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The Alpine Space as a Sustainable Business Location Ruggero Schleicher-Tappeser, Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention, Innsbruck, Austria Published in Structural Change in Europe 5, Cities and Regions Facing up to Change October 2007 Print run 30.000 copies © Lou Hagbarth, October 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information given herein is accurate, but no legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions in that information and no responsibility is accepted with regard to the standing of any firms, companies, authorities or individuals mentioned. Hagbarth Publications Structural Change Struct Struct in Europe 5 Cities and Regions Facing up to Change Founded in 1991, we specialize in international presentations. Our clients are business and industry, sites and locations as well as govern- mental and international organiza- tions and public authorities in Europe. Hagbarth Publications Möhlinstr. 21 D–79283 Bollschweil Germany Tel +49 7633 981663 [email protected] www.hagbarth.de 1 + 6 pages Schleicher-Tappeser_07.pdf

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The Alpine Space as aSustainable Business LocationRuggero Schleicher-Tappeser, Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention, Innsbruck, Austria

Published inStructural Change in Europe 5,Cities and Regions Facing up toChange

October 2007

Print run 30.000 copies

© Lou Hagbarth, October 2007All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the priorwritten permission of the publisher.Every effort has been made to ensure that the informationgiven herein is accurate, but no legal responsibility isaccepted for any errors or omissions in that informationand no responsibility is accepted with regard to thestanding of any firms, companies, authorities orindividuals mentioned.

HagbarthPublications

StructuralChange

StructuralChange

Structuralin Europe

Changein Europe

Change5

Citiesand

Regions

Facingup to

Change

Founded in 1991, we specialize ininternational presentations.Our clients are business and industry,sites and locations as well as govern-mental and international organiza-tions and public authorities in Europe.

Hagbarth Publications

Möhlinstr. 21D–79283 BollschweilGermanyTel +49 7633 981663

[email protected]

1 + 6 pages Schleicher-Tappeser_07.pdf

2

Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

The Alpine Space as aSustainable Business LocationRuggero Schleicher-Tappeser, Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention, Innsbruck, Austria

Wild mountains, green pastures, good cheese, tradi-tional farming and exciting ski resorts usually dominatethe romantic image of the Alps prevalent in northern Eu-rope. It is less well known that 13 million people live inthe mountainous area defined by the perimeter of the Al-pine Convention. Many Alpine valleys are densely popu-lated and perform well in economic terms. Against thebackground of the overall structural change of Europeaneconomies, the Alpine regions have undergone a specifictransformation. Although considerable differences existacross the Alpine arc, in many places new service andhigh tech industries have been established. These devel-opments build on three factors: the entrepreneurial spiritof a population used to working on its own in difficultconditions, the long tradition of inter-cultural cooperationin the Alpine cities along the historical trade roads, andthe high quality of life in an attractive landscape. Alpineproducts and services are associated with sustainabilityand reliability. Systematic cooperation between Alpinecountries and regions to develop these strengths could fur-ther consolidate the role of the Alps as an attractive spacefor innovation in high quality sustainable solutions.

Considered one of the most conservative and traditionalareas of Europe, the Alps are undergoing profound trans-formations – not only in regard to developments such asthe decline of Alpine agriculture, strong internal migra-tion, new economic patterns, new high-speed rail connec-tions, and urban lifestyles but also with regard to the self-image and the external perception of this most importantEuropean mountain range. In the larger European and glo-bal context the Alps are “shrinking”. Planners are taking anew look at the area. Public funding for infrastructure isundergoing re-examination. Economic promotion agen-cies are starting to rethink the positioning of Alpine terri-tories as business locations and to question tourism strate-gies. New provocative visions are being presented, suchas the booklet “Tyrol City” in which planners show thatthe Inn valley can be viewed as one extended urban area1.Today the Alpine regions are among the richest in Europe(Fig. 1). This is a rather new development. In order to un-derstand what has happened, it is necessary to look back.

