In preparation for the IUCN World Conservation Congress , which will be held this year in September in South Korea, ALPARC’s president and Berchtesgaden National Park’s director Michael Vogel was invited in late April to a work meeting by the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology, the South Korean Ministry of Environment, the Korea National Park Service and the University of Seoul.

Michael Vogel, as a specialist of the German Alpine National Park and the Alpine Network of Protected Areas gave already two years ago a lecture in Korea about the Alpine Space project ECONNECT and presented this year in addition to his experience and results on the topics of national park management, ecological network in the Alpine region, the importance of protected areas in regional development as well the core results and resulting demands of ECONNECT. 

 Next to Korean national park managers, he established a contact to representatives of Japanese and Chinese reserves, which are highly interested and very keen to work with the Alpine Network of Protected Areas and the Carpathian Network of Protected Areas in the perspective of the creation of an Asian network of protected areas.

Michael Vogel, who was praised as an expert for eating with chopsticks, thinks: "It seems to be only a matter of time before ALPARC will get an Asian "brother" and the first joint meeting between ALPARC, the Carpathian Network and an Asian network." 

 ALPARC is pleased to present the multivision "for the Alps", an audiovisual production built around more than 400 photographs painstakingly selected from the 10,000 shots taken and shortlisted by park officers in nearly 60 protected areas. These areas are represented by 20 management bodies who are full partners in this unique creative piece.

A plea “for the Alps”

“For the Alps” pays visual tribute to the diversity found in the Alps: landscapes, cultures, habitats, lifestyles, and the potential for creating links between these areas that are slowly being fragmented.
Like a sensible and aesthetic testimony, “for the Alps” is the basic of the dialog between local actors, protected areas administrator and visitors. The multivision takes the viewer on an unusual journey through the Alps, travelling from the lofty mountain heights to inhabited areas, from East to West, North to South. It is like being picked up and carried along at the will of the four winds.

Grand premiere !

The production will be premiered on 24 May 2012, the European Day of Parks. Twenty protected areas in six Alpine countries will screen the multivision production created by Alex Gordon Rowbotham and set to original music by Sandro di Stefano.
You can find all the projection events and further information at this link.

A common message of the Alpine protected areas

The multivision « for the Alps » is a joint project of ALPARC and around 20 managers or networks of Alpine protected areas.
From the 24 of May on, this common communication tool will be distributed by all 20 partners in their territory over the whole summer season and it will be subsequently placed at the disposal of all Alpine protected areas.

For further information, visit and see:

• The web page: multivision-alparc.org
• The trailer
• The press release and further technical information
• The agenda of the projection events
• or contact us directly: multivision@alparc.org

30 of April 2012: bear M13 were run over by a train

The bear M13 survived the collision with the train of Rhätischen Bahn (RhB). By this incident, the GPS transmitter, the bear was equipped with, destroyed.

2nd of May: bear may be evidenced in Oberengadin

Rangers of the national park could find traces of a bear in the area S-chanf at the 2nd of May. One day later, the 3rd of May, traces were also found in Bever. So for the first time a bear could have been seen in Oberengadin. Until now it is not for sure which bear has been sighted. It cannot be excluded that it was the bear M13, which is still in Unterengadin since his collision with the train.  

Communiqué de presse complet en allemand, 7 mai 2012

Suisse National Park  

Wilderness areas are almost virgin spaces, without any human touch.

 To permit a transmission to the future generations of entirely intact natural spaces, we have to conserve them and, as far as possible, to restore areas of savage nature.

In the frame of the partnership “together for biodiversity”, the Austrian office of forests and WWF realized an enquiry of experts at this subject, containing ecological as well as social and politic aspects.  

In the year 1914, the first Alpine national park was founded: the Suisse National Park . At the entrance of the valley Engadin, in the canton of Grisons, for almost 10 years the national park was the only protected area in the Alps. Then the National Park Gran Paradiso in Italy and the Triglav National Park in Slovenia followed.
Nature protection became more and more important. Some nature reserves were developed from the year 1925 on (the first one in the Triglav National Park), but the main part of the Alpine protected areas came out after 1952, the year of the foundation of the International Commission for the protection of the Alps (CIPRA).

 Within the signing of the Alpine Convention in 1991, 6 Alpine countries, which have signed the convention, have already created 10 national parks, 46 regional nature parks, 235 nature protection areas and 139 special protected areas. Furthermore the UNESCO has recognised 5 protected areas as biosphere reserves.

Nowadays there are around 1000 protected areas (> 100 ha) united in the network ALPARC, in the perimeter of the Alpine Convention and its surroundings.

You can see the animation about the historical development of the Alpine protected areas at this link !

For further information, please look at our webpage (www.alparc.org) or contact us directly by mail: info@alparc.org . 

The Regional Nature Park Val Müstair (Switzerland)

 The Regional Nature Park Biosfera Val Müstair, UNESCO biosphere reserve since June 2010 (common with SNP) represents a sort natural of buffer zone for both of the old and important protected core zones of the National Parks Swiss and Stelvio/I. Since January 2011 it is recognized regional nature park of national importance.

