Protected areas in the heart of Pilot Regions

Most Pilot Regions are made up of several protected ar-eas and other zones situated between and around these areas. In almost all cases the protected area managing authorities, for example the national park administra-tions, are acting as the coordinating and moderating institutions. This approach is based on the considera-tion that usually protected areas in the Pilot Regions have various distinguished links and interactions with the surrounding areas and relevant regional actors.

The Pilot Region approach was shown to be a sound way to bring cooperation and coordination between private and public actors forward. Beyond support-ing local implementations of individual conservation arrangements, in almost all Pilot Regions networks could be built where measures, management plans and projects between the cooperation partners were coordinated. As a holistic approach it pays attention to other policy sectors like spatial development, economic activities and infrastructure. Ecological connectivity doesn’t stop at administrative borders, nor does it ex-ist in protected areas only: the Pilot Region approach takes this knowledge into account. Pilot Regions allow the analysis of entire landscapes – the matrix of the ter-ritory as the research object – by collaboratively using existing structures and data in these regions.

In order to support the Pilot Regions in their efforts to analyse and understand the specific challenges con-cerning ecological connectivity in their area and define actions for conservation and restoration, an extensive planning process is proposed to them, which includes detailed habitat mapping, landscape modelling and the identification of the landscapes’ potential of connectiv-ity, to link important habitats and to ensure migration possibilities for particular species. Moreover, an intense dialogue with stakeholders and/or landowners is rec-ommended, and various tools to support this govern-ance process are offered.

During the ECONNECT project, concrete measures to enhance ecological connectivity have been chosen by every Pilot Region, thus showing that it is possible to improve ecological connectivity by targeted measures on the ground. At the same time the results of the plan-ning process will be a key element for further physical planning of the territory making sure that spaces not yet fragmented and important for migration of species

// Map 11: Official Alpine Convention Pilot Regions for Ecological Connectivity

Pilot Region Major city

Major river Water bodies

Alpine Convention perimeter National border

Official Pilot Regions for Ecological Connectivity

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Source: ALPARC work based on data from different national and regional authorities and protected area managements for Pilot Region of Ecological Connectivity perimeters; Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention for the Alpine Convention perim-eter; ©EuroGeographics EuroGlobalMap opendata (Original product is freely available) for rivers, lakes, built-up areas and lo-calities; ©EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries; European Environmental Agency/SRTM for the digital elevation model. Design: Dominik Cremer-Schulte, ALPARC-Alpine Network of Protected Areas.

Pilot Region Major city

Major river Water bodies

Alpine Convention perimeter National border

Official Pilot Regions for Ecological Connectivity

1

4 2

5 3

and special habitats will be conserved. In the Trans-boundary Area Berchtesgaden-Salzburg, the revitalisa-tion of the Saletbach improved the ecological quality of a human influenced river by supporting natural dy-namics and restoring the natural connections between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Restoration measures included also the river channel, which had been de-graded by human activity before.

In several Alpine Pilot Regions individual larger projects to improve ecological connectivity were carried out. The French department Isère, for example, launched a proc-ess to define and restore the most important biological corridors of the region in 2001 (Berthoud 2001). It was the first French department to do so and also among the first territories in the Alps to concretise such an ambitious project, the project Path of Life. A presenta-tion of the project’s results was provided in May 2015, showing not only an important investment in road crossing infrastructure for fauna migration but also important awareness raising measures and training efforts with local stakeholders. These stakeholders in-cluded farmers, who had been a particularly invested and highly involved group. The example of Isère is noteworthy among the activities in the Pilot regions, and because of its pioneer character, it is promoted as good practice example in the Pilot Region exchange.

Another point worth mentioning concerning this project is the sound scientific evaluation of the ac-tivities employed including a sociologic study of the stakeholder involvement and participation process (Observatoire social de Lyon 2013).

The example of the Austrian project NetzwerkNatur-wald illustrates the link and synergies between the activities at a local level and the pan-Alpine vision insuring the coherence of the activities throughout the Alpine mountain range. It was possible to finance this project (see box 2 and chapter 2.5), concerning the Pilot Region Northern Limestone Alps around the National Parks Kalkalpen and Gesäuse, via a private foundation based on the former involvement of the region in the Alpine activities on ecological network. Keeping a close link to the international Alpine level via the Platform Ecological Network and to other Pilot Regions guaran-tees the complementarity of the actions on the ground and the vision developed for the Alpine Arc.

Like pieces of a puzzle the activities of the Alpine Pilot Regions should slowly build up the area-wide Alpine ecological network. The emancipation and autonomy of

// Maps 12: Pilot Regions for ecological connectivity and Alpine Protected Areas

Major city Major river Water bodies

Alpine Convention perimeter National border

Nature reserve

National park – Core area National park – Buffer area (Regional) Nature park Particular protection status UNESCO Biosphere Reserve UNESCO World Heritage Site Alpine Protected Areas

Official Pilot Regions for Ecological Connectivity

Pilot Region

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4 2

5 3

Source: ALPARC work based on data from different national and regional authorities and protected area managements for Pilot Region of Ecological Connectivity perimeters; Data from different national and regional authorities and protected area manage-ments for delimitations of Alpine Protected Areas (> 100 ha); Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention for the Alpine Con-vention perimeter; ©EuroGeographics EuroGlobalMap opendata (Original product is freely available) for rivers, lakes, built-up ar-eas and localities; ©EuroGeographics for the administrative boundaries, European Environmental Agency/SRTM for the digital elevation model. Note: This map makes no claim to be exhaustive. Design: Dominik Cremer-Schulte, ALPARC-Alpine Network of Protected Areas.

Major city Major river Water bodies

Alpine Convention perimeter National border

Nature reserve

National park – Core area National park – Buffer area (Regional) Nature park Particular protection status UNESCO Biosphere Reserve UNESCO World Heritage Site Alpine Protected Areas

Official Pilot Regions for Ecological Connectivity

Pilot Region

1