Ups and downs of the Alpine economy from Roman tomodern times

Since the Romans, the Alps have been perceived as onelarge mountain range. In the five hundred years of Romangovernment, the Alpine space underwent strong develop-ment: a road system not only allowed for Alpine transitbut also connected the Alpine settlements; most valleys,especially on the southern side seem to have been intenselycultivated and integrated into a larger economy. After the

end of the Roman Empire, much of this Alpine civilisa-tion was lost; large areas were depopulated, connectionsabandoned. Since then, the Alps have always been dividedinto parts belonging to different states – with a short ex-ception during the empire of Charlemagne. Between 1000and 1350 there was a second period of prosperity. The Alpsfully participated in the boom of the high Middle Ages,which affected all of Europe. Favoured by a period of po-litical consolidation and significant warming, agricultureexpanded, mining, crafts, and trade developed, and thecities grew. The Alpine population reached up to 3,2 mil-lion. The settlement patterns and agricultural structuresformed in this period persist well into the 20th century.

Around 1350, the plague and then a cooling-down ofthe climate led to a profound crisis and decrease in thepopulation. By 1500 the Alpine population had recoveredto about 2,9 million; by 1900 it had tripled. However, theoverall development in the Alps increasingly lagged be-hind the development in the surrounding regions. Innova-tions in agriculture and in the cities in the plains could noteasily be adapted to Alpine dimensions and conditions.For example, the cultivated area accessible within a one-day return journey was only half as large for a city such asInnsbruck as it was for a city in the plains.

The interaction of political, social and settlement struc-

The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the authorand do not necessarily reflect the views of the Permanent Secretariat of the Al-pine Convention.

1 YEAN (Ed.) (2005): TirolCITY – New Urbanity in the Alps / Neue Urbanität inden Alpen. German/English, Folio, Wien

Fig. 1: Gross domestic product (purchasing power),per capita (1999)© EuroGeographics Association for the administrative boundaries

Source: ESPON Hyperatlas (European Spatial Planning Observation Network)

94.320

32.960

26.280

23.320

21.160

18.960

17.100

13.690

2.310This map does not necessarily reflect theopinion of the ESPON Monitoring Committee

3

Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

tures evolved differently in the various Alpine countries,with the major differences between the east and the westof the Alps2.

Industrialisation and the romantic image of the Alps

The construction of railways in the second half of the19th century dramatically changed the situation. The trans-port disadvantages of Alpine cities diminished and indus-try began to play a major role. Alpine farmers once de-pendent on powerful landowners slowly integrated intothe market economy; cheap industrial products becameavailable and Alpine agriculture had to compete more im-mediately with mass production in more favourable areas.Increasing difficulties of the more traditional mountaineconomy led to a strong depopulation in rural areas, atfirst in the western Alps. Since the first half of the 20th

century, this integration process into a larger Europeancontext has accelerated. With the easy availability of carsand the building of an efficient road network, travel andtransport times have diminished, and the Alpine popula-tion, Alpine lifestyles and economies have become fullyexposed to European markets. Once peripheral, they nowfind themselves in the middle of highly dynamic Europeanmetropolises. With the change in accessibility, the Alpsare “shrinking” and their central position in Europe is be-coming most important.

Compared to other peripheral areas, the reintegrationof the Alps into the European economy occurred in a veryparticular way. The retardation and partial “decoupling”of the Alpine development after the high Middle Ageswas not unique, but occurred in combination with the cen-tral geographic position of this mountain range in Europeand its really exceptional landscape. It allowed for a par-ticular symbolic and psychological use of the Alps in thedeep transformations of European societies during indus-trialisation; with growing cities, intensified division oflabour, developing dirty industries and large organisationsin the rest of Europe, the Alps were “rediscovered” as theantipode of these developments. The beauty of the land-

scape shaped by centuries of human activity, the impres-sive wild peaks and the persistence of traditional lifestylesbecame attractive as real and imagined contrasts to theindustrial centres. The romantic image of the Alps, whichdeveloped primarily in northern Europe, started to trans-form the self-perception of the Alpine population as wellas the Alpine reality. While Alpine agriculture was experi-encing increasing difficulties, the mountain people learnedto sell the new image of the Alps and to welcome touristsoriginating from the big industrial cities. Tourism thusstrongly shaped the image of the Alps3.

