Mreža zavarovanih območij v Alpah
Publication coordonated by ALPARC and published by the Alpine Convention
From 16 to 18 September, some sixty representatives of Alpine Protected Areas from all alpine countries celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ALPARC network in Le Monêtier-les-Bains (France).
Founded in 1995, the Alpine Network of Protected Areas has been involved for a quarter of a century in the implementation of the protocol "Nature protection and landscape maintenance" of the Alpine Convention. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, it was therefore with a little delay that the actors of the network celebrated this anniversary within the Ecrins National Park, host of the ALPARC premises at the very beginning of the network. The joy of finally meeting in-person again was all the stronger, after more than a year of digitalised international cooperation. For the occasion, all the Alpine countries were represented, and the event was rich in international dialogues during both the workshops and the excursions in the heart of the park.
Thematic exchanges focused on current topics of international cooperation. Alenka SMERKOLJ, Secretary General of the Alpine Convention and Isabelle Paillet, French Focal Point of the Convention recalled the unique and strong bond which links ALPARC and the Alpine Convention. The ALPARC team presented a brief history of the network's activity, highlighting the importance of Protected Areas in the Alps and calling for more biodiversity protection especially through the realisation of an ecological network across the mountain range. Thematic workshops completed the exchanges between protected area managers: A first one dealt with current challenges of parks as key players in mitigation and adaptation strategies towards climate change and biodiversity loss. A second one illustrated challenges and opportunities that health tourism represents in the sustainable development policies carried out by the Alpine Protected Areas. In this context, the Interreg HEALPS2 project was presented to the participants, as well as concrete examples set up in alpine parks.
Beyond speeches only, it is on the ground that the actions of the parks are visible. Therefore, several excursions were integrated into the program of these festivities. Saturday was the occasion of a long and magnificent hike in the heart of the Ecrins National Park, the highest alpine park. An occasion as well to observe at the Arsine glacier the terrifying speed of global warming in the alpine environment. Participants had the pleasure of exchanging news from all around the Alps during the traditional Alpine buffet and the official dinner for the 25th years anniversary offered by the Les Ecrins National Park.
Invited to celebrate the event, Mrs. Bérangère Abba, Secretary of State for Biodiversity was partially present during the event and an official ALPARC delegation could converse with her and the Secretary General of the Alpine Convention about the most urgent issues in biodiversity protection stressing the message that only together and ecologically inter-connected, do the protected areas of the Alpine arch have the potential for the conservation of the natural heritage for generations to come.
ALPARC, the alpine network of protected areas thanks very much the Les Ecrins National Park, its director and staff for their strong involvement in the organisation of the event as well as all participants and supporters having been present.
PHOTO: ©Thierry Maillet - Parc national des Ecrins
On September 8th, ALPARC and EUSALP Action Group 7 (AG7) co-organised a session at the IUCN World Congress, entitled "Connecting protected areas and beyond to safeguard mountainous ecosystem services and adapt to climate change - An intergenerational dialogue". This joint session brought together experts from various Alpine countries and beyond, as well as four young professionals from fields as varied as research, forestry and environmental education. As symbols of the future, these young professionals came to share their expectations, hopes and solutions to strengthen ecological connectivity in the Alps.
Together, ALPARC, AG7, the Swiss National Park and several witnesses called for more protected areas with a high level of protection - at all altitudes - and above all for greater connectivity between these areas. Ecological connectivity provides a solution to the growing fragmentation of the Mountain space and especially as an adaptation strategy to keep biodiversity and to adapt to climate change. It plays a central role in ecosystem functioning, which is why ALPARC, the Alpine Convention, EUSALP and many others are now cooperating on this topic.
The speakers also called for integrating ecological connectivity into all spatial planning instruments at all scales (local to international) by using an multistakeholder and inter-disciplinary approach. The young professionals have a key role to play in implementing such a territorial planning strategy and projects like OpenSpaceAlps are essential to maintain open spaces as part of Alpine green infrastructure (GI).
The event was followed by dozens of attendees both on site and online, thanks to a live broadcast. A significant amount of time was devoted to the questions raised by the attendees.
