Articles
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K2: Environmental impact of anniversary treks
To mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the K2 summit in the Himalayas the Italian Alpine Association is organising several treks to the mountain's base camps. Up to 60,000 people are expected to pass through some of the intermediate camps this year. The problems this causes include the insufficiently rapid degradation of biological waste at high altitude, the pollution of rivers, or damage to the vegetation through the gathering of firewood. A number of expeditions are also to make greater use of helicopters.
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Invitation to compete for the International Environment Award
Exemplary environmental protection projects from all over the world that are closely linked to tourism are eligible for the International Environment Award. The Award is presented each year by the German Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators.
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Project launch: Study of persistent organic pollutants in the Alps
Very little is known to date about the actual extent of the threat to the Alps caused by persistent highly toxic environmental pollutants, also known as POP chemicals. However initial studies suggest that they do represent a burden on the Alps, especially since POPs tend to deposit in cold areas such as mountain regions.
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Environmental management for the Everest region
The University of Torino/I and the Ev-K2-CNR Committee are currently conducting an international co-operation project called "Everest: A Remedy Against Damage Caused by Tourism" in the Everest region of Nepal. The aim is to develop an environmental management methodology to be able to lessen the negative impact of the 70,000 or so western tourists a year in the sensitive eco-systems of the Everest region.
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Projects to protect bearded vultures and golden eagles show positive results
The species preservation projects "Golden Eagles in the Eastern Alps" and "Resettlement of Bearded Vultures in the Alps" were presented on 26 March as part of the 16th National Park Weeks at the Hohe Tauern National Park in Salzburg/A.
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St Moritz: the AlpenAkademie and a tourism, energy and agriculture alliance
The Swiss region of Engadine/St Moritz is focusing on the appeal of educational tourism, with the founding of the AlpenAkademie by the Academia Engiadina. A range of offers including language and computer courses as well as tourism, tour guide and management studies are already in place, and others are in preparation.
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World Water Day: Calls for waterway conservation and a stop to deregulation
The motto for this year's International Water Day on March 22 was "Water and Natural Catastrophes". A number of organisations seized the day to put forward their demands for better water conservation.
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Early warning system for wolves
The New York Wildlife Conservation Society has developed an early warning system for wolf attacks to help prevent conflicts between man and beast, and as a result also protect the wolves.
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Preserving priority areas of the Alps
At the UN Conference on Biological Diversity in Kuala Lumpur the WWF presented a study identifying 23 priority areas of the Alps. The alpine study in five languages was drawn up by the WWF, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA), the Network of Alpine Protected Areas and the International Scientific Committee for Alpine Research (ISCAR) with the help of a hundred experts from 90 institutions and bodies.
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The Role of NGOs in Mountain Regions
The conference book of the 2002 Yearly Symposium of the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) in Schaan/Liechtenstein has just been published. Marking the occasion of CIPRA's 50th anniversary the Symposium focused on the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in mountain regions.