This evolution is founded on a strong mobilization of its population, in which the acceptance of the nature Park was democratically approved in 2007 by 88%. One of the most important administrative steps was the unit of 6 municipalities since January 2009.

The various economic structures in Val Müstair are widespread; nevertheless tourism represents the highest potential of economic growth.

The intact landscape in Val Müstair offers a high quality of life. The river Rombach, one of the last free-flowing main valley rivers in Switzerland, and a high number of biologically-managed agricultural farms (80%) suggest a conscious and active cooperation of the valley inhabitants in the service of the natural resources. 

 The culture offer is also considerable: the internationally known UNESCO World Cultural Heritage St. Johann Monastery, an important number of museums and also the undamaged sites with the magnificent houses decorated with graffito are always a feast for the eyes for the visitor. The traditional language of Val Müstair is Romansch, to be precise “Jauer”. The language is officially spoken in everyday life and has remained alive up to the present.

AREVAIR IN VAL MÜSTAIR!
BIOSFERA…natüralmaing!

 BIOSFERA VAL MÜSTAIR

Center da Biosfera - Chasa Cumünala
7532 Tschierv
Tel. +41 (0)8 18 50 09 09
Fax +41 (0)8 18 50 13 13

E-Mail: info@biosfera.ch
Homepage: www.biosfera.ch

Further information:

Biosphere reserve Val Müstair

Swiss Federal Administration

Swiss Parks Network

 Located in the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Fribourg, stretching from the Vaud riviera (Montreux) to Bulle, from Gstaad to Gruyères, the Gruyère Pays d'Enhaut Regional Natural Park is an unspoiled rural area in the foothills of the Alps but has also been a popular tourist destination since the 19th century.

Most of the park lies between 800m and 2,000m above sea level. It is home to a patchwork of villages, hamlets, meadows, summer grazing, mountainous areas and woodland. The park boasts a wealth of different landscapes, wildlife and plant life. Outstanding biotopes and geotopes bear witness to the unspoiled nature of the zones that are so vital for a rich variety of flora and fauna, including the Vanil Noir, Pierreuse, and Étivaz valley reserves, all of which are managed by the Pro Natura organisation.
Dairy farming is the mainstay of agriculture with around 230 farms in the area (over 26 million kilos per annum). There are three registered cheeses: L'Étivaz AOC, Gruyère AOC and Vacherin Fribourgeois AOC. The regional economy is built around tourism (ski resorts, sports and leisure, hotels and second homes) with a variety of focal points in the area.  

 The Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut association was formed in February 2006 with the aim of creating and managing a regional natural park. The organisation had two founding principles: compliance with the federal decree requiring local authorities to have decision-making powers and a commitment to involving local stakeholders. Thus the local authorities have more to contribute in terms of coordination and replication whilst the agricultural, tourism and business sectors will be involved in practical actions and projects.

In order to qualify for the "park of national importance" label, the project will be officially registered in January 2011 when the charter setting out the size and geographic area of the Park, its financing, activities and objectives is lodged. The charter comprises three documents: the Park contract (setting out the financial and strategic links between the local authorities and the association: boundaries, organisational structure and mandate, local authority funding), a description of the Park area and the management plan for the operational phase (the ten-year period covered by the park label, effective from 2011), which combines a ten-year plan and a four-year action plan. 

  Gruyère Pays-d’Enhaut Regional Natural Park
Place du Village 6
CH – 1660 Château-d’Œx
Tel. +41 26 924 76 93
Fax. +41 26 924 79 97
info@pnr-gp.ch

www.pnr-gp.ch

Park's identity card

Swiss-Italian cooperation in favor of ecological connectivity

During the last Alpine Conference in March 2011 the Alpine Convention officially nominated 8 pilot regions for ecological connectivity in the Alps. One of these regions, the ecoregion Alpe Veglia ed Alpe Devero (Italy), has now been enlarged on both sides of the boarder in the area of the mythic Simplon.
Together the Swiss and Italian partners have started first steps to launch activities in favor of ecological connectivity following the common alpine approach developed by the Ecological Continuum Initiative and the Econnect project. 

 Besides the evaluation of the area carried out according to the criteria developed by the Platform Ecological Network of the Alpine Convention that could be finalized with success at the beginning of the year, an analysis is been realized with the online mapping tool JECAMI that will allow to define the potential of the area concerning ecological connectivity and to develop a list of concrete actions that should be started.

An important international event is planned for May 2012 that will bring together the most important actors of the area and that will also be the occasion to start the activities in synergy with all concerned sectors.

Photo description: Panoramic sight to the Alpe Veglia (village of Aione, 1752 m). In the front, an irrigation canal carved in a larch trunk. 

20 partners , representing about 60 protected areas from 6 Alpine States, will present all together on the European Day of Parks, the 24th of May 2012, the multivision show of the Alpine protected areas network ALPARC .

