LIFE IN THE ALPS – People, Arts and Culture

Sporty and artsy, young and old; traditional and innovative; farmers and gamers, we look for it all!

Show us what active and vibrant Alps mean to you. Capture the everyday activities of the people living in the Alps, show generational exchange and passing of knowledge; try to capture the emotions of life in the Alps and/or the Alpine Culture in making. Participate in the 2015 edition of the Photo-contest of the Alpine Convention! Show us your view of Alpine everyday-life.

More information : http://www.alpconv.org/en/activities/contest/photocontest2015/default.html

IUCN and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), in conjunction with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water, and the Donau-Auen National Park, are organizing the conference entitled “Little Sydney: Protecting Nature in Europe” taking place in Hainburg/Donau-Auen National Park, Austria from 28-31 May 2015..

“Little Sydney” builds on the outcomes of the recent major global event on protected areas: the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 (WPC), held in Sydney in November 2014, and which resulted in the Promise of Sydney.

The Little Sydney conference is a milestone international event aimed at finding long-term sustainable solutions for protected areas in Europe.

Source, further information  and registration at : http://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/europe/little_sydney_conference/

The Alps have great potential for the use of renewable energy. But to what extent can different types of renewable energy be utilised if nature is to be protected and the services that our ecosystems provide are to be fully maintained?

The partners of the recharge.green project have developed instruments to answer such questions: they will be presenting their findings at the final conference to be held in Sonthofen, Germany, on 20-21 May 2015.
The international conference is aimed at decision makers, representatives of administrations, energy companies, NGOs and anyone else interested in the topic. 

The conference programme will be made available at www.recharge-green.eu early in 2015.

recharge-green is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development through the INTERREG IV B Alpine Space Programme.

On 16th July 2015, groups of young people have arranged to meet in several Alpine protected Areas (APA) and natural sites throughout the Alps in order to share a physical, human, cultural and artistic collective experience in the mountains.

This is a collective project originating from the “Mountain Environment Education in the Alpine Protected Areas” working group, organised for the first time this year by ALPARC and Educ’Alpes, the network of French mountain education actors.

“Youth at theTop” is first and foremost an international project: a collective action will be organised simultaneously in six Alpine countries (France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Slovenia), which will create links between the different countries and symbolically go beyond administrative and language barriers by considering the Alps as a sole region.

So this will be a day that will mobilise several Alpine actors around a unifying, original action. Above all it will be a friendly project to allow young people to “live an experience”, with the aim of making them aware of the value and importance of these mountain territories and developing (or giving back) a feeling of belonging there. The evening of 16th July will be a high point of the operation when the young people will come together around a collective artistic action on the theme of light. Their restitutions will then be shared and highlighted.

Despite the novelty of the event, the protected areas and other mountain education actors have lost no time in mobilising. Indeed, for this 1st test edition, 24   APA managers have chosen to take part. In addition to them, there will be 5 events run by an APA/ local operator partnership and one event organised by a refuge outside the protected areas which is an active member of Educ’Alpes, making a total of 31 events.
You can find all the 2015 “Youth at the Top” events attached here, as well as in our online calendar.

An Internet site, as well as a Facebook page, are being prepared for more effective communication of the information about the project and to facilitate exchanges between the various actors:

www.youth-at-the-top.org
https://www.facebook.com/YATevent

The “Youth at the Top” project has the financial support of our partner the German Ministry for the Environment

A First in France: the Col du Palet refuge, in the Vanoise National Park/F, is going to adopt the use of hydrogen to manage its energy.

In June the Col du Palet refuge, set in an exceptional, wild location in the Vanoise National Park, will adopt the use of hydrogen for its energy management. This is an unprecedented event in France! It is a very important step forward in the field of sustainable energy concerning the Alpine areas and the enhancement of the use of renewable resources.

The energy currently used by the refuge is supplied by solar panels, a form of energy that is already   clean and respects the environment. However, the energy produced by the photovoltaic panels throughout the year is, unfortunately, wasted for lack of a means of storage. That is the reason behind the idea of using hydrogen technology, as this makes it possible to optimise the production and long-term storage of solar energy. Indeed, according to Stéphane Martin, technician in the Vanoise National Park, “Hydrogen technologies are first and foremost a fantastic means of storing electrical energy and redistributing it cleanly by avoiding the emission of greenhouse gases.”

