working group
Why do the Alps need an International Year?

The UN General Assembly has declared 2002 the International Year of the Mountains in order to increase international awareness of the importance of mountain ecosystems.
This International Year of the Mountains 2002:
· Recognizes mountain areas as important planetary water towers and habitat of biodiversity and cultural heritage.
· Puts managing the fragile mountain ecosystems on equal footing with climate change, topical deforestation and desertification.
· Promotes the conservation and sustainable development of montain regions to ensure the wellbeing of mountain and lowland communities.
(more information: www.mountains2002.org and www.yearofmouuntains.ca )

Our Europeen Alps are under high pressure. The fragile ecosystems in the Alps and the living space of the Alpine population are endangered because of transport and the air, water, soil and noise pollutions it entails, massive tourisme, uncontrolled development. We need to sensibilize citizens all over Europe about the importance of the Alps as a water reservoir for a large part of Europe, as habitat of biodiversity and cultural heritage, as living space not only for humans, but also for endemic animals and plants.

· Presentation of speaker and chair
· What do "Mountains" and "Alps" mean to you?
· Presentation of the Alps: biodiversity, european waterreservoir, living space
· The problems: trafic, transport and the tunnels, pollution, excessive tourisme, etc
· Renate Zauner, chairperson of ITE - Initiative Transports Europe presents: "Pointless transport".
· Presentation of the Alpine convention (info www.cipra.org)
· Discussion: what can we do to improve the situation?
· Manifestations planned during the International Year of the Mountains 2002.

Marie Schaffer, EFGP committee
schaffer@vtx.ch