Monte Rosa - melting glaciers and changing borders in the Alps
High alpine areas are feeling the impacts of climate change harder and faster than many other areas.
WWF European Alpine Programme participates in the opening of a new GLORIA research station in Italy
On Tuesday 7th July 2009, WWF European Alpine Programme, WWF Italy, the Fondazione Banca del Monte, Pavia University, Orobie Bergamasche Regional Park and the Lombard Meteorological Centre came together to celebrate the opening of a new GLORIA monitoring station in the province of Bergamo (Italy).
Sustainable holidays in the Alps
Nice weather and the approaching summer inevitably bring to mind holidays. The Alps are one of the leading global destination for tourists, with million of tourists spending their summer vacations in their idyllic setting.
WWF volunteers help wolves by helping shepherds !
WWF Switzerland has launched a new eco-voluntary project for 2009. Volunteers spend time helping shepherds implement wolf protection measures in areas where their return is most likely.
Bear protection measures for beehives and sheep herds in the Italian Alps
Spring approaches and all across the Alps bears are slowly emerging from their winter slumber. WWF Italy, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Veneto Region are involved in an initiative for the protection of herds and beehives. Bear-proof fencing for beehives will be distributed in areas bears have visited in the past.
A tumultous year for the Alps’ famous three (wolves, bears and lynx)
2008 proved an important if arduous year for the most famous inhabitants of the Alps.
In the past few years there has been a slow but constant recolonisatin of the alpine range by all three species but reception from the local communities has been mixed.
WWF's role has been especially important in implementing damage prevention measures and information campaigns on the best ways to co-exist with the alpine famous three.
ECONNECT- restoring the web of life
In early November a kick-off meeting in Vienna launched the ambitious international project “ECONNECT restoring the web of life”, financed by the EU (as part of the Alpine Space Programme) and with the close collaboration of WWF’s European Alpine programme. The new frontier of nature conservation is the establishment of ecological networks between habitats and protected areas across the Alps and the newly launched project is a powerful first step in this direction.
Conservation network expands throughout Europe
The European Commission has approved the extension of protected sites throughout Europe, a move that will improve conservation efforts to protect the continent's most seriously threatened habitats and species.
Climate Witness: Adrian Brunner, Switzerland
Adrian Brunner, 30-year-old bicyclist and snowboarder from Switzerland, describes the impacts of climate change on the nature that surrounds him and on the tourism business in the Swiss Alps.
Slovenia to embark on massive bear hunt
Although one of the first European countries to protect the brown bear, Slovenia is considering increasing hunting quotas for brown bears, an act that may decimate the country's entire population.