The Col du Palet refuge, situated at an altitude of 2,600m and difficult to access, will therefore be able to benefit from this technique and use previously stored energy at periods of peak energy consumption. In short: less waste and more positive effects on the environment.

The project is largely financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and, if it is successful, other refuges in the National Park will adopt the same energy management system. In this context, ALPARC will step in to communicate and facilitate the transfer of experience and skills to the other managers of refuges in the Alps.

The common aim of all these actors is to promote energy innovation in order to develop and materialise new eco responsible systems.

Enclosed: Press release of the NP Vanoise

The mountains of France are going up to Paris.
From 21st March to 21st July 2015, on the railings of the Jardin du Luxembourg (Senate) in Paris, the “Mountains of France” exhibition is presenting French mountains in 83 large-scale pictures.

The exhibition is a journey at high altitude in the French massifs, including the Alps, showing the beauty, wealth and diversity of the French mountains. An exhibition which is an incentive to go and discover these mountain territories and their inhabitants.

“Mountains of France” is also a publication: a glossy magazine of 116 pages containing all the photographs on view at the Paris exhibition.

Participating in this event are, among others, the National Parks of France (PNF) and the Federation of Regional Nature Parks.

On the occasion of this exhibition, two days of seminars, admission free, will bring together French mountain experts in the Palais du Luxembourg (Paris – FR):
-    Thursday 4th June  2015: "Reinventing Mountains Today"
-    Friday 5th June: "High Mountains, an Experience that Makes Life Worthwhile"

You will find more information at this link

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

The Alps offer ideal conditions for nature-based tourism.

Ten criteria according to scientific principles were defined in the recent publication by Dominik Siegrist, Susanne Gessner and Lea Ketterer Bonnelame.

The purpose of the 10 scientific criteria laid down by the writers is to help tourism industry professionals and destinations to respond better to demand and improve standards of quality. They include the protection of nature, landscape maintenance or environmental education.

Dominik Siegrist reminds us of the many examples of nature-based tourism that already exist in the Alps, such as the “climbing villages” of Austria, those certified villages which have chosen the path of sustainable tourism in line with tradition. He calls on political leaders to face up to their responsibilities by adapting regulatory conditions. This idea has won support in Germany: the two villages of Ramsau and Hinterstein are due to receive this seal of approval soon. Involvement and motivation on the part of the population have been vital in the procedure of approval, one of the criteria set out by the writers.

Incidentally, the HSR Hochschule für Technik Rapperswill is organising a congress on the subject on 10th June 2015 under the title “Savouring Nature instead of Event Burnout”

Source : CIPRA International, http://www.cipra.org/fr/nouveautes/aller-plus-loin-que-le-tourisme-durable? and additional information : http://www.alpenverein.de/presse/bergsteigerdoerfer-hinterstein-ramsau_aid_15232.html (de), Siegrist, D., Gessner, S., Ketterer Bonnelame, L. (2015). Naturnaher Tourismus. Qualitätsstandards für sanftes Reisen in den Alpen. Bristol-Schriftenreihe 44. Bern. http://www.haupt.ch/index.php?cl=details&anid=9783258079226 (de)

Following the devastating earthquake which has claimed more than 7,000 victims, Nepal is in imminent need of help and assistance.
Alparc is joining the support for the populations of Nepal appeal made by Minister Barbara Hendricks, President of the Alpine Convention, and Markus Reiterer, the Convention’s Secretary General.
At the following link you can see a list of organisations involved in imminent aid to victims.
While urgent humanitarian aid is being deployed in Nepal, it is clear that the country will need support guaranteeing sustainable reconstruction for the years to come. For that reason the Alpine Convention has begun work with a view to contributing in the longer term. More detailed information will soon be available on the Convention’s site.

20 years already – the Alpine Network of Protected Areas, ALPARC, a longstanding partner of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, celebrates this important anniversary this year. Our region is a founding member of the network and from the beginning has been heavily involved in the international exchanges connected to our regional network of protected areas.

