News

Alpine conference in Germany

13.10.2016

The XIV Alpine Conference is taking place in Grassau, Germany on 13 October. This ministerial level meeting of the Contracting Parties of the Alpine Convention is the political decision-making body of the Alpine Convention. It convenes every two years and sets the course for future efforts under the Convention and its protocols. It also decides on the continuation and establishment of working groups and platforms for the next two-year period.

This XIV Alpine Conference is also the final official event of the German presidency. The German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks will present the results of the German presidency and lead a discussion among the ministers on the topic of fostering a sustainable economy in the Alps. This debate will focus on different aspects of a green and sustainable regional development, which balances economic activities and the careful use and protection of natural resources.

The representatives will moreover discuss and adopt the next Multiannual Work Programme of the Alpine Conference for the years 2017-2022, which is the central instrument to target and focus the cooperation in the framework of the Convention.
The XIV Alpine Conference will take place in parallel to AlpWeek, creating the opportunity for the representatives of the Contracting Parties and the stakeholders of AlpWeek to meet and engage in an exchange on Alpine questions in general.

Session by the German Presidency of the Alpine Convention during AlpWeek

The Presidency invites AlpWeek participants to the session “Best practice examples on land use and nature protection compatible renewable energy projects in the Alpine region”. It is part of AlpWeek 2016 and presents the results of the German Presidency project. Renewable energies play a key role in meeting the energy demands in the Alpine region. This key role needs to be gradually increased in order to successfully reach the transformation to a sustainable and CO2-neutral energy supply system. However, the implementation of renewable energy projects can go along with several spatial demands affecting natural habitats, the landscape or diverging interests of stakeholders. This can cause conflicts with nature and landscape protection, agriculture or forest management, tourism or with settlement and transport development in the Alps.

Examples of renewable energy projects from the Alpine region that have successfully avoided land use conflicts and that best protect the nature will be presented and discussed. The examples have a clear focus on renewable energy systems (biomass, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and combinations thereof) as well as smart grids and efficient energy storage.
The session is open to all AlpWeek participants. Representatives of the Contracting Parties and Observers of the Alpine Convention are kindly invited. The event will held in French, German, Italian and Slovenian.

Exhibition “Alpine Space in Future“

The Travelling Exhibition “Alpine Space in Future“, developed by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, identifies with which measures the protocol “Spatial planning and sustainable development” is implemented and shows concepts for a modern Alpine region. It offers interesting information and advice on how actors and citizens can support this approach.

The exhibition will be opened during AlpWeek on 12 October in the Golf Resort Achental, by the State Secretary Rainer Bomba of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. Thereafter, the exhibition will be on view in Berchtesgaden and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

News and photo by the Alpine Convention