ALPARC
| ALPARC The network of Alpine protected areas |
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| founding | 1995 |
| motto | Together for the Alps |
| main emphasis | Alpine Convention |
| Action space | 190,000 km² |
| Members | 10 biosphere reserves, 14 national parks, 70 nature and regional parks, 300 nature reserves, 900 protected areas with an area of over 100 ha |
| Website | www.alparc.org |
ALPARC - Network of Alpine Protected Areas is an association of large protected areas in the catchment area of the Alpine Convention . Since 1995 this network has enabled an exchange between the alpine national parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves, quiet zones and other forms of protection, with the participation of other nature conservation institutions, local actors, the population and scientists. Its goal is the concrete implementation of the article “Nature Conservation and Landscape Management” of the Alpine Convention. The signatory states to this international agreement are Germany , France , Italy , the principalities of Liechtenstein and Monaco , Austria , Switzerland and Slovenia .
history
In 1994 France proposed the creation of a European network of Alpine protected areas. In 1995 the first international conference of alpine protected areas was organized by the Écrins National Park . In 2000 the Network of Alpine Protected Areas was recognized as an instrument for applying the Alpine Convention. The constitution of the rules of procedure of the network of Alpine protected areas was decided. Two years later, in 2002, a conference of the protected areas of European mountain regions followed. In 2004, the Standing Committee of the Alpine Convention commissioned the Network of Alpine Protected Areas with a study of ecological corridors and cross-border protected areas. In 2006, the ALPARC coordination unit was incorporated into the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention as a task force for protected areas.
Goals and focus of work
The network of Alpine Protected Areas aims to promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and methods between Alpine Protected Area Managers. The main areas of action within the ALPARC network:
Thematic network
The thematic network has been the main task of the ALPARC network since its inception to enable the exchange between the personnel of the protected areas about practices, know-how and experience on common topics, throughout the Alpine region, beyond linguistic and administrative barriers. It therefore aims at a regular technical exchange between administrators of the protected areas and other participating organizations, through conferences, colloquia and thematic education, collection of “best practice” and other means of communication (Internet / extranet). The thematic network is based on working groups, the number of which changes as required. These groups work on specific projects, such as the reintroduction or monitoring of faunal species, the policy of receiving and managing tourist flows, joint communication and management of the protected areas or also on measures against climate change (soft mobility, ecological building); they can also initiate the creation of international projects (Life Gypaète, Interreg, Habitalp and Alpencom etc.) or joint productions (traveling exhibitions, joint communication tools).
Ecological network
The creation of an ecological network through the connection of protected areas by means of ecological corridors, contractual nature conservation measures and sustainable spatial planning is one of the central goals of the Alpine Network and the Alpine Convention. In 2004, the Standing Committee of the Alpine Convention commissioned the Network of Alpine Protected Areas with a study of the existing national and cross-border connections between protected areas. The results of this study show the potential in the Alps for the creation of an actual “ecological continuum” that is intended to safeguard Alpine biodiversity in the long term and allow species to migrate within the Alps and between them and the adjacent mountain regions. Since 2006, the Alpine Convention has set up a working group on the "Ecological Network Platform" for this purpose. ALPARC, represented by the Protected Areas Task Force, and other international partners ( CIPRA International ; Research Committee of the Alpine Convention ISCAR, WWF ) are actively involved in this process and ALPARC works directly with the protected areas on site for the implementation of this future-oriented project.
Network of communication
ALPARC also aims to raise awareness and inform the public and the local population about the importance of nature and culture in the Alps and the need to protect them. For this purpose, ALPARC and its communication working group, with the help of the Protected Areas Task Force, have defined a joint communication strategy for the Alpine protected areas and a graphic appearance for the joint communication media. ALPARC creates various instruments or actions for common communication for all protected areas of its network: a common internet portal, publications, traveling exhibitions (mythical mountains, return of the wilderness, information stands), common means of communication for the public (postcards, leaflets) and “ViViAlp - The Alps from the Air ”, a virtual visit to the protected areas through the Alps, which has been available in visitor centers in the Alps since 2008, and also via Google Earth .
organization
ALPARC is above all an informal network in which all protected areas within the scope of the Alpine Convention are automatically members, on the basis of voluntary cooperation. In 2011 there are almost 1000 protected areas. This corresponds to about 25% of the Alps. The network was set up to carry out joint projects, exchange technical knowledge, evaluate the efficiency of management methods, and organize meetings and events on various topics ranging from fauna management to climate change.
