Next August, 11^th in the pilot region Monte Rosa (I) a group of experts has organized an evening dedicated to local stakeholders (farmers, municipalities, tourism bodies, Alpine guides and operators of ski lifts) where different aspects of the relationship between biodiversity and agriculture will be analyzed.
The evening includes, in addition to a segment where it will be described the naturalistic side of the Site of Community Importance "Ambienti Glaciali del Monte Rosa (Monte Rosa's glacial environment), another part specifically dedicated to the description of ECONNECT project and, later on, a part where the importance of an agriculture taking into account natural aspects, such as ecological connectivity, will be described.

The meeting will be concluded by a short speech about typical Valle d'Aosta's products and a small tasting of the same products. Enclosed is the program of the evening.

For more information: c.sedda @ regione.vda.it

During the last few years various documents, publications and reports which reflect approaches, tools and activities that support the implementation of an ecological network across the Alps have been published. Some of this information had not been made available for a wide public until now. Others exist only as comprehensive independent publications. Therefore these activities and results have now been compiled and summarised by the Ecological Continuum Initiative in the report "Implementing a Pan-Alpine Ecological Network - A Compilation of Major Approaches, Tools and Activities". Along with the report, a CD is provided containing all information that is digitally available. You can download the report here: http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/index.php/latest-news-mainmenu-2

The German Government is developing a National Connectivity Programme which foresees to build wild animal crossings at the most important sites of migrating corridors. This year the first systematic research on ecological corridors in Germany has been finished, representing an important scientific groundwork for the implementation of the Programme.

The National Connectivity Programme will address different aspects of connectivity, e.g. traffic planning and investments, nature protection, spatial planning, research, awareness raising and international co-operation.
The investments in animal crossings will be done on the basis of a priority paper, listing the countries most important connectivity sites. In the frame of an economic stimulus package approximately 69 million euro should be used by the year of 2011 to support seventeen measures, among these predominantly the building of green bridges. The National Connectivity Programme is based on the fact that investing in connectivity helps rising the traffic safety and in the same time serves nature protection.

The German road network is one of the densest in whole Europe. It causes a strong fragmentation of habitats and represents a high level of risk for migrating animals as well as for drivers. Every year more than 3'000 persons get injured on German roads, more than 20 get killed. The German Hunting Association estimates at least 250'000 accidents involving wild animals each year. These accidents cause material cost amounting to 500 million euro.

More information: http://www.bmu.de/pressemitteilungen/aktuelle_pressemitteilungen/pm/45883.php  (D)

Source: CIPRA International (www.cipra.org)

Inside the Parco delle Groane, a protected area that extends at the foot of the Alps nearby the city of Milan, it was implemented an underpass for amphibians and small fauna that allows this small wildlife to cross safely the road that split the park in two.

The broader aim of such an intervention, which foresees a second round of works starting very soon, is to preserve and increase the biodiversity of the Park and, eventually, appreciate the ecological corridor between the two Sites of Community Importance Pineta di Cesate e Boschi delle Groane.
Even though a quantitative survey hasn't been done yet, some observation confirmed that the underpass is currently used by amphibians.

Such a good practice is of the kind that Econnect project wants to implement within its Pilot Regions in order to preserve amphibians and small wildlife.

For more information, click here (I)

Source: WWF Italy

An inventory of all the artificial barriers that impede the flow of rivers has found out that French rivers are interrupted by 60,000 dams, weirs, locks, mills etc. The inventory has been recently published as a on-line-map where the works are shown divided by department, municipality or watercourse. All these works obstruct the movement of migratory aquatic organisms and the transport of sediments, thereby affecting ecosystems.

In some cases, these barriers are inconsistent with the objective set by law on the rivers and aquatic environments (LEMA), which is to put watercourses in good ecological conditions by 2015.