Beyond the sole topic of ecological connectivity, this session was the opportunity to offer worldwide visibility to the Alpine territory and mountain environment in general, and to stress out the many challenges it is currently facing. As providers of crucial ecosystem goods and services, mountains are essential for global sustainable development.
Furthermore, the intergenerational dialogue initiated is intended to continue beyond the congress, to work out solution to these challenges all together.
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Founded in 1995, ALPARC has ever since been working restlessly for an ever-stronger cooperation between Alpine Protected Areas. In 2020, it is within the unprecedent context of global pandemic that our organization has reached 25 years of international exchange of expertise, techniques and methods. Although the sanitary situation made impossible any kind of celebration, it has only strengthened our wish to keep on working for Nature conservation and protection. A year later, after months of virtual meetings the whole team is hoping to finally reconnect with face-to-face interaction. A festive and studious event has been consequently planned within Les Ecrins National to celebrate a posteriori 25 years of cooperation. The event intended to Alpine Protected Areas’ representatives and delegations will take place from September 16th to September 18th.
Program: Please download the PDF
Registration (for Alpine Protected Areas only) : https://forms.gle/GtykHdmb59xdGg81A
To enable transnational exchange and learning on spatial planning and territorial development in the Alpine Space, the Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association (ARL), the Interreg Alpine Space project OpenSpaceAlps and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy; Department of Regional Planning (StMWi) are jointly hosting an international conference, entitled: “Towards sustainable spatial development – transnational lessons on the safeguarding of open spaces and the reduction of land take”.
The event will be held on 19 and 20 October 2021 at AlpenCongress in Berchtesgaden (Germany).
The goals of the conference are:
The conference is planned as a presence event in Berchtesgaden in compliance with the required health, hygiene and distance measures. Given the ever dynamic development of the Corona pandemic, we reserve the right to adapt the event format if necessary.
The registration is open until the 30 September 2021. All information incl. the agenda and the registration form is available from the ARL event website.
For any questions about the AlpPlan network and its activities:
In light of the event “Connecting Youth and Mountains, Creating a Lively Future” which will be held on 8 October at Expo 2020 Dubai, during the week dedicated to “Climate and Biodiversity”, the University of Milan through UNIMONT, together with the FAO – Mountain Partnership, Euromontana, ALPARC and EUSALP Youth Council, are launching the “Youth4Mountains Series”: a consultation in which young people aged between 16 and 29 years old living in mountain areas or passionate about sustainability will be at the centre of a collection of ideas and opinions for the sustainable development of mountain territories.
The consultation is composed of two working sessions to be held online on the 15th and 22nd of September from 11.00 to 12.30 a.m. UTC+2. The first session will consist in a training opportunity followed by an open discussion on the following topics: Climate change; Biodiversity; Interconnection, virtual and physical mobility; Entrepreneurship and innovation. During the second session, four working tables will be held in order to collect the inputs of the young participants on the four topics previously explored.
A final consultation, to be held on the morning of the 8th of October, will lead to the drafting of the “Mountain Education and Innovation Manifesto (MEIM)”. The manifesto aims to highlight the need for specific education to promote sustainable development of mountain territories and will be presented by the young people who took part in the consultation during the inaugural week dedicated to climate and biodiversity at Expo 2020 Dubai as part of the event “Connecting Youth and Mountains, Creating a lively Future” organised by UNIMONT.
Registration is for free, please see HERE
The IUCN World Conservation Congress has grown to be the world’s largest and most democratic recurring conservation event in the world, bringing the expertise and influence of its powerful membership to bear on the most pressing issues of the time. The 2021 edition is scheduled in Marseilles, from September 3rd to September 11th. The Congress’ Forum is the largest knowledge marketplace for conservation and sustainable development science, practice and innovation. It is open to the public and a great place to learn, share, network and influence.
In this context, ALPARC and EUSALP Action Group 7 will be presenting an onsite & livestreamed session, titled: “Connecting protected areas and beyond to safeguard mountainous ecosystem services and adapt to climate change - An intergenerational dialogue” on September 7th.
This session will bring forward a constructive dialogue between young professionals and senior conservation experts, sharing viewpoints on how nature conservation issues should be best addressed regarding the current challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.
