http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org daily 1 2010-09-09T19:38:07Z http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4799 An international team of researchers has decided on the 50 most important questions for the connecting of habitats in the Alpine regions. Research, support and projects should thus now all be singing in unison. What really counts for the Alpine space? The Alps are home to some 43,000 plant and animal species. For them to eat, rest and reproduce the animals have to be able to migrate. That is only possible if habitats are linked to one another. The Ecological Continuum Initiative, the Ecological Network platform and the project partners of Econnect are working towards this aim; they also initiated the drawing up of the 50 questions.
Source and further information: www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/infoservice, www.alpine-ecological-network.org/, www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10]]> No publisher zopemaster 2013-03-11T18:56:09Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4785 The Alps possess an especially large and valuable diversity of plants and animals; this can only continue if habitats are preserved and remain connected to one another. Municipalities can contribute to this in many ways: CIPRA has produced a short film for municipal representatives showing how to make use of these opportunities. For example, if a municipality wishes to produce energy from biomass sources, the result might be the intensive farming of what were previously meadows. Deer now find little cover to cross such open fields safely. In this and in many other ways throughout the Alps, functioning connections between habitats are broken, often without thinking and usually permanently. The habitats for animals become patchy, species diversity is reduced and some species disappear altogether. "It is urgently necessary to think and act for Nature", says CIPRA project manager Aurelia Ullrich-Schneider.

People profit too
The film "For hermits and fire salamanders - How municipalities connect habitats in the Alps" gives examples of how municipalities can contribute to maintaining the natural diversity of the Alps. Representatives from the Isère département in France, the Engadin in Switzerland and South Tyrol explain how they all contribute to connecting habitats. Each emphasises that it is not just nature that profits, but also people. "I think the film is very relevant and clearly shows Alpine municipalities that taking account of landscapes and biodiversity improves their quality of life and sustainable development. The film successfully gets this core message across", states Antonio Chiadò, vice-chairman of the "Alliance in the Alps" network of municipalities.
The 15-minute film is available in English, French, German, Italian and Slovenian as a free DVD or internet download. CIPRA will also be showing the film over the coming months to its target audience of municipal representatives at various events, including at the locations where the film was made.

Useful accompanying material
The website www.alpine-ecological-network.org features, alongside the film, a two-minute trailer for municipalities and further aids for developing ecological networking, such as a catalogue of possible steps to take, an expert database and an interactive map showing the networking potential of a particular area.
The film campaign has been financed by the Valüna-Stiftung Vaduz / Liechtenstein and another charitable foundation from Liechtenstein. The film forms part of the Ecological Continuum Initiative under which CIPRA, together with ALPARC (Alpine Network of Protected Areas) and ISCAR (International Scientific Committee for Alpine Research), is supporting municipalities and other players in their efforts to improve ecological networks in the Alps.

This media release, print quality press images, the film and the trailer are available for download at: www.cipra.org/en/press/press-releases

Please address all queries to:
Aurelia Ullrich-Schneider, Project Manager, Biodiversity and Landscape, CIPRA International
+423 237 53 08, aurelia.ullrich@cipra.org