Despite this romantic image, and with some delay com-pared to other regions, industries developed in the Alpsfrom the 19th century onwards. Even large and pollutingfactories, mainly associated with mining and hydroelec-tricity, were built without much respect for the landscape.From the 1950s, the fordist production model shaped thedevelopment of Alpine cities. However, this was handi-capped by the lack of space, the limited size of labourmarkets and the linear structure of the valleys4.

Although there are many common elements, the imageof the Alps has evolved differently in the various Alpinecountries. The romantic “discovery” of the Alpine realmof beauty and freedom was mainly a northern Europeanphenomenon, and “the Alps” which attracted the touristsand the yearning of industrial cities were mainly Swiss,and to some extent, Austrian. Still today “Heidi” and“Wilhelm Tell” are strong, although slowly fading, myths.In Latin Europe, the cities always had a better image andAlpine tourism developed later, more for sports and cli-matic reasons; the cultural landscape, shaped by a specificrural economy, was less of a preoccupation.

New favourable development conditions

With the worldwide shift from large-scale fordist mass-production to flexible specialisation and the emergence ofthe service economies around 1980, the situation has be-come more favourable for the Alpine economies. Smallerunits are more appropriate to the complex topography andsmall-scale specialised production more easily connects tothe highly developed local craft traditions. Increasing at-tention to cleaner production in the post-fordist develop-ment patterns is more suitable for the sensitive Alpine en-vironment, and the quality of life is attractive not only fortourism but also for other service businesses not depend-ent on a specific location.

With European integration, national borders have be-come increasingly meaningless. Despite improving trans-port technologies, nationalism hindered cross-borderexchange over the last two centuries, and intimidated bi-lingual populations in this area of neighbouring and over-

2 For the history see: Bätzing W. (2003): Die Alpen. C.H. Beck, München. /Matthieu J. (1998): Geschichte der Alpen 1500-1900. Böhlau, Wien. / MatthieuJ., Boscani Leoni S. (ed.) (2005): Die Alpen! Les Alpes!. Peter Lang, Bern. /Varotto M. (2004): “Montagna senza abitanti, abitanti senza montagna: le re-centi tendenze demografiche e insediative nell’arco alpino italiano (1991–2001)”,In Cason Angelini E., Giulietti S., Ruffini F. (ed.) Il privilegio delle Alpi:moltitudine di popoli, culture e passaggi. Accademia Europea, Bolzano. /Schleicher-Tappeser R. (2006): The role of the Alps in an integrating Europe:Perspectives for cooperation. Revue de Géographie Alpine

3 Debarbieux, B. (2006): Population et cultures alpines: les enjeux d’une recon-naissance politique. In: Lebensministerium: La dimension socio-économique dela Convention alpine. Wien

4 Messerli, Paul (1999): Sind die Alpenstädte besondere Städte? In Perlik, M./Bätzing, W. (Hrsg.): L‘avenir des villes des Alpes en Europe / Die Zukunft derAlpenstädte in Europa. Revue de Géographie Alpine 1999 no. 2 and Geographi-ca Bernensia P36

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Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

lapping Latin, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Increasingly,the Alpine population is discovering that the ability to re-late to different cultures can be an important economic re-source and that cross-alpine cooperation and the exchangeof experiences can bring many advantages. In the vicinityof border crossings and also along the transport corridorsbetween the Alpine countries, easier cross-border tradeand commuting have boosted the local economies. Devel-opments such as those on the Verona–Bolzano–Innsbruck–Munich Axis, on the French-Italian border along the coast,or in the triangle between Austria, Italy and Slovenia wouldnot have been thinkable without this integration.

While small and medium Alpine cities are finding newopportunities in this new context, success is not guaran-teed. It requires the ability to carefully combine localpotentials, existing networks, the Alpine image, and ac-cessible markets. New connections need to be developed.The configuration of future Alpine transport systems, theirknots and east-west connections will also play a role inthe capacity to make use of new communication technolo-gies and research networks. Tenacity, pragmatism and in-dependent entrepreneurial spirit are considered to be typicalfor the mountain population, but also narrow-mindednessand defiance toward foreigners – in considerably varyingproportions. Some cities and regions have developed re-markably well by combining their potentials and newopportunities.

