We are sad to announce the cancellation of the 26th Edition of the “Danilo Re Memorial”  initially planned from Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th of January 2021 in Parc national des Ecrins
( France) due to the Covid Pandemic.

 After important consultation and exchanges within the ALPARC Board, the Danilo Re Steering Group and the Ecrins National Park regarding the current evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been decided to shift  the  Memorial Danilo Re, scheduled in Les Ecrins National Park to 2023 as the event 2022 has already been planned in the Swiss Binntal Park.
We regret that the situation doesn’t allow to organise this unique event bringing staff from all the alpine protected areas together during this winter.

Independently, the ALPARC general Assembly will take place online the 22nd of January 2021 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. ALPARC members will receive further information about the procedure during the next weeks.

With their rich biodiversity and vital ecosystems, mountains play a key role for the well-being of people worldwide and for the protection of biodiversity on a global scale. However, these precious environments are strongly exposed to climate change, pollution and land use changes that threaten their flora and fauna as well as local mountain communities. Effective tools and mechanisms are needed to protect mountain biodiversity. Mountain regions can offer multiple approaches for adaptation and sustainable responses to climate change that strengthen the resilience of wildlife and people. The Alpine and Carpathian Convention, as the two mountain conventions, can provide valuable insights into interregional coordination and can give incentives to join forces in protecting precious mountain environments. 

MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY DAY
One voice to protect Mountains, Wildlife and People in times of global change
13 January 2021
INTERACTIVE ONLINE EVENT
9 AM – 5:30 PM (CET)

The one-day event offers a platform for discussions between experts and representatives from mountain regions all over the world, working in the field of biodiversity, with a strong focus on mountains. The main goal is to share experiences, identify shared challenges and showcase best-practice examples and solutions from various regional perspectives. As an outcome of the event, a Joint message on the importance of protecting global mountain biodiversity will be developed to be then taken forward to major global events such as the IUCN World Conservation Congress and the COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The different perspectives will be covered during three successive segments:  

 1.Global mountains (thematic sessions on key biodiversity areas in mountain regions, global drivers for loss of mountain biodiversity and tools for conservation)
2.    High level segment on mountains in the Post-2020 process (with CBD focal points and representatives of the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions)
3.    Alps (thematic sessions on current threats to biodiversity in the Alps and strategies to protect biodiversity for future generations

Discover the programme here.

The full programme (speakers included) is available here

This event will be in English and translated into German, Italian, French and Slovenian.

 REGISTER HERE

The Mountain Biodiversity Day is hosted by the outgoing French Presidency of the Alpine Convention in cooperation with the French Presidency of the EU-Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The event is jointly coordinated by the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention and the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Covid-19 pandemic led to several changes in the protected areas’ visitor flows from what we had expected at the beginning of the year. A significant reduction of the outdoor activities during the lockdown period was followed by a rising demand for nature-based tourism in the summer season. The alpine protected areas had to adapt to these changes, particularly by increasing awareness raising actions on correct behaviour in the mountains. We will discuss these elements and further aspects during the workshop, and we will especially focus on the communication campaign on outdoor winter tourism “Be Part of the Mountain”. The workshop will be an opportunity to exchange with different committed organisations and actors about specific experiences and needs for the future of sustainable tourism in Alpine protected areas.

Date: December 14th 2020
Time: 10:00 to 12:00.
The agenda is available for download below.
Registration: please click here
The link for the online event will be sent out to all registered participants a few days in advance. We will use the Zoom platform.

We are very glad to invite you to the online workshop "Health – Work – Life! Ideas for sustainable lifestyles in the Alps. Lessons learnt from the Interreg Alpine Space project HEALPS2 or how a health tourism strategy can contribute to improving living and working conditions in the Alps."

Our precious Alps are under growing pressure: the impact of climate change, biodiversity loss and unsustainable socio-economic patterns call for new approaches in creating sustainable job opportunities and lifestyles. Hence, the sustainable valorisation of natural resources is a crucial element for building healthy job opportunities in line with the natural constraints of our sensitive ecosystems.