CIPRA, a diverse and multifaceted organisation
CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps, is a non-governmental umbrella organisation with national representatives and one regional representative in the seven Alpine countries. It represents more than 100 associations and organisations. CIPRA works towards achieving sustainable development in the Alps; it also strives to preserve the natural and cultural heritage, maintain regional diversity, and bring about solutions to cross-border problems in the Alpine region.
www.cipra.org]]> No publisher zopemaster 2013-02-14T18:55:08Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4689 Municipalities can collaborate in the improvement of ecological networks in many different ways. Therefore CIPRA wants to convince mayors for this topic with the help of a video clip. The movie will be shown at events from autumn 2012. It will also be available on the Internet. ALPARC is producing an accompanying brochure with further information on ecological connectivity for mayors. The movie-campaign is part of the Ecological Continuum Initiative in which CIPRA, the Alpine Network of Protected Areas, ALPARC, and the International Scientific Committee, ISCAR, work together for the connection of natural habitats.
Further information: aurelia.ullrich@cipra.org]]> No publisher zopemaster 2012-08-31T05:54:46Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4315 The Econnect project approaches its end in autumn 2011. To develop visions and projects beyond Econnect, the Continuum Initiative organised a think tank workshop last November in Bolzano/I. www.alpine-ecological-network.org/about-us)
More information on the think tank: www.alpine-ecological-network.org/about-us]]> No publisher zopemaster 2011-04-21T17:54:35Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4314 Are you organizing an event which aims at raising awareness on the problem of habitat fragmentation? Then borrow one of the six colourful installations the "Ecological Continuum Initiative" created for its action "The Wall". www.alpine-ecological-network.org/about-us (e, d, i, f). Contact: aurelia.ullrich@cipra.org]]> No publisher zopemaster 2011-04-21T17:54:33Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4313 Do you want to facilitate the migration of animals within and between their habitats? There are many different ways to do this. Whether you are a farmer, a mayor or leading a tourist company: the detailed search of the new online "measures catalogue" shows you possible activities to improve ecological connectivity that are adapted to your individual situation. www.alpine-ecological-network.org (e,d,f,i)]]> No publisher zopemaster 2011-04-21T17:54:31Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4261 The Ecological Continuum Initiative will continue its activities also in 2011. No publisher zopemaster 2010-12-14T18:52:28Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4252 The Ecological Continuum Initiative has launched its renewed webpage. Apart from the new appealing graphic design the website is also richer in information in German, French, Italian and Slovenian language such as publications, links, events and news. Therefore the website is more attractive for a wide public. www.alpine-ecological-network.org offers an explanation of the ecological connectivity topic, presents activities of the three main initiatives in the Alpine space, news from the connectivity scene and explains tools and methods for establishing an ecological network. The website also enables searching for experts and research projects. In the download centre you can find all documents and information material of the Continuum Initiative and the Platform Ecological Network. There are also new sections dedicated to funding and to the wall event, where you can find reports and pictures of the event, interviews with experts and good practice examples of ecological connectivity measures.]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-12-15T14:23:40Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4251 The Econnect project approaches its end in summer 2011. To develop visions and projects beyond Econnect, the Continuum Initiative organised a think tank workshop on 17 November in Bolzano/I. The objectives were to ensure that good Econnect activities will continue and to involve experts of the think tank in new projects. 20 experts contributed to a differentiated exchange of ideas and the development of projects. The Continuum Initiative had organised a first think tank workshop on stakeholder integration in April. o Define important local connectivity areas in the Alps based on Econnect results.
o Find technical strategies (as for example "data broker") to easily share spatial and species data in the Alpine region.
o Produce barrier/corridor maps on an Alps-wide and on a regional level.
o Produce education materials for different levels.
A detailed report on the workshop will be available on www.alpine-ecological-network.org in February 2011.]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-12-15T14:39:54Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4250 Stop - no way through! On 20th of October 2010 a giant wall blocked the way of pedestrians in Zurich/CH, Vienna/A, Munich/D, Ljubljana/SI, Milan/I and Lyon/F. For animals, it's the same every day: streets and settlements increasingly fragment their migration routes. The action the Wall was a great success and has caused a broad echo in the media. The six structures (walls) are available for free further use by all interested actors (contact: aurelia.ullrich@cipra.org).
Photos of the event in all the six Alpine cities as well as interviews with experts, good practice examples from all countries and material for the media is available at: www.alpine-ecological-network.org/about-us]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-12-15T14:37:07Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4140 The Ecological Continuum Initiative organises a workshop to develop visions and to set the course for an assured continuation of projects beyond Econnect. The workshop will take place on November 17th 2010 in Bolzano/I. Apart from the think tank pool of experts, the collaborators from Econnect, especially collaborators and stakeholders from all pilot regions, and other running connectivity projects are kindly invited to participate.
The first workshop in the frame of the think tank was about stakeholder integration and was carried out on April 23th 2010 in Toblach (I).
More information on the think thank and the workshops:
www.alpine-ecological-network.org/about-us]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-11-25T22:04:35Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4141 A joint research project of Econnect, the Platform Ecological Network under the Alpine Convention and the Ecological Continuum Initiative aims to identify "The 55 most urgent questions concerning ecological networks in the Alps" by bringing together all "alpine actors" such as national administrations, protected areas, researchers, stakeholders and various NGOs. The study employs a methodology which has been successfully applied in this context in other regions. To date, the 22 participating institutions have submitted some 450 questions. These questions will undergo a second round of review and consolidation before a final prioritization and selection process is carried out at a workshop beginning of December in Switzerland. The output of the process will be a list of 55 questions which reveal the lack of robust scientific evidence or novel approaches with regard to ecological connectivity in the Alpine region. Subsequently the list of questions will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated to a wider public within the Alpine region and beyond, in order to help researchers and donors focus on urgent projects.

]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-11-25T22:04:36Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4143 During the last few years various documents, publications and reports which reflect approaches, tools and activities that support the implementation of an ecological network across the Alps have been published. Some of this information had not been made available for a wide public until now. www.alpine-ecological-network.org]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-10-19T08:30:24Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4072 A great deal has been done and achieved in recent years to set up a pan-alpine ecological network. As part of its script series the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) has just published a report in English entitled Implementing a Pan-Alpine Ecological Network - A Compilation of Major Approaches, Tools and Activities. It comprises for the first time various documents, publications and reports supporting the implementation of an ecological network across the alpine arc. One chapter focuses on activities in the Carpathians. The publication can provide useful information to regions beyond the Alps, too. For more information:
BfN script: www.alpine-ecological-network.org/pdfs/894
Info sheets: www.alpine-ecological-network.org (de/fr/it)]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-10-14T09:45:32Z CipraNews http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/news/4010 Every day we build new obstacles on the migrating routes for animals and we prevent plants to spread freely. In most of the cases we are not even aware of this problem. How would it feel and look like, if our living spaces would suddenly get fragmented by obstacles we cannot easily overcome? fabio-guarneri@bluewin.ch]]> No publisher zopemaster 2010-10-11T09:30:56Z CipraNews