A diverse space with a strong identity

In order for these opportunities to be understood andused, a differentiated picture of the Alpine region is nec-essary. The different cultures, political and socio-economicsystems in the Alpine space have reacted differently inthe various phases of overall development. Depopulation

since the early 19th century was most heavy in the south-western, French and Italian, part of the Alps, with largeareas losing much more than half of their population be-fore 1950. At the same time in most parts of the centraland eastern Alps, population was still growing. Sincethen, population decline has been wandering eastward,today reaching high rates in the eastern part of the moun-tain range. Since the 1980s, however, the Alps have beencharacterised by a strongly positive overall migrationbalance.

The difficulty of describing the strongly heterogeneousAlpine space already begins with its delimitation via topo-graphical, economic and political perspectives. The AlpineConvention – the international treaty for the sustainabledevelopment of the Alps – refers to an area which is es-sentially defined by geomorphologic criteria. It includesAlpine cities such as Grenoble, Chambéry, Lugano,

Fig. 2: The Urbanization of the Alps

Agglomerations outside and on the edge of the Alps

Centres

Alpine parts of an agglomeration

Inner Alpine agglomerations

Core cities

Peri-urban areas (municipalities)

Source: M. Perlik9, Birkhäuser Verlag AG, Basel10

Cartographics: ETH Studio Basel© M. Perlik

Digne-les-Bains

Gap

Grenoble

Cambéry

Annecy

Rumilly

Chamonix

Aosta

SionBrig

Altdorf

LuzernLuzern

Locarno

Lugano

Pinerolo

Cossato

Draguignon

Manosque

Briancon

San Remo

Thun

Marseille

Lyon

Zürich

Torino

Genève

Bern

Fribourg

Lausanne

Ivrea

Alba

CuneoMondovi

Romans-sur-Isère

Valence

Montélimar

Avignon

Carpentras

Cavaillon

Toulon

Cannes

Nice

Savona

Agglomerations outside andon the Edge of the Alps

CentersAgglomerationsin the Alps

Inner Alpine AgglomerationsCore citiesAgglomeration communes

Urbanization of the Alps

Apt

Thonon-les-Bains

Rumilly

Aix-les-Bains

hambéry

Varese

5

Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

St.Moritz

Bellinzona

Sondrio

Altdorf

Schwyz

Davos

Chur

Locarno

Lugano

Como

DornbirnSonthofen

Kempten

Garmisch-P.

TraunsteinSalzburg

Trento

Schio

Bassanodel Grappa

Belluno

BrixenLienz

VillachKlagenfurt

Wolfsberg

Deutschlandberg

Leoben

Kapfenberg

Ybbs

Kaufbeuren RosenheimGmundenGmunden

Bad Ischl

LindauLindauKuftein

Bischofshofen

TolmezzoBolzano

Merano

Lumezzane

Innsbruck

München

Wien

VelenjeVelenje

Milano

Ljubljiana

Linz

Genova

ArzignanoVicenza

Udine

Trieste

Graz

Vöcklabruck Steyr

AmstettenSt. Pölten

Neustadt

St. Gallen

Varese

Bergamo

BresciaVerona

Savona

873

ComoComoComo

MilanoMilanoMilano

VareseVareseVarese

BergamoBergamoBergamo

Milano

Varese

Bergamo

Trento, Bolzano/Bozen, Luzern, Salzburg, Innsbruck orKlagenfurt, but excludes cities just at the foot of the moun-tains, such as Nice, Valence, Genève, Bern, Graz, Ljubljana,Verona, Bergamo, Varese or Cuneo, which are of greatimportance to the Alpine economy – not to mention theEuropean metropolises surrounding and referring to theAlps: Lyon, Zürich, Munich, Vienna, Milan and Turin.Within this actual mountain area, internal migration hasbeen considerable. Today, around 60% of the 13 millioninhabitants of the Alpine convention territory live in urbanareas in the larger valleys5.