In this context, protected areas can play a major role in serving as model regions for developing sustainable economic activity. Stéphane Adam from the National Federation of Nature Parks in France will provide insights on the success of the French Label “Valeurs Parc” and how nature parks allow for flourishing local development in remote regions. Moreover, Beatrice Demeglio from the Italian nature park Aree Protette dell’Ossola will share key findings from the project SOCIAALP, aiming at favoring sustainable practices in tourism and agriculture.

Do you want to know more about this? Have a look at the program!

Date: 09.12.2020, 14:00-18:00 via ZOOM

Registration: please click HERE

The link for the meeting will be sent out to all registered participants a few days in advance.

Organization: Community Network “Alliance in the Alps”, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, ALPARC and the partners of the Interreg Alpine Space HEALPS2 project

HEALPS2 is co-financed by the Interreg Alpine Space program 2014-2020 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Young people’s views on climate change in the Alps will be the main theme of the AlpWeek Intermezzo 2020, to be held from 9th to 10th December 2020 in Nice (France).
Climate change is certainly a global phenomenon, but its impact is particularly acute in the mountains, with the disappearance of glaciers, an increase in natural hazards such as landslides, and changes in snow cover and watercourse patterns. It is also changing at a much faster rate in mountainous areas (up 2°C in the Alps since the pre-industrial era) than the global average increase of 1°C.
The living environment and occupations considered today as typically ‘Alpine’ will no doubt evolve in the future, due in particular to climate change. At the AlpWeek Intermezzo 2020, the focus will be on what this means for the younger generation. How do young people perceive the changes in landscapes and natural environment linked to climate change? What environment will they live in?
The AlpWeek Intermezzo 2020 will provide an opportunity to compare views and experiences in order to come up with answers to these questions. Change will come about more quickly if young people are actively involved in, or even devise the solutions sought themselves. The organisers of the AlpWeek Intermezzo 2020 therefore feel it is essential to grant them a prominent role in the programme and debates that will be held during the event.

For more information please see www.alpweek.org/2020

From November 16th-17th, the Community Network Alliance in the Alps and CIPRA International organise a tourism conference in Prien am Chiemsee (DE). At the start of the programme, Prof. Dominik Siegrist (University of Applied Sciences, Rapperswil) will explain the current and future challenges facing destinations and their populations. In concrete terms, the focus will be on how climate change, for example, is affecting outdoor sports in addition to current crisis management. The second part of the conference will be devoted to the question of what the outdoor experience could look like as a basis for sustainable tourism in the Alps in the future. Current measures as well as different approaches from the entire Alpine region will be presented, which break new ground in sustainable tourism development. Finally, Prof. Christian Baumgartner (FH Graubünden) will present and discuss a model that can help to tackle the challenges of sustainable tourism in the Alpine region in a comprehensive and integrative manner at local and regional level.

For more information, please click here or download the conference ‘save the date’ available in French, Italian, German and Slovenian.

In the context of the project NaturLifeAdapt, this 2 day workshop focuses on the exchange of solutions, best practices and instruments tu support park managers dealing with the challenge of climate change in mountain areas.The workshop is organised by Asters Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels D'Haute Savoie. More detailed information will be be available soon.

The demand for highly-skilled conservation experts is growing. The international master programme ‚Management of Conservation Areas‘ promotes biodiversity conservation and regional sustainable development in Europe and worldwide by educating and training (future) managers of conservation areas.
Graduates work as managers of conservation areas, national parks, biosphere reserves or world heritage sites. They develop and support community-managed sites and indigenous protected areas or shape the future of international organisations. Graduates may also work in the consulting, planning and scientific sector.

The master programme is part of the UNESCO Chair for the Sustainable Management of Conservation Areas (MCA).

The Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and E.C.O. Institute of Ecology currently hold online info sessions about the programme.

Details: www.cuas.at/mca

The roof of Western Europe, reaching 4810 m, attracts more than 20,000 climbers each year aiming  to reach the summit and up to 500 per day during the summer, while the overcrowding threshold is estimated at 300 and 400 people per day.
To regulate the number of visitor to the area and the activities on the summit of the Alps, the decree "creating the Mont Blanc natural habitat protection zone - an exceptional site" was signed on Thursday 1 October 2020 by the Prefect of Haute-Savoie (France) in the presence of Bérangère Abba, the Secretary of State for Biodiversity.