The  Institute of the University of Kassel (D) has developed a new kind of facility that, through the use of pumps, creates a flow able to attracts fishes. With an injector a more intense flow is created at the entrance of the fish pass, that is exactly where it is needed. In this way, fishes can find more easily the entrance of the artificial pass without having to use more water to feed the fish pass. Moreover, special barriers made of synthetic material ease further the entrance of the fishes in the right canal and prevent them from ending up in the canal that feed the turbines.

Map of the barriers: http://carmen.carmencarto.fr/66/ROE.map (F), http://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news (F), http://www.sonnenseite.com (D)

Source: CIPRA International

Taking advantage of the Biodiversity Day, on May, 22nd starts the initiative "Clicks beyond the borders" promoted by the partners of the project "ECONNECT restoring the web of life". The initiative is intended for amateur and professional photographers and aims at gathering meaningful images that express the idea of overcoming barriers in the Alpine arc.

All species need to move, migrate and wander within their habitats. Although, too often men  prevent them from moving freely: a highway or a railroad, a border or differences in legislation between countries become an obstacle that undermines the natural movement of wildlife.

The challenge for the participants is to communicate this problem: their pictures will tell stories of insurmountable barriers and of strategies devised by animals and plants, facilitated also by the aid of man, to overcome them. Participants can submit a maximum of three digital pictures, taken strictly in the Alps, by January 15th 2011, into the group created on the social network FLICKR http://www.flickr.com/groups/econnect/, where people can register and upload their pictures.

A prestigious panel of experts chaired by Denis Curti, critic and director of the photographic agency Contrasto Italy, will evaluate the best 12 photos from March 15th, 2011. "Using photography as a tool to communicate a so difficult subject" said Denis Curti, "is a great opportunity to spread to non-insiders an issue such as ecological connectivity, rarely addressed by general media but no less urgent".

The pictures will be evaluated by the experts according to criteria of adequacy as regards the theme, creativity, originality, quality and technique. The 12 chosen pictures will be shown in an exhibition to be held during the ECONNECT final conference in Berchtesgaden (D) in mid 2011 and will be used to create a calendar to be distributed to all the conference participants.

The best works will be awarded with:
- A weekend-stay in the pilot region of Alpi-Marittime at "La locanda del Sorriso" (www.locandadelsorriso.com);
- A weekend-stay in the pilot region of Berchtesgaden-Salzburg at "Alm & Wellnesshotel Alpenhof **** (www.alpenhof.in)
- A basket of typical Italian products coming from WWF Italy's protected areas;
- WWF-White Star photographic book "Last and wild."

Other awards are in the course of being defined.

Peter Sürth, a German engineer for wildlife management, is organizing an expedition across the Alps to draw attention on the importance of ecological networks. This initiative aims at supporting the conservation and the improvement of biodiversity. Moreover, Sürth aims at promoting the coexistence between humans and large wild animals such as wolves, bears and lynx.
Along the way there are foreseen multiple events to raise awareness on these topics. The interested parties can participate in each stage or section of the trail. The expedition, which relies on the support of several companies in the outdoor sports industry, is divided into three tracks that consist of week-day stages. The first path, through Austria, is beginning at the end of August 2010 in Mariazell (A), the last two will follow next year.

For further information: http://www.derwegderwoelfe.de/alpenexpedition.htm (de).

CIPRA FRANCE invites you to the international technical seminar "Legal barriers and potentials for the implementation of ecological corridors in the Alps". The seminar takes place on 6th May 2010, Grenoble (F), Maison de la Nature et de l'environnement de l'Isère (MNEI). It is part of Econnect work package 6 "legal barriers" and is organised in collaboration with the WP7 (implementation in pilot regions).

Legal practitioners, experts in spatial planning, protected areas managers, scientists, politicians and partners of the ECONNECT project are invited to discuss thematic issues in order to overcome the juridical difficulties to the implementation of ecological networks.
Registration is free. Please fill in and send back the registration form before 30 April. A French-English translation service will be available.

The ECONNECT newsletter is available.

