Slovenian Presidency of the Alpine Convention
At the XVII Alpine Conference (27 October 2022), Slovenia took over the presidency of the Alpine Convention for the period 2023-2024 from Switzerland. The focus of the Slovenian presidency, in close cooperation with the other Contracting Parties, the Observers, and the Permanent Secretariat, was to promote the topic of quality of life in the Alps.
During its two-year presidency, Slovenia focused on three priority areas: quality of life as the main topic, environmental education with an emphasis on climate change, and biodiversity.
- Through activities in these thematic areas, the Slovenian Presidency contributed to the implementation of the three priorities of the Multi-Annual Work Programme of the Alpine Conference 2023-2030: conserving and valuing Alpine biodiversity and ecosystems, taking ambitious climate action, and enabling a good quality of life for the people in the Alps.
- Quality of life has not yet been comprehensively addressed within the framework of the Alpine Convention, although it is addressed by both the Framework Convention and the Declaration "Population and Culture". Quality of life emphasises the need to balance economic interests with environmental conditions, ensuring the basics for the standard of living of the Alpine population. This includes preserving living spaces, quality of life, and equal opportunities for people living in the Alps. Slovenia took a step forward in this regard through its steering of the elaboration of the 10th Report on the State of the Alps (RSA 10) and background study to further the Alpine Convention’s knowledge on quality of life in the Alps. The RSA 10 with recommendations for future work was approved by the Alpine Conference on 22 January 2025.
- Educators are important stakeholders in the implementation of the Alpine Convention’s climate goals and its Climate Action Plan 2.0. Slovenia therefore strived to highlight the inclusion of climate change in formal education, with an emphasis on experiential learning in nature, and to encourage possible future cooperation in this area. In addition to the conference on the topic (more information below), the Presidency collected good practice examples in the field of climate change education in Alpine schools and asked an external expert to prepare an analysis of the activities carried out in the field. This supported the preparation of ministerial Recommendations on climate change education in the Alps that were adopted by the XVIII Alpine Conference.
- Alpine biodiversity and efforts on the topic are important both at the level of the Alps and at the wider regional and global level. Slovenia therefore wished to highlight the original contribution of the Alpine Convention to the implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework). The Presidency elaborated a Policy Brief on Biodiversity in the Alps based on two main milestones: an input paper that was discussed at the 77th meeting of the Permanent Committee and the Alpine Biodiversity Conference (see below). The Policy Brief revealed four thematic areas important for biodiversity (conservation, connectivity, restoration, and monitoring) with recommendations for each. It was adopted by the XVIII Alpine Conference on 22 January 2025 and offers strategic guidance for the preparation of an Alpine Biodiversity Action Plan.
In connection with these topics, the Slovenian presidency led and supported the following activities
- The elaboration of the 10th Report on the State of the Alps on quality of life, which was adopted by the XVIII Alpine Conference. In cooperation with the Contracting Parties, Observers, Thematic Working Bodies and stakeholders, a comprehensive review of the situation was prepared. The findings and recommendations can now serve as a guide for further activities as part of the implementation of the Multi-Annual Work Programme 2023-2030 in this priority area.
- A conference on environmental education with an emphasis on climate change was organised from 28 to 29 September in Bohinj, Slovenia, under the title "Schools for climate action in the Alps". The presentations and outputs from the conference are available here.
- In the framework of the climate change topic and youth activities, Slovenia supported the YOALIN project, which raises awareness about sustainable forms of travel among young people and contributes to the goals of decarbonising transport in the Alps as per the Simplon Alliance agreement. The YOALIN launch event was held from 23 to 25 June 2023 in Bohinj, Slovenia, the 2024 edition was kicked-off in Ljubljana from 28-30 June 2024.
- The 2023 edition of the Alpine Convention Photo Contest was supported by the Presidency. The topic was “From pasture to plate” and aimed to showcase the diversity of Alpine food heritage. The Presidency also supported the 2024 edition of the Photo Contest themed "Life beneath the canopies".
- The pan-Alpine network of Mountaineering Villages came together in Slovenia from 31 May to 2 June 2024 for its annual meeting on the topic of cultural heritage. By preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the Mountaineering Villages strive to strengthen both the tourism offer as well as local identities associated with belonging to the Alpine area and the quality of life of the population. The Constructive Alps exhibition – the sixth travelling exhibition showcasing sustainable renovation and construction – also drew attention to these aspects.
- From 12 to 14 June 2024, a conference on biodiversity was organised with an emphasis on the Alpine Convention’s contributions to the implementation of the global framework for biodiversity after 2020. The Convention's work in this field will be a point of departure to discuss future activities. The conference was organised back-to-back with the ForumAlpinum which outlined the scientific research on Alpine biodiversity and geodiversity. Find out more about the conference and the results in the padlet.
- Responding to changes in the environment (e.g. climate change, biodiversity loss) and their role in quality of life was also the topic of the Young Academics Award, which was supported by the Slovenian Presidency in cooperation with ISCAR and the prizes were awarded on 21 January 2025 in the framework of the Alpine Conference in Brdo pri Kranju (SI). The winners are published here.
- The Presidency supported the organisation of the Alpweek by the Alpine Convention Observers, which took place from 23 to 25 September 2024 in Nova Gorica.
The Slovenian Presidency concluded with the XVIII Alpine Conference on 22 January 2025 in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia. The political debate at the conference tackled the pressing issue of natural disasters in a view of quality of life (How can we prevent natural disasters to compromise the quality of life in the Alps?). The Slovenian Presidency also produced key messages to strengthen the resilience of the Alps.
The presidency was handed over to Italy at the XVIII Alpine Conference.