With the duration of about 20 minutes, the multivision is addressed to a wide public and invites everybody, through music and pictures, to discover the diversity of the Alpine protected areas, the Alpine landscapes and cultures as well as its cultural heritage.

The 20 project partners will organise from the 24th of May on, a projection of the multivision show in their regions, especially during the following summer months. An Alpine-wide presentation of the multivison is planned for the Alpine Week , in September 2012. 

 Please notice that the multivison will be placed at the disposal of all protected areas of the ALPARC network for projection in each information centre and during events.

For further information or questions, please contact: marie.stoeckel@alparc.org 

 The nature park Weißbach is situated between Loferer, Leoganger and Reiter Steinbergen in the region of Salzburg (A) and is bounded to the nature reserve “Northern Kalkhochalpen” on the Salzburg side and to Bavaria by the national park and, respectively, by the biosphere reserve Berchtesgaden .

In 2011, the XI Alpine Conference nominated this alliance of the protected areas „Berchtesgaden-Salzburg” as a pilot region for the ecological Alpine network. The trans-boundary cooperation between protected areas is an important aspect and is shown in various projects like cross-border hiking events or common design of information points in the border area.  

The nature park and its alpine pastures

 Next to the natural monument Seisenbergklamm, the significant landscape elements are different types of mountain forest, Alpine pastures and rock heaps.

In this landscape mosaic of the nature park, which was created in 2007, you can find many species, partly protected, of animals and plants as various types of gentian and orchids (yellow gentian as the basis for the traditional Kallbrunner gentian schnapps), different butterfly species (Apollo) or the Golden Eagle.

The Alpine pastures are farmed for more than 600 years and are the fundament of local products and sustainable tourist offers. Characteristic for this region are the agricultural communities of Bavarian farmers and those of the Salzburg area. In cooperation with the nature park, they developed the information point on the Alpine pasture Kallbrunn and guided theme hikes. Furthermore the community offers culinary events as the Alpine pasture cheese Kallbrunn.  

Next to the awareness raising measures as the visitors program and a nature workshop, the association of the nature park Weissbach strengths, since 2011, the cooperation with its disseminators. Local and organic farmers, selected by special criteria, support the idea of the Nature Park and use the weekly market day, established in January 2012, as a communication platform between producers and consumers.

Park's identity card

 Since 2008, the French National Parks and the insurance company GMF are working together on a program to adapt the accessibility of the French national parks and taking into account the four different groups of disabled persons: physically, mental or visually handicapped and deaf-and-dump persons.

This ambitious program today includes 9 French National Parks:

• Modification of information centers and their entries and recreation areas
• Adaptation of some paths, view - and observation points
• Development of educational strategies for environmental education, to explore the area on certain routes

A video report, 10 minutes long, shows you different implementation measures and facilities in French national parks:

Take a look at the video report!

The video is only available in French. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by the images, the video shows interesting opportunities for accessibility.

Zoom on the 3 Alpine national parks:

• A section of the video concerning the Vanoise national park, 1 min 40.

• A section of the video concerning the Ecrins national park, 1 min 40.

• A section of the video concerning the Mercantour national park, 1 min 42.

Source : The french national parks http://www.parcsnationaux.fr 

Links

• Dossier de presse: « La nature en partage ». Les parcs nationaux de France accessibles à tous avec la GMF
• Parcs nationaux de France 

It's already 17 years that rangers of protected areas from the Alps meet up every year to commemorate the death of one of their colleagues, Danilo Re, who died in service. This event represents an opportunity to exchange, to meet, to consider partnership projects... or just to feel "united": together for the Alps!
This year was the Park of Adamello (I) the host of this important Alps event. 39 teams from different alpine parks, and beyond, have enthusiastically participated in a rich and varied program!
The team of the Swiss National Park is who won the sports competition, followed by the National Park Berchtesgaden (D) and the Triglav National Park (SLO)

The Paths of the Alps: signposting, maintenance and safety

The thematic meeting , one of the highlights of this event, was this year focused on the "Paths of the Alps: signposting, maintenance and safety". A topic that has been dealt with different points of view and which allowed participants to have a more overall view about how alpine paths are maintained, managed and restored, providing new ideas and concrete examples too.
Several rangers have stressed the importance of security as a central theme of their work. It has been regrettably noted that hikers in mountains have lost the “sense of risk” and that they tend, in case of accident, to bear the responsibility to the managers of protected areas. People have to learn to live in the mountains with natural hazards! This is an important mission for the rangers, who have the opportunity to raise awareness of families in this direction.

Les résultats 

 Here below you will find some summaries of the interventions, the results for each sport, the overall ranking and the link to the photo gallery of this event. All PowerPoint presentations will be downloadable from the website: www.danilo-re.net

… See you in 2013!

We are waiting for you, numerous, for the edition in 2013, which will be held in the National Park of Vanoise (F).