The ECONNECT website www.econnectproject.eu has recently been translated into the four project languages (French, German, Italian and Slovenian) and will soon be updated with maps.

The work package 3 "Information and Publicity" is furthermore going to launch a photo contest that aims at involving photographers all across the Alps. The contest will start in June and last until the end of December. The theme of the contest and the members of the jury have already been decided. The contest will be based on Flickr social network and on the ECONNECT website. More information will be soon available on www.econnectproject.eu.

Thanks to the "GeoPortal" tool developed in the frame of work package 4, maps of the Pilot Regions will be put online to make people understand where the project is acting and which measures ECONNECT is evaluating and implementing. The GeoPortal will thus make the website more appealing. The maps will be presented using Google Maps. This will allow showing the location of all measures put in place by the Pilot Regions.

In future, wild animals will be able to move more easily between the Alps and the adjoining Carpathian Mountains. That is the objective of the recently initiated cross-border project Alpine-Carpathian Corridor. The EU is providing approximately 2 million Euros.

Taking into account issues related to nature conservancy, spatial planning, traffic, agriculture, forestry, hunting and tourism, and heavily involving the municipalities concerned, it will define concrete measures to safeguard interconnections among biotopes and realize these in the form of pilot projects. Overpasses with greenery will for example help deer and other animals safely to cross motorways and other large infrastructural works on their treks.

Under the overall responsibility of the Austrian Land Lower Austria, eleven project partners from Austria and Slovakia in the areas of administration, research, nature conservancy and infrastructure cooperate in the project, which will run until the summer of 2012. It makes an important contribution to the objectives of the Alpine, Carpathian and Biodiversity Conventions.

Sources and information: http://www.alpenkarpatenkorridor.at (de), http://www.wwf.at/de/akk (de)

The "GeoPortal" which is the central project repository for all spatial data and map products of ECONNECT is now online on http://gis.eurac.edu. Furthermore, the working group "Implementation strategy and data needs" has met to discuss the data situation at the current stage of the project.

The GeoPortal allows browsing, viewing, downloading and uploading data and metadata and also contains an overview map showing all pilot regions in the Alps as well as overview maps for each pilot region showing protected areas and Natura 2000 sites. The maps are available for anyone interested in the ECONNECT Project.

The ECONNECT Working Group "Implementation strategy and data needs" met on 5^th February on a workshop in Bolzano/I. The data situation at the current stage of the project was summarised by the work package 4 leader EURAC research, and subsequently discussed by all workshop participants. It has turned out that the spatial data needed for the analysis in the pilot regions, i.e. the calculation of the Continuum Suitability Index, matches the data collected so far. Gaps still remain in some regions where discussions with the administration are ongoing. During the meeting it was pointed out that to make best use of more detailed data sets, the various regional data sets should not be harmonized in a sense to match them to the smallest common denominator.

Extensively cultivated grasslands are important landscape elements for ecological connectivity in the pilot region Berchtesgaden - Salzburg. Improving these habitats will help to safeguard species such as butterflies, dragonflies or grasshoppers. This is one of the tasks of the subprojects within ECONNECT which are currently being finalised.

According to expert opinions as well as spatial analyses, extensively cultivated grasslands have been identified as one important aspect of connectivity in the region. In order to maintain functional meta-populations of the mentioned insects, open spaces of a certain quality have to be existent in appropriate distances. But in the German-Austrian pilot region more and more cultivated areas are abandoned due to the low potential for profit. ECONNECT intends to support a process to improve the ecological network of extensive grasslands, e.g. by developing and testing innovative management and financing approaches. As a first step, a set of species is currently being identified in order to investigate the species-specific requirements for an ecological network of extensive grasslands in the pilot region.

The representatives of the pilot region Berchtesgaden - Salzburg furthermore presented their activities at the workshop "Networking diversity", which was organized by the Ecological Continuum Initiative in Berne/CH on February 12^th in the frame of the conference NATUR. The presentations and the synthesis report are available on www.alpine-ecological-network.org/index.php/services-mainmenu-8/downloads-documents#natur2010.