The ALPARC work is carried out as far as possible in the four main Alpine languages.
Coordination unit
The ALPARC network has been animated and managed since 1995 by its coordinating unit, which has its office in France. This team was administered by the Ecrins National Park until June 2006, since then it has belonged to the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention under the name of the "Task Force Protected Areas". The multilingual team consists of 5 people and additional employees. The coordination unit - Task Force Protected Areas of the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention - carries out joint projects with the protected areas, organizes conferences, colloquia, workshops and encounters and, with the support of the other partners, develops the publications, translations and exhibitions of the Alpine Network. It also prepares the meetings of the International Steering Committee and holds the General Assembly every two years in cooperation with a partner protected area.
Contribution to the Alpine Convention
ALPARC's activities correspond to the framework of the Alpine Convention and its articles. They are determined by the International Steering Committee, made up of representatives of the protected areas from all Alpine countries, and then adopted by the Standing Committee of the Alpine Convention. ALPARC cooperates directly with the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention through the Protected Areas Task Force in all areas relating to the protected areas . Its basic task relates to Article 12 of the Protocol “Nature Conservation and Landscape Management” of the Alpine Convention: “ The contracting parties take the appropriate measures to create a national and cross-border association of designated protected areas, biotopes and other protected or worthy of protection objects. You undertake to coordinate the goals and measures for cross-border protected areas . "
Cooperation with the protected areas of the Carpathian Mountains
The initiative to found a network of protected areas similar to that of the Alps was supported by ALPARC from the beginning in 2003. The experience gained in the management of protected areas in the massifs of the Carpathians and the Alps allow an exchange between the nature conservation officers of both massifs. Some topics were already raised at the meetings in 2004 and 2006, such as a. the “establishment and management of NATURA 2000 areas” and the theme “integrated management of protected areas, tourism and sustainable development in protected areas”. The Carpathian Network of Protected Areas (CNPA) was established in December 2006 at the Ministerial Conference in Kiev. In order to facilitate the exchange within this facility, ALPARC has created various means of communication, such as: B. Press releases , information brochures and the homepage.
The establishment of a coordination point of the Carpathian network is intended to strengthen the exchange between the protected areas of the two massifs. The main focus is on the management of wild fauna and large predators, forest management, livestock and agriculture, environmental education and the establishment of an ecological continuum between the two massifs.
Publications
Files
- 2006 - Conference files No. 6: The Alpine Carpathian Cooperation of Protected Areas (Workshop proceedings)
- 2005 - Final report: Seminar “Creating an ecological network of protected areas”
- 2004 - Conference Act No. 5: Alpine Protected Areas, Nodes of Ecology and Communication
- 2003 - Conference Act No. 4: Nature Experience in Protected Areas
- 2002 - Conference Act No. 3: Colloquium Ungulates - Ibex and Chamois
- 2001 - Conference files No. 2: Alpine farming
- 2000 - Conference Act No. 1: Wildlife and Alpine Convention
brochures
- 10/2010 - Biodiversity in time of climate change: management or wilderness?
- 01/2010 - nature without borders
- 09/2009 - Big predators in the Alps and Carpathians: living together with bears, wolves and lynxes
- 03/2009 - CNPA: A contribution to the international cooperation strategy
- 2008 - Trains, shuttle buses and carriages replace cars
- 2007 - The Alps under pressure
- 2007 - The network of protected areas in the Carpathian Mountains
- 2005 - Communication Products Catalog
Books
- 2005 - The Alpine Protected Areas: a fantastic world
- 2004 - Catalog Mythical Mountains
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The organization of the network ALPARC ( Memento of January 6, 2014 Internet Archive )
- ^ The Alpine Convention: Manual for its implementation. (PDF) Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, 2007, accessed on January 5, 2014 .