Winter is starting to show itself in the Alps, the thermometers are dropping, and the days are getting shorter – as is the time before the XVIII Alpine Conference (ACXVIII) in January! The Slovenian Presidency, the Permanent Secretariat, and the other Contracting Parties and Observer organisations have been busy making sure everything for the ministerial conference will be ready on time.
The 79th meeting of the Permanent Committee to the Alpine Conference in Nova Gorica (SI) was the chance to finalise documents and prepare the decisions of the Alpine Conference. Delegates from the Contracting Parties and Observer organisations met from 5 to 6 November to discuss numerous issues, starting with the conclusion of the products and work of the Slovenian Presidency. Over the past two years, Slovenia has focused on three areas: quality of life, climate change education in the Alps, and biodiversity.
On quality of life, the Chair of the ad hoc Working Group on the 10th Report on the State of the Alps (RSA 10) gave a final report to the Permanent Committee. The aim of the RSA was to tackle the topic of quality of life for the first time in the framework of the Alpine Convention. The report identifies major challenges, topics, and other elements that shape Alpine residents’ quality of life and presents recommendations to contribute to the implementation of the third priority of the Multi-Annual Work Programme 2023-2030.
For the climate change education priority, the Slovenian Presidency collected and presented existing good practice examples on climate change education in schools across the Alps. Various discussions and an international conference served as the foundation for a set of recommendations on the importance of climate change education, which will be submitted to the Alpine Conference.
The main output in the third priority area is a policy brief on biodiversity in the Alps, which provides guidance for the future work on biodiversity in the framework of the Alpine Convention and to which a second international thematic conference also gave inputs. It outlines a common vision for the implementation of global biodiversity targets in the Alps, formulated around recommendations in four themes: conservation, connectivity, restoration, monitoring. It is foreseen to develop further implementation steps in an Alpine Biodiversity Action Plan to be prepared by the Alpine Biodiversity Board in the next two years, under the Italian Presidency of the Alpine Convention.
Following the conclusion of the Slovenian Presidency priority topics, the Permanent Committee delegates received an overview of the wealth of activities carried out by the Thematic Working Bodies during their current mandates (2023-2024). During the Slovenian Presidency, nine Thematic Working Bodies were active, and each met several times each year and prepared a wealth of outputs. These include webinars and workshops, reports, and participation in Interreg Alpine Space projects. Many of these were developed in cross-sectoral cooperation between several of the Thematic Working Bodies, and with further partners. The future mandates (2025-2026) of the Thematic Working Bodies were also discussed and put forward for approval at the ACXVIII.
The Permanent Committee also received more information about the priorities of the upcoming Italian Presidency of the Alpine Convention for 2025 and 2026. The Italian Delegation presented its preliminary programme, whose main themes will include the preservation of Alpine biodiversity, climate change adaptation, Alpine culture, and cooperation with other mountain regions, as well as the next Report on the State of the Alps (RSA 11) on Alpine glaciers, permafrost, and the water cycle.