The Ecological Continuum Initiative supports the implementation of ecological connectivity measures on the ground with a new series of fact sheets for local stakeholders in German, French and Italian language. Some fact sheets are already available online.

The fact sheets are not only informative printed documents. Their main objective is to move to action. They target stakeholders who are implementing ecological networks, e.g. from the ECONNECT pilot regions. The series of ten fact sheets covers the most important fields of work where connectivity measures should be implemented: agriculture, forestry, water management, hunting and fishing, spatial planning, traffic, nature protection, and tourism. Special fact sheets will also be published for municipalities and other important players in the establishment ecological networks.

Each fact sheet explains the importance of its respective sector for ecological connectivity and lists concrete connectivity measures that stakeholders are encouraged to implement. Furthermore, good-practice examples from the Alps are presented in each fact sheet and show that connectivity measures really work. These good examples should motivate the stakeholders to imitate them.

The printable pdf versions of the fact sheets on Nature Protection (in German, French and Italian), Agriculture (in German and French, Italian version follows soon) and Traffic (German, other languages follow) are already available for download at: www.alpine-ecological-network.org/index.php/services-mainmenu-8/downloads-documents (en). The printed versions will be made available to the ECONNECT pilot regions in May.

100 persons from eight European countries followed the invitation to the workshop in Grenoble, France, in November and used this opportunity for active knowledge transfer on ecological networks. The workshop discussions have helped the ECONNECT partners to agree on the appropriate methods which they are now using for modelling habitats and corridors for the whole Alps and for visualizing barriers.

In several presentations methodological expertise from various case studies was provided and shared with the participants. Discussion groups were formed to ensure the sharing of knowledge within three important issues of the project methodology and activity: Aquatic corridors, terrestrial corridors and participatory approaches. The workshop as a tool for the active knowledge transfer of the ECONNECT work package 8 profited from the expertise and direct participation of all attendees. Thus, the workshop yielded rich and manifold results for all involved stakeholders, conservation managers, non governmental and governmental organisations, scientists, and opinion leaders.

Based on the expert discussions during the workshop, partners of work package 5 could agree on appropriate methods they will use to model habitats and corridors for the whole Alps and to visualize barriers. For this task functional landscape connectivity corridor models have been chosen. Selecting the appropriate modelling methods was the first important step towards the identification of corridors and barriers. The next step of work package 5 will be to collect observation records of the indicator species (four sylvan mammals, two birds, two water bound species). Various experts were contacted and the data set of one bird species (black grouse) is sufficient to start the modelling process. Nevertheless, better data availability is still desirable. A test run with black grouse is performed at the moment and the first results will be available soon.

The Swiss National Park (SNP) is currently developing a web based tool to analyze barriers and corridors of the large pilot region Rhaetian Triangle. Furthermore, two local initiatives are concretely acting for the restoration of ecological connectivity.

The new map application will allow comparing a freely defined area with other areas in the neighbourhood and identifying the fields with high need of action according to selected indices. This tool will help experts to identify the connectivity hot spots and the ecological continuum as well as raising awareness in a wider field of the eco-interested community in the pilot region.

Apart from developing the web tool, the ECONNECT team of the SNP is also supporting two local initiatives in the Swiss-Austrian-Italian pilot region Rhaetian Triangle to restore ecological connectivity.

In the Austrian region around the river Inn, the Environment Advocacy of Tyrol (Landesumweltanwaltschaft) and WWF Tyrol have started a project to improve the connectivity of selected species along the historical route "Via Claudia Augusta". Measures should be implemented to reduce the barrier impact of the heavily used road infrastructures in this area. This should help to measurably improve the migration of the selected species. ECONNECT supports the project team with knowledge concerning the selection of species, defining corridors and barriers and ensures the access to international know how. Moreover, this exemplary project should be promoted towards the Italian and Swiss partners in the pilot region Rhaetian Triangle.

