Alpine Convention

The Alpine Convention (AC ), formally the Convention for the Protection of the Alps, is an international agreement on the comprehensive protection and sustainable development of the Alps. Headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the Convention Innsbruck, a branch is made to the EURAC in Bolzano. The Alpine Conference is the regular meeting of the Parties.

History

Adopted in 1989, the Alpine countries and the European Economic Community on the first Alpine Conference ( 9 to 11 October 1989) in Berchtesgaden ( Bavaria ) the Berchtesgaden resolution that expresses the will to common framework conventions for the development of the Alpine region. On 7 November 1991, the Framework Convention by the Environment Ministers of the Alpine countries at the second meeting of the Conference in Salzburg ( Austria ) was signed.

The signatories were:

  • European Economic Community, the legal successor to the European Union since 1993 ( license 1996)
  • Germany ( ratified in 1994 )
  • France (ratified in 1995)
  • Italy (ratified in 1999)
  • Liechtenstein ( ratified in 1994 )
  • Austria ( ratified in 1994 )
  • Switzerland (ratified in 1998)
  • Slovenia was founded in 1991 as a state and the Framework Agreement signed in 1993 (ratified in 1995).
  • Monaco signed in 1994 and entered the Alpine Convention, 1999 (ratified in 1999)

These eight states are now called Alpine countries (or countries bordering the Alps ).

During their preparation, Yugoslavia also was involved, the signing but not because of its resolution in individual states.

In contrast to the decisions of the Alps countries (Arge Alp ), in which the regional government can only issue recommendations, the Alpine Convention and its protocols legally binding treaties. You must be ratified by the parliaments according to the contractor listed above.

However, the Bavarian Administrative Court ruled in September 2012 that the Alpine Convention was not directly applicable law, and had a civil suit against the reduction of a conservation area from which had relied on the prohibition of deterioration of the Alpine Convention.

Content

In the general nature of the Framework Convention, which has now been ratified by all the Contracting Parties, the Contracting Parties undertake to concretize the objectives of the Alpine Convention so -called implementing protocols - so far there are nine - to work out. These specialized protocols have been ratified by Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. France has ratified 2005, all protocols, Monaco and Italy, some of the protocols. In the EU, the ratification is in testing for some time. In Switzerland, the protocols are in part highly controversial. There are reports on the following topics:

  • Nature Conservation and Landscape Management
  • Mountain farming
  • Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development
  • Mountain forest
  • Tourism
  • Energy
  • Soil protection
  • Traffic
  • Dispute settlement

Since 2006, two ministerial declarations on specific themes have been adopted:

  • Declaration population and culture
  • Declaration on climate change

Organization

Since 2003, the Alpine Convention has a Permanent Secretariat, which has its headquarters in Innsbruck with a branch office in Bolzano. Following a resolution of the Conference of December 4, 2012 Markus Reiterer was appointed Secretary General of the Alpine Convention. The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention

  • Supports the organs of the Alpine Convention administratively and technically
  • Communicates the Convention, its protocols and their implementation
  • Alpine coordinated research projects
  • Participates in the implementation of the Alpine Convention and its Protocols compliance
  • Manages the Alps Monitoring and Information System
  • Translates and interprets

The Presidency of the Alpine Convention alternates every two years from 2004 to 2006, Austria in the chair. In the years 2007 and 2008 this was taken over by France. This was followed by Slovenia (2009-2011) and Switzerland (2011/ 2012). Currently Italy has presided

The Alpine Convention has 11 official observer organizations. The most active is the International CIPRA ( Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes), which has been the development of a Alpine Convention called for when it was founded in 1952 by the Alpine countries. On the website of CIPRA to find much information about the Alpine Convention, an overview of the status of ratification of the Convention and protocols as well as the original texts in the four convention languages ​​German, French, Italian and Slovenian.

Alpine Conference

The Conference of the Parties ( Alpine Conference Conférence alpine ) is the decision- making body of the Convention. It summarizes the decisions by consensual voting procedures. The tasks of this body include topics on which the Parties have a common interest and aspects of cooperation. In this sense, the Contracting Parties of the Alpine Conference shall provide information with respect to those measures that have been applied by the partners for the implementation of the present Convention and the Protocols. As a rule, find the regular meetings of this body every two years at that Party instead, which chaired the Convention.

During the meeting, the institution may decide to convene working groups, which are deemed necessary for the implementation of the Convention. In this case, the institution takes into account the findings of scientific activities. The institution has an internal Rules of Procedure and also summarizes the necessary decisions in the financial field.

Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention

In 2006 took place in Innsbruck, Austria, on the initiative of the Academic Gymnasium Innsbruck and the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention, the first Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention ( Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention ) held that a further conference convenes out annually. It will convene students of the Alpine Convention, States, and discuss issues affecting the inhabitants of the Alps in particular.

Venues:

  • 2006 - Innsbruck, Austria - Innsbruck Academic High School
  • 2007 - Innsbruck, Austria - Innsbruck Academic High School
  • 2008 - Maribor, Slovenia - Maribor Druga Gimnazija
  • 2009 - Merano, Italy - FOS Marie Curie
Soil conservation Bled Lucerne Alpbach Brdo Castle near Kranj Poschiavo Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck Alliance in the Alps Via Alpina
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