ecological Connectivity, Regional Development and Quality of Life, and Education for Sustainable Development in the Alps. These three topics allow for ALPARC to take a regional approach to global issues such as climate change, nature conservation and sustainable development. Moreover, ALPARC aims to raise awareness among the general public and in particular, Alpine youth on environmental challenges.
ALPARC achieves its objectives by:
The Alpine Convention, signed in 1991 and implemented in 1995, is an international treaty for the long-term protection of the Alpine region and its ecosystems. It commits the contracting parties to working on common mountain problems such as sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity loss. The treaty transcends borders and recognizes the specificities of the Alpine region such as its biodiversity, landscapes, and diverse culture and heritage.
The Alpine Convention was ratified by the European Union and the 8 Alpine Countries – Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and Monaco.
The Alpine Conference is the decision-making body of the Alpine Convention. It is made up of the ministers of the Contracting Parties. The Conference meets twice a year in the current Member State holding the presidency of the Alpine Convention. The presidency lasts for two years. At the moment, Slovenia holds the presidency of the Convention. It will pass on to Italy in January 2025.
The Permanent Committee is the executive body of the Alpine Conference that ensures all decisions, principles and objectives are upheld and put into action. The Permanent Committee meets twice a year.
The Permanent Secretariat, established in 2003, provides support to the decision-making bodies of the Convention. Furthermore, it facilitates the exchange of expertise and knowledge in the Alpine region and oversees the Convention’s public relations. The Permanent Secretariat’s main office operates outside of Innsbruck, Austria whereas its branch office is in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.
ALPARC’s activities are firmly rooted in the Alpine Convention and it protocols. Specifically, one of the ALPARC’s aims is the implementation of Article 12 of the protocol “Nature protection and landscape conservation”.
Article 12: “The contracting parties take adequate measures to establish a network of existing national and transboundary protected areas, of biotopes and other protected elements or those to be protected. They commit themselves to harmonize the objectives and applicable measures in transboundary protected areas.”
The main goal of Article 12 is to strengthen environmental protection with an emphasis on species, biotopes and landscapes. This requires a harmonization of conservation efforts within the entire Alpine region.
ALPARC contributes to this protocol by working closely with the Convention’s Permanent Secretariat on several topics in particular: biodiversity conservation and ecological connectivity, soil protection, climate change and environmental education. Concretely, ALPARC acts as an intermediary between protected areas and actors in the Alpine region to assist in the implementation of the Convention.
As an official observer of the Alpine Convention, ALPARC has consultative voice in the Alpine Convention. On February 28th, 2013, the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention and the President of the ALPARC signed a Memorandum of Cooperation which provides a sustainable basis for cooperation between signatories.
Moreover, from 2007 to April 2019, ALPARC participated closely in the work of the “Ecological Network” Platform of the Alpine Convention and contributed to the activity coordination of this Platform during this period. The main aim of the Platform was to create an Alpine cross-boundary spatial network of protected areas and to connect elements with the support of experts, policy-makers and other relevant groups. Through the Platform, Alpine countries shared, compared and revised crucial information on measures and methodologies.
Since April 2019, ALPARC contributes to the Biodiversity Board of the Alpine Convention and is part of the Alpine Convention’s Soil Protection Working Group.
Today, on 22nd May we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity. Read our statement on this important occasion:
Biodiversity – Alpine Convention – Protected Areas – Alps
Linking nature – Biodiversity needs connectivity
In order to preserve its extraordinary biodiversity the Alps need, even more than other regions, ecological connectivity because of their specific topography and high degree of fragmentation in the main alpine valleys.
Protected areas play a key role in protecting alpine biodiversity and ecological processes, less so if they are isolated between intensively used spaces. Often they do have “de facto” an important role of consultation or mediation for their periphery area.
Giving more weight to this role and to promote the exchange between local stakeholders and experts of the protected areas can only be beneficiary for both: good local governance of ecological processes and for biodiversity itself.
We recognize the important role of the protected areas within the process of the establishment of ecological continuums in the Alps by linking the protected areas through adequate measures and by a stronger involvement of local populations.
Markus Reiterer, Secretary General of the Alpine Convention;
Univ. Prof. Dr. med. Vet. Chris Walzer (Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Vienna), lead partner of EU Alpine Space projects about ecological connectivity;
Guido Plassmann (Director ALPARC, Network of alpine protected areas), coordinating the international cooperation between alpine protected areas
Terza edizione “Fiera della Sostenibilità nella Natura Alpina” à Valle Camonica - Giugno 2014
Dear Partners and friends of ALPARC,
Next year ALPARC will commemorate its 20th years. In the beginning of 2015, the ALPARC General Assembly and the Memorial Danilo Re, organised in the Hohe Tauern National Park will be the first occasion of this anniversary year to meet between protected areas managers. I would like to ask you already today to reserve the dates:
Memorial Danilo Re: 22 – 25/01/2015 - General Assembly ALPARC: 23/01/2015
New communication tools for the next years are going to be developed and the very first will be a new homepage which will be operational from the 1st of June 2014.