In South-Tyrol, Italy, the nature protection group Vinschgau has submitted a resolution to protect the Rambach stream between the Swiss border and the estuary into the Etsch. The local authorities are planning to implement a small scaled hydropower station in the Rambach with very limited economic value. In the last years, the Swiss part of the Rambach has been restored and is nowadays an outstanding example of a renaturalized stream. The realization of the planned project in South-Tyrol would destroy all efforts in the Swiss Val Müstair concerning connectivity of this water body and reduce the value of the ecological system distinctively. The resolution for the protection of the Rambach is therefore an extraordinary example of the importance of ECONNECT and the international collaboration on ecological connectivity.

How strongly is a river landscape fragmented? What are the most important barriers and obstacles in Alpine rivers? These questions are in the focus of the Institute of Ecology from University of Innsbruck within its ECONNECT activities. The results will be visualized with the help of GIS and contacts to regional watershed authorities established for the reduction of barrier impacts and restoration.

Riverine landscapes are important habitats, dispersal and migration routs and corridors for aquatic but also for terrestrial animals and plants. In densely populated areas of the Alps and especially in areas surrounding protected areas riverine landscapes were altered intensively and often degraded in various ways. As a consequence, the natural distribution, movements and migration of aquatic and water-bound organisms is highly disturbed or inhibited. Work package 5 aims at improving this situation by analysing the potential to increase connectivity and decrease barrier effects and fragmentation.

In a first step barriers are analysed that are effective in the longitudinal, lateral, vertical and temporal dimensions of river systems. Fragmentation indices are applied for the visualisation of fragmentation. In parallel, typical habitats and riverine species (brown trout, grayling, bullhead, tamarisk, ...) are identified. Potential barriers that can have an impact on the habitat and movements of these species will be visualised on maps.

In the present project period, work focuses on specific pilot regions. Effective barriers and obstacles within the riverine landscapes will be identified and contacts to regional watershed authorities established for the reduction of barrier impacts and restoration.

The French Isère Pilot Region is very active in the field of ecological connectivity. Besides ECONNECT, since February 2009 the region is engaged in another EU Project named "Paths of life". This project will last six years and has a budget of nine million Euro.

In the framework of this project several meetings were organized on the field with all concerned stakeholders (mayors, farmers, hunters, naturalists,...) to share the elaborated cartography of the vegetal structures and the knowledge of the territory.

A fish pass is currently under construction. It will enhance the transmissibility at the river Breda, especially for trout. All fish have been temporarily removed from the river bed to protect them from dying during the working process. Furthermore, other construction works are planned, like an underpath or the installation of thermal detectors systems for animals.

Detailed maps showing the planned project activities and further information on the project are available on the website: www.pathsoflife.eu (en, fr)

As a partner of ECONNECT work-package 6 concerning legal barriers, which is run by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, CIPRA France organizes an international seminar that will take place in Grenoble (F) on May, 6th.

Following the previous work steps of the work-package, the seminar will be the occasion to discuss and compare the results gathered through a questionnaire recently sent to the ECONNECT pilot regions about the juridical dimension and approach of their activities for the development of ecological connectivity. Moreover, the seminar aims at identifying the juridical obstacles, barriers and opportunities to the development of ecological connectivity at a trans‐alpine scale. 

This meeting will be a time of accounts, sharing and analysis of the different juridical situations and experiences between the Alpine countries on the basis of the activities set up in the pilot regions. 

We are looking forward to the active participation of ECONNECT partners, legal practitioners, experts in spatial planning, protected areas managers, scientists and politicians to discuss thematic issues in order to overcome the juridical difficulties to the implementation of ecological networks. 

The program of the seminar will be soon available on the website.

