From 5 to 19 October, on the website of EOCA (European Outdoor Conservation Association) you can vote for the funding of the research project APOLLO (Alpine Protection from Overgrazing, Landscape Learning and Observation) presented by the Institute for the Dynamics of Environmetal Processes of CNR and the Gran Paradiso National Park concerning the management of sustainable grazing activities inside the Protected Area.

The EOCA is a non-for-profit association which promotes various projects linked to nature conservation presented by different organizations and authorities involved in nature preservation. Once the projects have been validated by the scientific committee of EOCA, they are submitted to a public vote. Only the project that will get the largest number of votes will be financed.

Help the project of the Gran Paradiso be financed by casting your vote here.

For further information about the project, visit the Gran Paradiso National Park website.

SOURCE: Gran Paradiso National Park

Organized in the frame of the 20 years’ celebration of ALPARC, the workshop which will take place in Berchtesgaden at the 13th of October aims to identify new challenges for the protected areas for the next years - challenges in nature protection and regional development and new governance models for a responsible management of natural spaces and cultural landscapes in the Alps. This heritage shaped by the processes of evolution and wilderness as well as by cultural alpine societies has many facets and needs adequate, modern and professional management.

The alpine protected areas will face various new challenges during the next years, mainly linked to climate change, demographic movements, changing political frame conditions and socio-economic needs of the Alpine society. The Alps will probably be more and more influenced by European politics and impacted by decisions taken outside the Alpine arch.

Which strategy should be adapted for the daily work of protected area managers? How to define priorities? How to find the means to fulfill new tasks while preserving the main mission of nature protection? How to make sure to take the right direction and which are the priorities for international cooperation between Alpine protected areas? How to adapt the services and tools delivered by ALPARC?

All these and other questions will be discussed in Berchtesgaden, in the house of the mountains, a very well adapted place to develop a new vision for the alpine protection areas – together towards 2030!

Please register before the 25th of September, by sending the registration form which can be downloaded below to info[@]alparc.org.

The workshop is open for members and nonmembers of ALPARC and their institutional bodies and staff, for associated organisations and all interested protected area managers.
It will take place during a busy week in Berchtesgaden: a Council meeting of ALPARC will be held on the 14th of October, and the 59th Permanent Committee of the Alpine Convention will take place on the 15th and 16th of October. On this occasion, the German presidency of the Alpine Convention together with the Presidency of the Platform Ecological network will present the last news from the pilot-regions for ecological connectivity.

Climate change has consequences for mountain tourism. In the area occupied by the Écrins National Park/F, mountaineering is a major part of tourist activity in summer. Current climate change is a constraint on professionals, modifying landscapes and changing one particular perception of mountains.
Sound documents made by the Centre de l'Oralité alpine have assembled statements from mountain and tourist professionals, climate and glaciology specialists and foresters or local government officials...nothing of what they say is dotted with either gloom-mongering or denial; just experiences which give leads as to how we can try to adapt as closely as possible to local economic realities: an introduction to the debate.

Climate Change in the Alps  12:34
Climate Change: Findings in the Ecrins 09:37
Mountaineering and Climate Change: Adapting 09:31

Source: Ecrins National Park, F site: Pierres qui roulent
Read the entire article at this link (in French): http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/actualite/temoins-changements-climatiques

The summer has been rich in events for ALPARC!  Within the framework of the network’s 20th anniversary celebrations , more than 370  young people from the Alps were the main actors in the collective “Youth at the Top” event. As autumn approaches the anniversary celebrations continue. Both the staff of the APA and the general public are invited to take part in an Land art& Photo contest with the slogan “Connecting Man, Mountains and Nature”. In addition, rendezvous at the ALPARC workshop on 12th-13th October in Berchtesgaden to exchange thoughts on what should be the strategy of the protected areas in the years to come. Read all the details in this Newsletter!

The French nature park federation has released a leaflet titled "Les Parcs naturels régionaux et la biodiversité : retours d'expériences" realized with the support of GRTgaz and MEDDE.
In this document, the Regional nature parks show their know-how and the importance of considering biodiversity in territorial policy implementations. Around twenty initiatives are presented.

Have a look at the leaflet here.

The 28 July 2015, the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) has been officially launched by the European Commission. It is the fourth EU macro-regional strategy. The macro-regional strategy concerns seven countries; five Member States - Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia - and two non-EU countries - Liechtenstein and Switzerland - overall involving 48 regions.  
By improving cross-border cooperation in the Alpine States as well as identifying common goals, the EUSALP aims to implement them more effectively through transnational collaboration.

Communication and action plan are now transmitted to the Parliament and Council. After endorsement by the Council, the implementation phase of the Strategy can start. A launch event is planned in January 2016 in Slovenia.

