Mreža zavarovanih območij v Alpah
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
What opportunities and potential do protected areas have to meet the major challenges posed by climate change? And how can the protection of nature, landscape and biodiversity also be strengthened outside of large-scale protected areas? In order to answer these questions and to find and implement joint approaches, ALPARC CENTR'ALPS has launched the project ‘Biodiversity conservation in times of climate change’, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
The ALPARC Permanent Working Group on Environmental Education and Communication organized a two-day workshop on October 10-11, hosted by the Adamello Brenta Natural Park at the stunning Palazzo Lodron Bertelli in Caderzone Terme, Italy. The aim of the workshop was to promote exchanges between staff from different Alpine Protected Areas working in the diverse field of environmental education.
The event started on Thursday morning with a planned excursion to the Nature Park. Unfortunately, due to bad weather conditions, the planned hike was cancelled and replaced by a (wet) walk past waterfalls to one of the park's visitor centres. Nevertheless, this proved to be an ideal introduction to the workshop, as the Adamello Brenta staff took the opportunity to present their own educational activities to the participants.
In the thematic sessions that followed, participants shared their park activities and best practices. One key discussion was the use of new technologies in environmental education. The UNESCO Dolomites Foundation presented its Geotrail online tool, while the Adamello Brenta Park demonstrated their virtual reality headsets used in their project "parks without borders", which participants were able to experience firsthand.
A major difficulty that was highlighted is the engagement of teenagers in park initiatives. Some participants reported specific activities tailored to this age group (e.g., the Capricorn Club in Nature Park Beverin), as well as the establishment of youth councils (e.g. in the Nature Park Orobie Valtellinesi) and junior ranger programs (e.g., in the Nature Park Prealpi Giulie) to address this challenge. Participants agreed that it is promising to also work with teachers in order to help them integrate environmental topics into their educational strategies. The Adamello Brenta Natural Park, for example, already organizes annual seminars for teachers. A key takeaway from the workshop was the importance of continuing to engage young people in environmental initiatives, as we need to see it as an investment in our future.
Also, all participants were open to the idea of participating in future joint projects (e.g., an Alpine Space project), possibly focusing on the adoption and revision of the criteria of the Alpine School Model.
This workshop was co-organized by ALPARC and the Adamello Brenta Natural Park.
© Photos: Guido Plassman / ALPARC
The 10th edition of Youth at the Top will take place on the 18th and 19th of July 2024, throughout several Alpine and Carpathian protected areas and natural sites. Kids and teens are invited to join local events to take part in this international initiative. The event is the opportunity to raise awareness on Nature conservation and preservation among the youngests. For the 2024 edition, the common theme is "Alpine flowers and pollinator insects".
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Mauro Fissore Dear colleagues of the alpine protected areas, Dear friends, We are writing to you today with a very sad message. Our colleague and dear friend Mauro Fissore from the Parco naturale Alpi Marittime passed away unexpectedly some days ago. Mauro was not just an outstanding person and colleague, a friend to many of us; he was also the soul of the Memorial Danilo Re. Many of you knew him personally, many have participated for 20 years and more in the Danilo Re Memorial competitions. His name is inextricably linked to the Memorial event he created almost 30 years ago in memory of his colleague Danilo – now the sad truth is, that he joined definitely his colleague and friend of those days. Mauro was extraordinary in his kindness, his openness for all new things, his dedication for nature protection and his always radiant presence that conveyed happiness, sincerity and friendship. He was a great artist and his concerts during the Saturday night of the Memorial are legendary. Now the story of the Memorial must and will go on, but it will never be the same. Nothing and no one can replace Mauro, but we will do our best to carry on in his spirit and generosity. Mauro was a symbol and a driving force of alpine friendship and cooperation among alpine rangers. This friendship will endure, and alpine rangers, along with all the other colleagues from the Alpine protected areas will continue to work together for the Alps. In memory of Mauro, The ALPARC President, Director and Team Chambéry, July 11th 2024 |
The year 2024 is a major milestone for Triglav National Park, the Julian Alps region, and nature conservation in Slovenia. The early initiatives aimed at protecting natural landmarks, launched in the second half of the 19th century, were a spontaneous response to the increasing threats to the environment posed by human activities after the Industrial Revolution.
The first efforts to protect part of the Julian Alps, dating back to 1906, stemmed from the ideas of seismologist and naturalist Albin Belar. On 4 April 1924, on the initiative of the Nature Conservation and Natural Monuments Protection Department operating within the Museum Society of Slovenia, the Ministry of Forests and Mines in the Belgrade-based government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, approved the designation and protection of an area of approximately 1,400 hectares in the Triglav Lakes Valley. At the time, the estates of the Carniolan Religious Fund were under state administration, and this made it possible for the area’s managing authority, i.e. the Forest Directorate in Ljubljana, and the two park initiators, namely the Museum Society of Slovenia and the Slovenian Mountaineering Society, to conclude a lease agreement.
