AlpES

Ecosystems and their services go beyond national borders and need a transnational approach for their dynamic protection, sustainable use, management and risk prevention. As a basis for joint action, public authorities, policy makers, NGOs, researchers and economic actors – the AlpES target groups – need a common understanding of ecosystem services, comparable information on their status and support in using appropriate tools for integrating them in their fields of work. The AlpES project’s overall objective is to introduce ecosystem services as a regional/transnational environmental governance framework.

Different key actors from the Alpine Space will be involved in the project development. In close collaboration with stakeholders, AlpES will

1. develop an Alpine ecosystem services concept,
2. carry out a mapping and assessment of ecosystem services for the Alpine Space area,
3. make the results available on the internet to the stakeholders for analytical purposes, and
4. ensure a multi-level and cross-sectoral transfer of AlpES results to the stakeholders via innovative, tailored and transferable learning tools and targeted activities.

In order to accomplish these goals, AlpES develops an interactive, internet based Geographic Information System (WebGIS), integrates the already existing Wiki WIKIAlps into the project, and organizes workshops.

Ten partner institutes from 6 Alpine countries, led by the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC), participate in the AlpES project. The Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research is responsible in the AlpES project for the development of an interactive and interoperable WebGIS and for providing technical structure and support for updating WIKIAlps. The IGF also contributes to the technical development of an e-learning tool in the AlpES project.