The dynamism of the ALPARC Network, led by only 5 people, also shows its effectiveness by the completion of large-scale European projects, notably within the framework of European territorial cooperation. The Econnect and Greenalps projects have demonstrated all the competence and know-how of the permanent team. The governance, under the participative presidency of Michael Vogel, has also shown itself to be totally pertinent. In addition, the network has just submitted three projects following the first call by the Alpine Space programme. ALPARC will also be represented at the Milan Universal Exposition by “Multivision for the Alps”, bringing the image of the Alpine parks to the whole world and in July will proceed with the coordination of the “Youth at the Top” event which will be organised simultaneously in all the Alpine countries.
The network, directed very efficiently from its beginning by Guido Plassmann, today constitutes a veritable reference for the protection of Alpine biodiversity and sustainable development in the Alps, defending the cause of the protected areas while working “together for the Alps”.

Marc Joanny,   Provence -Alpes - Côte d’Azur Regional Council

The alpine Pilot Regions for ecological connectivity stay among the working priorities of the Platform “Ecological Network” of the Alpine Convention.
After the nomination of a new transboundary pilot region between Italy and Slovenia at the last Alpine Conference in November 2014 in Torino, the Platform “Ecological Network” of the Alpine Convention underlined its determination to work in close cooperation with the existing pilot regions  and to support the nomination of new pilot regions.

The German-French presidency of the Platform under the chair of Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst (BfN) has proposed a series of activities to implement the mandate of the working group: the cooperation with other Platforms of the Alpine Convention, an active participation in the work done for the alpine macro regional strategy (EUSALP) as well as a strong support to the development of new European projects on the topic of ecological connectivity.

The Platform Ecological network is also involved in the European effort of establishing “green infrastructure” participating and contributing to the Working Group “Green Infrastructure and Restoration” and by presenting the alpine activities to a European public at the upcoming Green Week that takes place in Brussels in June 2015.

Web pages:
Page of the EU Commission on green infrastructure: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/index_en.htm
Platform “Ecological Network “of the Alpine Convention: http://www.alpconv.org/fr/organization/groups/WGEcologicalNetwork/default.html

The reintroduction of the lynx into Austria is being undermined. Recently the carcass of a dead lynx was found at a taxidermist’s and the Hunting Federation is opposed to any further introduction.

Within the framework of lynx reintroduction in Austria, the adult male Juro had been captured in Switzerland to be released in the Kalkalpen National Park in December 2011, where he would be reunited with Freia, a female also originally from Switzerland.

Austria is home to very few lynx which reproduce only in the Mühlviertel, an area situated in the north of the country. The Kalkalpen National Park therefore plays a key role in the reintroduction of this feline into the Alps: if the park’s lynx breed in the near future it would allow a genetic exchange between the lynx of the Murau in Styria and those of the Mühlviertel.
The two felines are equipped with tracking collars to allow their movements to be followed. At this link you will find their movements mapped out: for Juro, there have been no new data since June 2013. The males Klaus and Pankraz as well as Jugo, the son of Juro and Freia, have also disappeared. The females Kora, Skadi and Freia have only been able to mate with their own offspring, which puts the genetic diversity of this population at risk. Freia was photographed in January 2015 with 2 young lynx.

Articles in the Austrian newspaper “Kurier” of 14/04/2015, as well as in the “Krone” of 17/04/2015 mention the discoveries made by crime police at a taxidermist’s, where they found the frozen carcass of a lynx. The taxidermist stated that the trophy had been brought in for preparation by a keen hunter whose defence is that he mistook it for a fox …
Erich Mayrhofer, director of the  Kalkalpen National Park has declared that this news exceeds his greatest fears. He is worried that this investigation will not be the last: genetic tests will reveal the identity of the Lynx. Despite the condemnation of this act by the assistant director of the Hunting Federation, the organisation is opposed to the introduction of another male. The head of the environmental crime team, Othmar Coser, finds himself facing a “wall of silence” on the part of the hunters …

See also the European Wilderness Society article  at this link

Source: Kalkalpen National Park Newsletter at this link