AlpsLife
The Interreg Alpine Space project AlpsLife: Protect Alpine Life by monitoring and managing Alpine biodiversity for the future. “Observing globally, acting locally” aims to develop a harmonized system for the monitoring and management of biodiversity on an Alpine scale with the aim of ensuring its effective protection in the long term
The climate crisis and growing anthropic pressures constitute a serious threat to the flora and fauna of the Alpine Region, an important biodiversity hotspot.
In this transboundary context, coordination and cooperation at Alpine level represent fundamental elements to ensure the effectiveness of current and future conservation actions. One of the main challenges is represented by the diversity of biodiversity monitoring systems in Alpine countries. Ensuring interoperability and harmonizing the use of existing ecological indicators is fundamental to identify priority areas, to define appropriate restoration or conservation measures, and to effectively support political decisions.
In this framework, the AlpsLife project aims to identify the most appropriate indicators for the Alpine Region, testing them to adapt them to the environmental regulations of the various countries. The research groups of Eurac Research in Bolzano (project leader), the University of Innsbruck and ISPRA are working on this project together with the Alpine Protected Areas Network ALPARC, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA International Lab) and to some Alpine protected areas (for Italy the Gran Paradiso National Park and the Stelvio National Park).
As part of the project, ISPRA deals with the identification of indices/indicator species and the analysis of existing monitoring schemes, as well as the identification of areas with the greatest potential for restoration and/or conservation actions and the definition of guidelines for early warning for biodiversity.