In February, 18th, the Regione Lombardia, Italy, officially approved the Regional Ecological Network (REN), which includes and considers in the regional territorial planning all priority conservation areas defined by the WWF European Alpine Programme and its partners in Gap in 2001. It is an important decision for Italy, for all the Alpine countries and the projects, like Econnect, concerning connectivity; in fact, it is the first time that an ecological network frame acquires force of law in Italy.

This pivotal decision now implies that all provinces have to align to this resolution in all successive planning stages, taking into account the areas included in the REN. The Regione, the Fondazione Lombardia Ambiente and private sponsors will additionally finance a biannual monitoring plan, starting this year.

Within the Alpine Space project „ECONNECT", interviews with 170 stakeholder of the three provinces Upper and Lower Austria and Styria were held. People have been asked about their knowledge, experience and ideas concerning the connectivity of habitats and possible barriers by using a questionnaire.

These interviews aimed at receiving an overview of opinions on this theme as well as information on planned or ongoing projects dealing with ecological connectivity in the region.

In addition, stakeholders have been interviewed about habitats and species, which is important for connectivity in the pilot region, and whether they are interested to participate in the elaboration of projects.

At the same time, it has been created a database with funding possibilities. It includes all funding resources with might fit to projects dealing with ecological connectivity.

On December, 9^th the results of these two activities were presented to approx. 45 participants at the visitor centre Ennstal (National Park Kalkalpen, Upper Austria).

The next steps within ECONNECT include the exchange of information and experience with stakeholder groups as well as the elaboration of objectives, themes and projects in the Pilot region, divided into four working groups:

1. Communication - public relations - regional development - tourism

2. Rivers and riverine habitats

3. Natural forests

4. Meadows and alpine pastures

The ECONNECT project aims at creating the best possible conditions for ecological connectivity across the Alpine range, thus implementing article 12 of the Nature Protection Protocol of the Alpine Convention: "the Contracting Parties shall pursue the measures appropriate for creating a national and cross-border network of protected areas, biotopes and other environmental assets protected or acknowledge as worthy of protection. They shall undertake to harmonise the objectives and measures with the cross-border protected areas."

An important component of the project is that on Legal Barriers (also known as WP6), an effort led by MATTM, the Italian Ministry of the Environment), together with EURAC, Region Valle d'Aosta and CIPRA France. Its work is steadily progressing, as ECONNECT enters its second year of life.

The main objective of this component is to assess the legal framework for ecological networking in different Alpine countries and to provide examples and propose good practices (such as the EGTC, European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, a new instrument adopted by the European Union) to establish connections among protected areas across borders, so that the migration and conservation of wildlife is made easier throughout the Alpine space.

For instance, experts from both EURAC, an innovative applied research institute located in the heart of the Alpine arc, and Region Valle d'Aosta are carrying out a comparative analysis on the legal frameworks of ecological connectivity in all Alpine countries, starting from France and Italy in order to assess the present situation and produce a methodology which can be used elsewhere.

Moreover, the partners of the project involved in this component are analyzing the legal situation of the pilot areas of the ECONNECT project, many of which are trans-boundary. A workshop specifically targeted at the pilot regions is being organized by CIPRA, scheduled for May, 6th in Grenoble, France. This is a follow-up to an early workshop on Trans-boundary co-operation between protected areas in the Alps, held on April 19, 2009 by MATTM and EURAC in Domodossola, Italy, and will also provide the opportunity to discuss the tentative results of a survey involving all pilot regions.

This workshop will also be an opportunity for the actors involved in the creation of an Alpine Ecological Network to be informed and discuss the legal aspects of this common effort. The results of the workshops and of the ongoing analyses will result in a final report to be presented at the Final Conference on ecological connectivity and the law, scheduled for December 2010 in Aosta, Italy.

Hopefully, by then, this component of the project will have contributed to raising awareness among the actors involved, facilitating the harmonized management of trans-boundary corridors,  and ultimately transformed the perception of the law from a barrier to an instrument. 

