Novice

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Local connectivity projects can only be implemented if stakeholders are integrated into these activities. Potential difficulties and supportive tools were in the centre of an exchange of experiences between representatives of the ECONNECT pilot areas and other stakeholders carrying out connectivity activities. The discussions were facilitated by the Ecological Continuum Initiative in the frame of a workshop.

What significance do water management, tourism and agriculture have for ecological networks? Can measures in the transport sector have a positive effect for ecological corridors? How shall I design my garden to be a habitat for domestic plants and animals? These questions are answered by a series of eleven fact sheets provided by the Ecological Continuum Initiative.

Just in time for the International Year of Biodiversity, the Ecological Continuum Initiative has printed an updated version of the brochure on Ecological Networks in the Alps. With a new design, the brochure "Restoring the web of life - Ecological networks for more biodiversity in the Alps" illustrates the ecological connectivity topic and makes it understandable to a wide public.

As the Continuum Initiative decided to focus on further connectivity activities with long-term issues, the Continuum partners are now aiming at the preparation of follow-up projects beyond ECONNECT to ensure that the fundaments built up during this project can be used for further concerted implementation projects.

The International Year of Biodiversity, declared by the United Nations, represents even more encouragement for the Ecological Continuum Initiative to further develop its activities in preventing biodiversity loss in the Alps.

The Ecological Continuum Initiative has brought international experts together as part of a think tank whose long-term objective is to setup up an alpine-wide ecological network. The think tank provides the experts from the fields of science and practice with a framework for developing new projects to complement and follow up on existing activities such as the ECONNECT project.