The natural protection zone of 3,175-hectare includes the areas of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Saint-Gervais and Les Houches. It is formed of a core area (2628 ha corresponding mainly to high-altitude alpine environments) and of two transition areas (576 ha of mid-altitude alpine environments). Among the main measures, the decree prohibits in the core zone the practice of any activity other than mountaineering, the combination of mountaineering and paragliding, paralpinism, skiing and snowboard-alpinism. Vehicles (motorised or not) are prohibited throughout the site, as well as the organisation of any kind of event.

The decree is based in particular on the environmental analysis drawn up by ASTERS - Conservatoire d'espaces naturels de Haute Savoie. This permitted to identify the existing risks for the natural heritage and the habitats that meet the criteria for designating a protection zone and has provided scientific criteria for determining this.

The creation of this protection zone on the Mont Blanc massif, while fully in line with the principles of the Alpine Convention, is a significant step for the preservation of natural heritage and for the sustainable tourism in the Alps.

See the full text of the prefecture's decree in French here

Summer 2020. After months of lockdown and a long period of online courses and learning activities, everywhere, and also in the Alps, children and young people needed to return to nature and experience it. Above all, they needed to run and walk through meadows and forests again, to enjoy large spaces and rediscover the rich biodiversity of the mountains.

So, in order to allow young people to experience an authentic immersion in nature, in 23 protected areas between the Alps and the Carpathians, mountain guides, rangers or educators participated in the 6th edition of Youth at the Top. In total, 28 events were held between July 16th and the beginning of October, in 5 Alpine countries as well as in 2 Carpathian countries, Romania and Slovakia. Around 250 children and young people were able to go on a mountain hike with other peers, often bivouacking in tents or in a hut, along educational activities that allowed them to reconnect with nature and increase their awareness of sustainable development. 

An unusual edition
Due to the global context, the 2020 edition was a bit different than usual. In order to allow several protected areas to join the initiative, the events were no longer held on a single date but throughout most of the summer. The number of participants per event was limited, often no more than 10 young people and bivouac in tents or in the open air was preferred. However, the health crisis did not stop the curiosity and enthusiasm of the young people who participated with great interest in the activities proposed under the common theme "Fauna and climate change".

The theme "Fauna and climate change" guided the activities
Many actions have been proposed to the young participants to enable them to understand the importance of protection and conservation of the territory, focusing on the impact of climate change on Alpine fauna: role-playing games, expert interventions, viewing the melting glaciers on the ground, sharing experiences and stories. In the HoheTauern National Park (Austria), the close encounter with a group of chamois was an opportunity to discuss the impact of seasonal warming on the species, in the Julian Pre-Alps Nature Park (Italy) the presentation of the impact of climate change on wildlife by local experts was followed by an excursion to hear the roar of the deers.

Among the many activities, in the Piatra Craiului National Park (Romania), the young people built kites that flew along the large areas of the park, while in the Pfyn-Finges Nature Park (Switzerland), the youngsters had a truly unusual experience: the group went into the heart of the mountain with a small train along the path of an old mine. The enthusiasm was so great that many said they were ready to join the adventure with "Youth at the Top" next year too.

The 6th edition of the project is led by ALPARC – The Alpine Network of ProtectedAreas, with the financial support of the German Ministry of the Environment, the Principality of Monaco and the French National Agency ANCT.

 Read or download the press realease in  German,  French, Italian  or Slovenian

“With clear camera angles, a fitting score, thought through set design and excellent acting, the film shows us an indispensability of insects for our daily food supply. The film encapsulates the importance of the protec-tion of species and incidentally clarifies their influence on social justice in an original way. The documental credits confirm the great effort and immense dedication by all parti-cipants. An impressive realisation on a high technical level - Chapeau!”

For these reasons the film "Insect effect"(original title: Der Insekteffekt) was awarded with the Silver clip at the REC- Film festival in Berlin. The short film is about the long-term impacts of biodiversity loss on humans being linking in an impressive way ecological aspect and social one.
The film has been made by and with youth of Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany) in April 2019  in the frame of the educational activity Mediencamp and within the Interreg Alpine Space project YOUrALPS. Congratulations to the authors!

Watch the video here

More about YOUrALPS project: https://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/youralps/en/home

Due to the COVID-19 situation in France, the ALPARC staff is present in the office only twice a week, on Tuesdays and on Thursdays.
The other days the work continues from home.