The psychological block that so far prevented from planning and authorizing projects in sensitive high mountain areas further decreased during 2009. The Austrian Alpine Club (OeAV) warns against the destruction of landscape and recreational resources on the Alps and asks for a framework for a well-balanced territorial planning, in order to preserve the typical Alpine landscape.

All across Austria can be observed the tendency to build cableways and other skiing infrastructures inside the boundaries of protected areas and other high-value zones: examples of this inclination are the foreseen construction of a cableway across Warscheneck protected area, an underground cog railway through the central region of the Hohe Tauern National Park from Sportgastein to Schareck or the project of a cableway inside the "peace-zone" of Kalkkogel.

In 2010 the OeAV will examine closer all these cases; during a press conference held at the end of 2009, the OeAV urged the Tirol government to define a framework that shouldn't allow the exploitation of protected areas.

The Piz Val Gronda represents a very interesting example of this process. For 30 years this peak, which rises between Austria and Switzerland, has been menaced by regular attempts of exploitation. So far, these plans have been rejected thanks to the exceptional richness in flora of this region and because of its exceptional geological and geomorphologic variety. 

The scientific paper by OeVD named "Piz Val Gronda - a peculiar natural oasis inside the Austrian Alps" is downloadable here: http://www.alpenverein.at/naturschutz/Publikationen/Fachbeitraege/index.php?navid=43 (in German).

The catalogue explains how extensivisation of agricultural use, species conservation measures along transport routes or creating synergies with tourism can contribute to the implementation of ecological networks. 69 exemplary measures from all Alpine countries show how areas or structures can be created, conserved or restored so that they can play a role as connecting elements within an ecological network. An associated Excel database helps people in pilot regions or in all other regions where connectivity needs to be improved to find measures corresponding to different contexts. The translations have been financed by the German and French Environment ministries.

The catalogue and the database can be downloaded on: http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org/index.php/services-mainmenu-8/downloads-documents

Not only ecological corridors preserve biodiversity, but they are also an effective tool to reduce car crashes on motorways.

Econnect is an innovative European project related to the "Alpine Space Program 2007-2013" developed to restore connections between different habitats in Alpine areas. Furthermore, the problem of car crashes with animals is a major issue for Econnect. Wild animals, as ungulates, birds of prey, fishes and amphibians, are always moving on the same routes in order to feed or to reproduce. It may happen that these routes are crossed by motorways; this situation puts a potentially dangerous situation both for drivers and terrestrial species.

According to Alpi Marittime natural park, one of the seven Pilot Regions that constitutes the project, during the last two years car crashes which involved ungulates have been 419 in the Cuneo district (data by Cuneo Provincial Administration, Flora and Fauna Safeguard District). In most cases those accidents, besides being hazardous for drivers' life, could have been avoided with a better territorial planning, a more careful infrastructure planning and a warier use of existing technologies. New ways to aid the passage of animals across busy roads are tested in the French department of Isère (an Econnect Pilot Region as well), by placing motion and heat detectors on both sides of a road which, using an intermittent signal, warn the driver of a wild animal oncoming passage.

The Alpi Marittime national park was chosen due to its high biodiversity value and its geographical position, considered as a link among the Alps and Provence, the Mediterranean sea and the Padana plain. Other Italian institutions supporting this project are: Aosta Valley Autonomous Region, the European Academy of Bolzano, the Ministry of the Environment and WWF Italy. The Parc National du Mercantour (France) and the Fluvial Park Gesso and Stura, directly involved by the Alpi Marittime Park with other authorities and institutions which are able to contribute to concretely deal with problems regarding conservation and biodiversity because of their competence, are even involved in this project.

Econnect project aims at creating ecological corridors (natural spaces where spreading of flora and fauna is free and not hampered by artificial barriers) among several Alpine areas, a good way to secure the preservation of genome, that is essential for the survival of species. Moreover, Econnect promotes the creation of a net that, by a common approach to the problems, permits crossing scientific and methodological "frontiers".