Following the signing of the agreement, the Alpine Conservation Park was established on 1 July 1924. This milestone marks the first legal protection regime aimed at preserving nature to be established in Slovenia.The lease term was 20 years, until 1 July 1944. The annual lease fee was set, park boundaries were marked, and a list of cadastral parcels making up the park was compiled. The designation was temporary since the laws at the time did not allow grazing areas to be permanently removed from commercial use. The Alpine Conservation Park covered 1,400 hectares.
In 1961, the Triglav Lakes Valley was declared a "Triglav National Park" with an area of 2,000 hectares, and in 1981 the Triglav National Park Act was adopted, resulting in today's Triglav National Park, which covers almost 84,000 hectares, or four percent of Slovenia's territory.
An article focusing on the development and application of the Continuum Suitability Index (CSI) for assessing ecological connectivity has recently been published. Over the past decade, ecological connectivity has gained significant attention in policy agendas, particularly in the European transnational context. This article examines the methodologies used to improve structural ecological connectivity and landscape permeability, with a particular focus on the CSI.
The CSI takes into account various anthropogenic factors affecting ecosystems and has been adopted by numerous international and national projects to assess terrestrial landscape permeability at the macro-regional scale. The article discusses the conceptual aspects of the CSI methodology, incorporating findings from a comprehensive literature review and expert workshops. It also examines the results of the application of the CSI in three projects in the Alps and the Dinaric Mountains.
Five key factors - land use, population pressure, landscape fragmentation, environmental protection and topography - are identified as crucial for analysing landscape permeability. The article shows that population pressure has the highest sensitivity in the CSI results, while landscape fragmentation has the least influence. In particular, the environmental protection indicator emerges as the most significant factor when compared with data on the presence of red-listed species.
In addition, the research shows that the level of detail and data sources used have minimal impact on the CSI results, underlining the adaptability and robustness of the tool. This new publication highlights the considerable potential of the CSI as a versatile and straightforward tool for an initial assessment of ecological connectivity at a macro-regional scale.
The Bioclimate initiative, promoted by the Region of Lombardy, was born within the framework of the LIFE GESTIRE 2020 project, with the aim of creating models of public funding that can act as a catalyst for investment in projects to conserve biodiversity and adapt to climate change in the forests and protected areas of Lombardy.
The Orobie Valtellinesi Park has decided to participate in the Bioclimate initiative with the idea of planning direct interventions in the habitats of the Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), one of the Alpine species with the greatest conservation problems and the symbol of the Park. Population groups, particularly in Lombardy, are showing a gradual decrease in the presence of the Tetrao, and therefore the species needs direct intervention on the territory to ensure its conservation and maintain the biodiversity of mountain ecosystems.
Two parallel projects of interest to different municipalities have been developed: the Municipality of Teglio and the Municipality of Forcola (Province of Sondrio), both of which have recently been subject to a new forest plan that includes interventions aimed at conserving the habitats of the Capercaillie, with the aim of affecting two different areas of the Park from a geographical point of view.
The project is divided into forestry measures to improve the structure of the forest with a view to protecting wildlife on a total of 187 hectares. Biodiversity protection measures are planned, including the maintenance or restoration of clearings and other important ecotonal elements, in order to achieve a high level of specific biodiversity.
The implementation of management plans for Natura 2000 sites, the creation of a recreational tourist route and the construction of infrastructure for the use of natural sites are also planned in order to disseminate the value of biodiversity.
An important intervention of the project is the commitment of the Park to certify the intervention areas according to the FSC standard for forest management and enhancement of ecosystem services, with the support of Etifor, a consultancy and spin-off company of the University of Padua. The aim of FSC certification is to guarantee the traceability of forest products in order to ensure proper management and the achievement of environmental, social and economic benefits.
The work on the forest will take place in the summer/autumn of 2024 and must be completed by the end of this year.
From as yet undiscovered biodiversity to resilient forests and the impact of food consumption on nature: 64 experts have now published their knowledge and recommendations in the form of "10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science" for 2024. The Leibniz Research Network Biodiversity's new report provides policymakers and society with concrete ways to effectively conserve and sustainably use biodiversity at the local, national, and European levels and thereby also mitigate climate change. With this publication, the researchers contribute current scientific facts to the debate on the German National Biodiversity Strategy, which is to be adopted before the next United Nations Biodiversity Conference in autumn 2024.
"We are already exceeding planetary boundaries, both in terms of global warming and biodiversity loss. Joint responses are needed to counter these crises. We know that preserving biodiversity can significantly contribute to mitigating climate change, for example through biodiverse forests and rewetted peatlands that can act as carbon sinks. Only by focusing on measures to protect biodiversity can we succeed in tackling both crises at the same time," says Kirsten Thonicke, lead author and Deputy Head of Research Department “Earth System Analysis” at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), who coordinates the research network.
Following the great response to the "10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science" first published in 2022, scientists from a total of 52 German and international research institutions have now contributed their expertise from the environmental, life, spatial, social, humanities and economic sciences to the new version. "Our recommendations summarise the research available today for decision-makers. The Must Knows are intended to provide guidance on how to implement the globally agreed biodiversity targets in the German context,", says author Sibylle Schroer from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB). "This also includes the awareness that so far we only understand a relatively small part of biodiversity. Recognising this fact, is a crucial step towards more sustainable environmental policies. These policies should focus on ecosystem-based habitat management – and thus the functions and interactions between species and habitats, rather than just individual species and habitats."
