The Alps: Europe’s cherished but endangered mountains

News Published 09 Sep 2009 Last modified 21 Jun 2016
As the ‘water towers of Europe’, the Alps play a crucial role in sustaining the social and economic wellbeing of millions of people living in vast lowland areas. A complex and vulnerable ecosystem, they represent Europe’s central landmark.

Troublingly, a report released today by the European Environment Agency concludes that global climate change poses a grave threat to the alpine hydrological system, altering precipitation, snow-cover patterns and glaciers, with further effects downstream. Hosting most of the headwaters of the rivers Danube, Rhine, Po and Rhone, the Alps are also exposed to increasing demand for water to satisfy the needs of agriculture and the tourism sector.

The EEA report calls on public and private actors at the regional and local levels to better coordinate water and land use and to share water resources more efficiently across sectors. Success factors for implementing adaptation include technological measures (such as improved irrigation techniques or wastewater and greywater re-use), initiatives to manage water demand (such as awareness raising and reducing water use by households) and ensuring full participation and empowerment of regional and local actors.

To supplement the broad projections of more frequent droughts in summer, floods and landslides in winter and higher inter-annual variability of precipitation, the report presents six case studies that illustrate experiences of regional adaptation to key water resource issues related to climate change in Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland. Together, they provide valuable insights into the forces that promote or obstruct adaptation and the types of measures that have proven successful.

The Alps and the report’s case studies  

The Alps and the report’s case studies map


 

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Regional climate change and adaptation — The Alps facing the challenge of changing water resources Regional climate change and adaptation — The Alps facing the challenge of changing water resources Drawing on the most recent knowledge of climate change impacts in the Alps and experiences across the region, this report analyses the risks that climate change presents to the region's water supply and quality, identifying needs, constraints, opportunities, policy levers and options for adaptation. It extracts policy guidance on adaptation practice and aims to assist regional and local stakeholders in developing robust adaptation strategies. The focus of the report is on water resources and related adaptation, rather than water-related extreme events like floods, avalanches, landslides or mudflows, which are already well covered by existing studies of climate change impacts in the Alps.
EEA Signals 2009 - Key environmental issues facing Europe EEA Signals 2009 - Key environmental issues facing Europe Signals is published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) at the start of each year and provides snapshot stories on issues of interest both to the environmental policy debate and the wider public for the upcoming year. The eight stories addressed are not exhaustive but have been selected on the basis of their relevance to the current environmental policy debate in Europe. They address priority issues of climate change, nature and biodiversity, the use of natural resources and health.
Impacts of Europe's changing climate - 2008 indicator-based assessment Impacts of Europe's changing climate - 2008 indicator-based assessment This report is an update and extension of the 2004 EEA Report Impacts of Europe's changing climate. The main part of this report summarises the relevance, past trends and future projections for about 40 indicators (from 22 in the 2004 report). The report also addresses adaptation and the economics of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies and policies, and data availability and uncertainty.

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For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/the-alps-europe2019s-cherished-but-endangered-mountains or scan the QR code.

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