Three main plans make the Italian Park deserving attention:

• Aerial connectivity: reducing the danger for alpine galliformes (black grouse, rock ptarmigan and rock partridge) due to hanging cables of ski lifts or power lines. Improvements for safety of migrating birds of prey will be made, particularly all along the Stura Valley course, where wind turbine will be probably installed.

• Water connectivity: considering all the barriers placed on creeks and finding solutions to reduce or eliminate hindrances for the moving of water flora and fauna.

• Terrestrial connectivity: locating infrastructures considered as a problem for most sensitive species.

As part of the actions in ECONNECT WP 8 "Knowledge Transfer", the University of Innsbruck, Cemagref Grenoble and the Conseil Général de l'Isère (Pilot Region, France), organise an international workshop that will take place in Grenoble surrounding area from 4^th to 6^th November 2009. Aim of the workshop is to discuss and exchange common methodological tools and concepts for a common understanding of the project aims.

Registration for ECONNECT WP8 meeting in Grenoble is available at:  http://econnect2009.congres-scientifique.com

This meeting aims to identify the link between global warming and the lost of biodiversity. In deed within the next decades, Central Europe and especially the Alpine space have to take into account enormous changes of the composition of species and habitats in our latitudes. The establishment of an ecological continuum facilitating migration in altitude but mainly in a south-north transect may be one of the answers we can develop from today on.

Find here the second newsletter of the ECONNECT project!

TransEcoNet is a project implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme and co-financed by ERDF wich main objective is elaborating strategies and recommendations on how to develop and manage transnational ecological networks in Central Europe.

To preserve natural and cultural heritage in the long run, TransEcoNet strives for a better connection of protected and less or unprotected landscapes across national borders. In particular the focus is on unprotected landscapes, the so-called gaps, between protected areas. The project study areas are situated within or between the wide-ranging ecological networks of the Alps, Carpathians and of the Green Belt. For more info see the project flyer and the website: www.transeconet.eu

A meeting of the ECONNECT's Pilot Regions has been held in Zernez (CH) from 18 to 20 May 2009.
The meeting has involved not only Pilot regions  but also representatives of WP4 (data management), WP5 (barriers and corridors) and WP6 (legal barriers). The discussion has lead to a coordinated approach, based on indicator species and indices, for the implementation of the goals of ECONNECT on ecological networks.

This workshop, organized by European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC research), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Centro Studi Val d'Ossola with the institutional support of Italian Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, is the first of two workshops (the second workshop will be organized by CIPRA in France) to explore the legal barriers to ecological connectivity in the Alps. The workshop aims at identifying the legal situation of protected areas in each Alpine State (types of protected areas and their legal framework), with an emphasis on transboundary issues, such as Natura 2000 and Emerald Network and the creation of an Alpine Ecological Network.

The Workshop will be followed by a Thematic Conference Transboundary Cooperation among Alpine Protected Areas, the 17 April 2009 in Domodosola.

Newsletter 1, March 2009

The kick-off of the ECONNECT Project will take place at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna (Austria) on November 04-05, 2008.
The public kick-off is scheduled on November 04, 2008, from 16:00 to 18:30.
The participation to the kick-off is free; simultaneous translation will be available for German, Italian, French and English.

The public kick-off of the ECONNECT Project took place at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna (Austria) on November 04-05, 2008.
The two day meeting has been a great occasion for discussion and more importantly, next steps in project implementation were reviewed. As Chris Walzer (lead Partner) points out: "not only will this project have to deal with actual physical barriers such as roads and dams on rivers but maybe more importantly it strives to also tackle the barriers "in the heads" of the various stakeholders and authorities". Besides the internal meetings , a public project presentation was held at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. This was a good occasion for the pilot regions to directly address the public. Additionally, in a panel discussion, drivers and obstacles for ecological connectivity in the Alps were addressed and discussed.