Concentrated biodiversity knowledge from 64 experts across all disciplines
To implement the 23 global biodiversity targets agreed by United Nations member states at the UN Biodiversity Conference in December 2022 (COP 15), the German National Biodiversity Strategy 2030 is currently being developed. The strategy aims to preserve and protect biodiversity in Germany. In order to provide up-to-date facts from the scientific community, the first version of the "10 Must Knows" from 2022 was expanded to include numerous aspects and brought up to date with the help of current literature. The new report addresses, among other things, how the impact of food consumption on biodiversity can be reduced in concrete terms: "Understanding and using biodiversity as a crucial production factor can help to stabilise yields, enhance agricultural resilience and turn us all into biodiversity managers, whether we are producers or consumers" says author Jens Freitag from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK). The authors offer practical suggestions for policymakers and provide citizens with specific options for taking action in society.
The BMBF Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity (FEdA) and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig collaborated on the project. The "10 Must Knows" were commented on by experts from politics, administration, science and associations before publication.
The "10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science 2024" are:
Click here for the full article and to read quotes from scientiests, who contributed to the "10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science"
Weblink to the detailed "10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science in 2024": https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10837769
ALPARC CENTR’ALPS has now published the brochure "Biodiversitätsschutz an kleineren Fliessgewässern im deutschsprachigen Alpenraum - Rahmenbedingungen, Zuständigkeiten und Handlungsoptionen von Schutzgebieten für gemeinsame Maßnahmen" (Biodiversity protection on smaller watercourses in the German-speaking Alpine region - Framework conditions, responsibilities and options for action of protected areas for joint measures). It is available only in German (with a short Englisch summary) and can be read or downloaded here:
https://www.alparc.org/alpine-resources/centr-alps-brochure-watercourses
Printed copies are available from the office in Immenstadt (centralps@alparc.org).
Content
The brochure describes the systematics and legal basis of watercourses in Germany/Bavaria, Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland, addresses responsibilities and stakeholders and identifies key challenges from the perspective of protected areas. It then describes the most important strengths of protected area managements and considers four fields of action:
A selection of concrete examples of measures serves as motivation for other protected areas to implement (further) activities themselves. The examples primarily provide ideas and practical tips. Based on their experiences, recommendations are made on how protected areas should approach the topic in principle, how they can participate in the activities of other stakeholders and how they can take action with their own measures.
The project behind the brochure
The work on smaller watercourses and the brochure are part of the project “Biodiversity Protection in Times of Climate Change - Cross-border Cooperation of Protected Areas for Species and Habitat Protection in the Central Alpine Region" (https://www.alparc.org/de/biodiversitaetsschutz-in-zeiten-des-klimawandels), which was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
In 2024 we celebrate the 10th edition of Youth at the Top and the registration is now open!
The 2024 edition will take place on July 18th 2024 (and the night of July 18th to 19th). On this common date, protected areas all around the Alps and the Carpathians are invited to take groups of curious kids and teens to the mountains, to experiment their surroundings in a new and creative way. Organizations, protected areas, youth associations, local professionals, and refuges are invited to take part in this international event and to plan educational activities on this year's common theme: "Alpine Flowers and Pollinator Insects".
Organizations willing to join the project should fill up the online form before April 30th.
What is Youth at the Top?
Youth at the Top is an international event that aims to help young people (re)discover nature and connect to their mountain heritage. It is organized through local events that take place simultaneously in different countries across the Alps and Carpathians. It has a highly symbolic dimension as hundreds of young people go out and experience nature on a single date through an overnight stay in the mountains. Each registered organization is invited to plan a hike, an overnight stay in the mountains, an activity on a common topic and other educational activities to help the younger generation reconnect with the mountain environment. The project leaves a lot of leeway to the participating organizations to organize local events according to their goals and capabilities.
ALPARC has been responsible for the general management and international communication of the project since its very beginning.
The 10th edition of Youth at the Top is organized by ALPARC with the financial support from the German Ministry of the Environment and the Principality of Monaco.
Click here to open the Youth at the Top website.
Click here to watch the official video.
During the International Tourism Fair (Internationale Tourismusbörse, ITB) in Berlin, the directors of the Berchtesgaden/Germany and Triglav/Slovenia national parks recently signed a declaration of intent to intensify cross-border cooperation at the Slovenian celebratory evening.
Both regions are very comparable in terms of their natural resources and current challenges. Just like the Berchtesgaden National Park, a biosphere region directly adjoins the Triglav national park, and the Slovenian national park municipality of Bohinj has been Ramsau's partner municipality for around 25 years. Dr Roland Baier (right) and the Slovenian National Park Director Dr Tit Potočnik (left) therefore intend to work closely together and exchange knowledge, initially in the areas of research, education, information and visitor guidance. Joint projects, training and further education are also planned.
The teams from both protected areas are currently working on the detailed content and objectives of the new cooperation. The official agreement will be signed in June 2024 at a ceremony in Bohinj, Slovenia.
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