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A volunteer is sought to assume complete editorial control of the Club’s quarterly Newsletter from the end of 2011, soliciting content, selecting that which is most appropriate, liaising with our proof-reader and interfacing directly with the graphics designer who takes care of layout. If this challenge is of genuine interest to you, please contact the Club Secretary via the AAC(UK) Office for further details.  

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Die Alpen im Wuergegriff - Disarray in the Alps

By Peter Hasslacher, Dean of Environmental Planning and Conservation.
Translated by Phil Smith

The environmentally devastating politics favouring tourism and economy cannot be silenced. The continuous development of new ski areas occupies the minds of conservationists, and if this is not enough, the alpine landscape  is threatened by high-voltage power cables, roads, power stations and wind farms.

Just as the conflict over large developments in the Alps intensifies, people are beginning to notice the problem. The most appropriate maxim seems to be ‘Accept the need for conservation in the Alps, but ignore conservation!’  Friedrich Schiller's passage from Wallenstein's Death 2.2 comes to mind:

The world is small; the mind is broad,
Thoughts and ideas may coexist with ease,
But things and objects must fight for space,
Where one takes a seat, the other must move aside,
So struggle unfolds, and only the strongest wins.

Once again, we have that tormenting feeling of helplessness, when all the mechanisms supposedly established to protect nature are exhausted and the power of 'cable car economics', coupled with local politics becomes clear. It is obvious  that opportunities for new developments are more readily available than in previous years.

The Recovery of the Countryside in turmoil

The development of ski facilities is only one part of the problem that places a bur- den on the countryside. There are also power cables, roads, footpaths, water power installations and wind farms. This has the effect of carving up both open space and living areas, further eroding the typical alpine scenery and transforming it to 'just another location'.  There is no consideration for the landscape's effect on identity and the sense of homeliness, which is of local and national importance. The insidious undermining  of this general well-being and the failure to consider the future of the Alps holistically poses a great danger to the mountains' future.

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Last updated 26 April 2011