Public communication and events for the staff of protected areas will be organised all the long of the year 2015 aiming as well to strengthen the cooperation of protected areas with the Alpine Convention.
We will inform you about all these activities which will be prepared during the next months together with the partners of ALPARC. I wish you a very successful summer season for your protected areas and hope to see you soon in the one or the other of the upcoming events of ALPARC.
Best regards,
Martin Šolar
Secretary General
The bearded vulture went extinct in the Alps in the early 20th century. An international reintroduction program was started in 1986, based on the release of young bearded vultures born and reared in captivity. Up to 2012 a total of 184 birds have been released in the Austrian, French, Italian and Swiss Alps, the vast majority within protected areas. Since 1997 a total of 92 birds have fledged in the wild.
Observations from the whole Alpine Arc are being collected in the central online database of the International Bearded Vulture Monitoring (IBM), a collaboration of 12 partners all over the Alps. Currently about 55.000 observations are documented. For this study observation data from 2003 to 2012 and all reproduction events from 1996 to 2012 were used. For the analysis protected areas provided by ALPARC have been used.
Considering the Alpine part of each country, the observations of bearded vultures are quite evenly distributed. Fifty-one percent of observations have been located in protected areas. There was a considerable difference in the amount of data located inside protected areas between countries. Whereas in France 78% have been located inside in Switzerland this was found for only 28%. The majority of observations are found in National parks (79% of all observations inside protected areas).
No difference in the distribution has been found for the different age classes of bearded vultures on an Alpine scale. Since 1996 151 breeding events have been recorded in the Alps.
Out of these, 92 young bearded vultures have fledged in the wild. 65% of the 151 breeding events have been located within protected areas, but again relevant differences among the countries have been noted (Italy 92%, Austria 62%, France 53%, Switzerland 52%). On an Alpine scale bearded vultures have been almost equally successful breeding inside (62%) and outside (58%) protected areas.
Overall, 51% of all reported observations of bearded vultures and 65% of all reproduction events of the species have been located in protected areas in the Alps, which were estimated at 25% of the area covered by the Alpine arc. Thus protected areas definitely are centres of the known bearded vulture distribution in the Alps.
(Author : Richard Zink)
The Multivision "For the Alps" will be available very soon in Standard DVD and Blu-ray format.
Since its creation, the Multivision is at free disposal for all alpine protected areas, to be shown in their visitor centres or during local events (high definition data avialble for download on the website after registration).
Now, it will also be available in an easy-to-use format.
Don’t hesitate to plan projections in your area, especially in your summer programme!
More about the Multivision at multivision.alparc.org
For any question, please contact: multivision [at] alparc.org
Following a large participatory work involving more than 150 scientists across the entire alpine Arc the article "The 50 most Important Questions relating to the Maintenance and Restoration of an Ecological Continuum in the European Alps " was finally published in January 2013 in the scientific open access journal PLoS One.
In order to keep this cooperation dynamics on the topic of ecological connectivity alive and to propose first answers to the questions raised in the article, a dozen scientists and practitioners came together in Innsbruck the 26th and 27th March 2014, in the frame of the Platform Ecological Network of the Alpine Convention, for a Workshop on the topic "Take advantage of land use change for improving connectivity".
Land use change scenarios in Switzerland (based on climate and demographic changes) and their effects on ecological networks have been discussed and experiences from Switzerland, Italy and France on the transfer of knowledge between science and practice shared. All participants underlined the difficulties to get in contact with politicians on this topic and to exchange with farmers, who often only see a reduction of their productive land caused by the creation of hedges or fallow ground in the activities carried out for connectivity improvement. Science must be mobilized in order to better share their results on ecosystem service provided by connectivity for example.
Discussion show different points of interest for the alpine countries :
It's already 17 years that rangers of protected areas from the Alps meet up every year to commemorate the death of one of their colleagues, Danilo Re, who died in service. This event represents an opportunity to exchange, to meet, to consider partnership projects... or just to feel "united": together for the Alps!
This year was the Park of Adamello (I) the host of this important Alps event. 39 teams from different alpine parks, and beyond, have enthusiastically participated in a rich and varied program!
The team of the Swiss National Park is who won the sports competition, followed by the National Park Berchtesgaden (D) and the Triglav National Park (SLO)
The thematic meeting , one of the highlights of this event, was this year focused on the "Paths of the Alps: signposting, maintenance and safety". A topic that has been dealt with different points of view and which allowed participants to have a more overall view about how alpine paths are maintained, managed and restored, providing new ideas and concrete examples too.
Several rangers have stressed the importance of security as a central theme of their work. It has been regrettably noted that hikers in mountains have lost the “sense of risk” and that they tend, in case of accident, to bear the responsibility to the managers of protected areas. People have to learn to live in the mountains with natural hazards! This is an important mission for the rangers, who have the opportunity to raise awareness of families in this direction.
Here below you will find some summaries of the interventions, the results for each sport, the overall ranking and the link to the photo gallery of this event. All PowerPoint presentations will be downloadable from the website: www.danilo-re.net
We are waiting for you, numerous, for the edition in 2013, which will be held in the National Park of Vanoise (F).
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.