MORE INFORMATION: HERE
Full official programme: https://www.iucncongress2020.org/programme/official-programme
After four years of candidacy, the Jorat Nature Park, which is entirely located on the city of Lausanne’s territory, has been certified by the Swiss Confederation in 2021, thus becoming the second peri-urban nature park on a national scale. With its more than 40 km2, the Jorat forest, mostly composed of beech forest, is the largest forest on the Swiss Plateau. Its core zone, which will be a natural forest reserve, is a territory of 4.4 km2 allowing the preservation of the existing natural heritage while creating favorable conditions for the evolution of biodiversity. On the decline in lowland forests, this biodiversity includes species dependent on old or dead wood. These species represent about 25% of the forest fauna and flora, essential to the natural cycle of the forest.
Photo: © Parc naturel du Jorat
Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Floods in central Europe, unprecedented heatwaves in Canada or Greece and bush fire all over the world have been experienced by many people during this summer. Scientists confirmed the changes across the whole of Earth’s climate system: in the atmosphere, in the oceans, ice floes, and on land. Hence, climate change is no longer just ongoing but has also worsened throughout the last years. The scientific facts are alarming and call for immediate political action if we want to hold the 1.5° global threshold.
How far the average temperature will rise is not clear yet nevertheless, we already know that the average temperatures in the Alps will rise faster than in other regions of the world.
On land, impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, including species loss and extinction, are projected to be lower at 1.5°C of global warming compared to 2°C. Limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to 2°C is projected to lower the impacts on terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems and to retain more of their services to humans. Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C.
But there is still time to limit climate change, IPCC experts say. Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, could quickly make air quality better, and in 20 to 30 years global temperatures could stabilize.
For more information have a look at the IPPC report here
Bringing voices of young professionals in the front of the conversation stage has long been part of ALPARC approach. The IUCN session is living proof of this commitment. In the same vein, we are very pleased to share the recent implementation of a new digital entry point that has been developed by EUSALP Action Group 7 and youth.shaping.EUSALP. Aimed for young professionals, this digital tool serves as an open platform where they can submit project ideas, proposals and suggestions for the sustainable development of the Alps. The password for the digital entry point is: Eusalp2021
ACCESS THE ENTRY POINT: https://eusalp-youth.eu/home-digital-entry-point/
On September 7th, ALPARC and EUSALP Action Group 7 (AG7) will hold a common session at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress has grown to be the world’s largest and most democratic recurring conservation event in the world, bringing the expertise and influence of its powerful membership to bear on the most pressing issues of the time. The 2021 edition is scheduled in Marseilles, from September 3rd to September 11th. The Congress’ Forum is the largest knowledge marketplace for conservation and sustainable development science, practice and innovation. It is open to the public and a great place to learn, share, network and influence.
In this context, ALPARC and AG7 will be presenting an onsite & livestreamed session, titled: “Connecting protected areas and beyond to safeguard mountainous ecosystem services and adapt to climate change - An intergenerational dialogue”.
This session will bring forward a constructive dialogue between young professionals and senior conservation experts, sharing viewpoints on how nature conservation issues should be best addressed regarding the current challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.
MORE INFORMATION: HERE
A series of webinars organized by the Ossola Protected Areas Managing Authority has brought participants to learn more about the many facets of health and wellness tourism.
The Alps are an area naturally suited to health and wellbeing, thanks to natural resources that can be exploited for tourism purposes with a specific focus on health. To explore these issues, within the framework of the Interreg Alpine Space project HEALPS2, the Ossola Protected Areas Management Authority have organised 5 webinars, each of which addressed a different aspect tourism in the mountains can leverage in order to evolve and build new health and well-being value chains.
The topics addressed were regenerative tourism, the role local, sustainably produced game meat can have both on health and tourism, the potential of mountain therapy and of accessible tourism for tourist operators and on the relationship between mountain sports and respect for the environment.
The webinars took place every Monday from 10 May to 7 June and were conducted by Stefania Cerutti, Director of the UPONTOURISM Interdepartmental Centre of the University of Eastern Piedmont, accompanied by expert guests. Each webinar had 70 participants on average, 48 of which participated in all the webinars. 60 new contacts asked to be added to the Ossola Protected Areas mailing list, through which the news about the HEALPS2 project are also shared.