For detailed information about EUSALP, please visit:
http://www.alpine-region.eu/

 30 September Europe´s most profound wilderness advocates will again convene in the National Park Gesäuse in Austria to discuss the latest on Wilderness in Europe.Speakers from all across Europe will present such interesting topics as:

- Wilderness Restoration
- Wilderness Connectivity and trans-boundary wilderness
- The Schengen Passport for large carnivores to support wilderness
- Wilderness and Sustainable Tourism in the Carpathians
- Best Practice and Capacity Building for Wilderness Managers
- Natura 2000 in Wilderness Areas
- How to engage the Next Generation in Wilderness Protection
and much more…

For further information, visit the website

Wer hätte gedacht, dass der Nationalpark Kalkalpen mehr als 1.500 verschiedene Schmetterlingsarten beherbergt? Dieses Gebiet von rund 200 Quadratkilometern gilt als eines der letzten großflächigen Wildnisgebiete Mitteleuropas, geprägt von naturnahen Wäldern, unverbauten Wildbächen und ursprünglicher Gebrigslandschaft. Vielerorts verschollene Schmetterlinge finden hier ein letztes Rückzugsgebiet und viele von ihnen lassen sich noch häufig beobachten. Vom talnahen Schlucht- und Auwald, über alpine Grasmatten und Felsbiotope zu den sanften Almen und Wiesen: Anhand von über 20 charakteristischen Lebensräumen wird in diesem Buch die jeweils typische Schmetterlingsfauna dargestellt. So wird dieses Buch zum wertvollen Begleiter bei Wanderungen in den Ostalpen und speziell im Gebiet des Nationalpark Kalkalpen.

Le dossier de candidature des Alpes de la Méditerranée au Patrimoine mondial de l'Humanité de l'Unesco avance à grands pas. Les experts de l'UICN France (Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature) ainsi que le Ministère de l'Ecologie, du
Développement durable et de l'Energie ont été enthousiastes à la présentation du dossier et au travail réalisé. Mais la route est encore
longue. Maintenant, les équipes s'apprêtent à s'atteler à la prochaine étape: définir le périmètre exact du bien.

Pour en savoir plus, consultez le communiqué de presse.

Une approche comparative des mesures grands prédateurs dans le cadre du Développement Rural

Maison Rhodanienne de l’Environnement
32 Rue Sainte Hélène 69022 LYON

De 10h30 à 15h30 (déjeuner fourni)

La FRAPNA (Fédération Rhône-Alpes de Protection de la Nature) organise cet évènement conjointement avec le Bureau Européen de l'Environnement (BEE), France Nature Environnement (FNE) et FNE PACA.
Des éleveurs et représentants agricoles de différents pays européens seront présents pour partager leurs expériences.

Objectifs de la table ronde :
Le but de cette journée est de discuter des différentes mesures proposées dans les programmes de Développement Rural dans l’Arc Alpin mais aussi au nord de l’Europe pour faire face à la présence de prédateurs et en particulier des loups près des zones d’élevage.
Une approche comparative des différentes mesures dans les différents pays peut en effet s’avérer très utile et aider à mieux comprendre les interactions entre les prédateurs et les animaux d’élevage et les meilleurs outils pour s’y adapter.

Participants :
Cette table ronde est en particulier à destination des chambres d’agricultures, des syndicats, des décideurs locaux, régionaux, des ONGs de protection de la nature et des décideurs européens.

La table ronde se déroulera en trois temps :

1 - Présentations
Etat des lieux - les populations de loup dans l’Arc Alpin et les pays du Nord.
Etude comportementale du loup face aux chiens de protection des troupeaux.
Les mesures mises à disposition dans le deuxième pilier de la Politique Agricole Commune.

2 - Témoignages
Des agriculteurs/éleveurs Suédois et Français, ainsi que des ONGs italienne et allemande offrirons leurs témoignages.

3 - Discussions
Les intervenants et participants seront invités à largement échanger sur le sujet tout au long de la journée.

Confirmez votre présence par mail à patricia.urge@frapna.org ou par téléphone au 04 76 42 98 47.

Sommet(s) pour le Climat is a project led by a group of French mountaineers, consisting of a collective crossing of the “Massif des Écrins” in the French Alps. The aim of the project is to promote useful solutions for a more ecological and sustainable world. On the occasion of the COP21, which will be held in Paris in December 2015, this project highlights the positive values of the mountain as well as the importance to mobilize the mountain networks to fight against climate change.
Several actions are proposed both at national and international levels, including:

-    21 day crossing across the peaks of the Massif des Écrins” (29 June – 19 July 2015);
-    Simultaneous climbing all over the world to enhance the international dimension of the issue (11-12 July 2015);
-    Organization of a photo contest :“photos décalées”.

The project is supported by different partners: FFCAM, Mountain Wilderness, Négawatt Association, Écrins National Park, Educ’Alpes, Réseau Action Climat, la Revue Durable.

For further information, you will find the press release below.

To know all the details about this project, visit the website.

The French National Parks have just created a new brand. Named the “National Park Spirit”, it has been created to support the economic actors installed on their territory. The aim of this initiative: to promote the tourism products of the territory which contribute to the preservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the parks.

The 10 French National Parks are concerned by this brand, including the 3 Alpine parks: the Ecrins, Mercantour and Vanoise Parks.

What is the purpose of this brand?
With this brand, the National Park lends its positive image to products or services that meet the criteria of sustainable development and a strong local anchorage. Professionals awarded this brand will be able to differentiate themselves in the eyes of those members of the public who are motivated by the preservation of the environment and the preservation and discovery of the local heritage. Furthermore, this contract arrangement will make it possible to develop a solid partnership between the National Park and the actors of the territory.

The advantages and benefits are:
- The right to use the brand and the valorisation of the partnership with the National Park.
-  Support in the use of the brand (training, labels, posters, welcoming tools, etc.).
-  Actions in communication and local and national promotion of the approved products and services.

The implementation of the brand is within the framework of the regulations governing generic use which specify the general terms of use and the procedures to be followed by socio-professionals who wish to work in partnership with the National Parks.

For all details: Ecrins National Park - Mercantour National Park