Whereas large parts of the south-eastern Alps and gen-erally areas above 1000m have fewer than 10 and oftenfewer than 3 persons per square km, the population isconcentrated on the borders of this territory with particu-larly high densities in the German and Italian parts. In or-der to take account of the centres which strongly influence

the mountain range of the Alps in both economic and po-litical ways, the EU INTERREG programme “AlpineSpace” covers a much larger area, including four Frenchand eight Italian regions, southern Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the whole of Austria, Switzerland andSlovenia. In the last years, this programme has considera-bly contributed to the development of administrative,economic and professional networks across the Alps. Re-markably, it is considered to be one of the most successfulof the INTERREG IIIB programmes for transnationalcooperation defining larger spaces in the EU, and hasmaintained its geographical coverage in the new program-ming period 2007–2013. This shows that the Alps providea strong identity for the surrounding regions and are animportant economic and cultural reference.

5 Alpine Space Programme, Interreg IIIB Initiative, December 2006

6

Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

Understanding the territory through its networks

The analysis of economic data at the level of entire re-gions shows that real GDP per capita and productivity arenot very diverse and are actually converging; country-spe-cific frame conditions visibly play a role. The new econo-my sector (IT and communication) is strongest in upperBavaria, Rhône-Alpes, the Swiss Mittelland and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur with a strong growth rate in the Germanand French regions. The old economy sector (chemicals,pharmaceuticals, automotive, precision instruments) isstrongest outside the Alpine core area (in Franche-Comté,North-Eastern Switzerland and Alsace). The traditionalsector (food, textiles, paper and printing, petroleum andplastics, metal and construction) is strongest in the Austrianregions6. In the Alpine core area, the western part has thehighest share in services, whereas the eastern part still hasa relatively important primary sector7.

The broad economic data do not show the sharp differ-ences between different valleys in the Alpine core area.Internal migration and the improvement of accessibilityon the main transport corridors have further accentuatedsmall-scale differences. As different trends interact in thisdynamic transformation, categorising or clustering Alpineterritories is not self-evident8. A most interesting analysisof the Swiss situation has been put forward by a researchteam around the famous architects Herzog and de Meuron10;they have produced a provocative analysis of the entireterritory of Switzerland from the perspective of urbanstructures and distinguish “metropolitan areas”, “city net-works”, “quiet zones”, “Alpine resorts” and “Alpine fal-lows”. The “Alpine resorts” consist of a superposition ofrather traditional local structures and a temporary “city”during tourist seasons. They are concentrated in limitedparts of the Alpine core area. The “Alpine fallows”, whichhave a record of decline over decades, are larger than ex-pected. Many settlements have lost essential services. Thediversity of jobs is very low. Brain drain has reduced de-velopment potentials. Commuting times are still relativelyhigh as are public expenditures per capita needed to main-tain settlements. In contrast, the “city networks” are vital,sometimes reaching far into the Alpine core area, e.g. thewhole Valais valley, the upper Italian lake valleys and theLake Constance network reaching beyond Chur. Thisanalysis could be extended to the rest of the Alps withcity networks as the backbone of the development inSalzburg–Bavaria–Tyrol–Adige valley, Carinthia–Styria–Slovenia or Lyon–Grenoble–Chambéry.

Even more than elsewhere, the concept of networksseems essential in order to understand the Alpine struc-tures and discuss business development in this unusualspace whose central part is symbolically and ecologically

very important but economically and demographicallynearly empty. Cultural networks, commuting networks,trade networks, professional networks, transport networksno longer correspond to the classic hierarchical structures,but differ and overlap. Differentiated strategies with aspecifically adapted mix of networking to the circum-alpinemetropolises, with other Alpine areas or with cities andregions well beyond will have to be developed to bringabout economic success11. The active formation of a widevariety of economic clusters has played an important rolein business promotion; for example, innovative networksaround tourism, food, wood, precision instruments, micro-technologies, ICT, water and sustainable energies areusing and reinforcing the Alpine image associated withsustainable development.

The evolution of infrastructure and cooperation networksis underway. New high-speed baseline railway tunnelswill considerably change the Alpine geography. The firsttube of the Lötschberg will open in 2007; the Gotthardwill be completed by 2017; the connection Lyon–Torinomay follow some years later, and preparations for theBrenner baseline tunnel are progressing. The idea ofcreating a development pole in the middle of the centralSwiss Alps by constructing a train station in the GotthardTunnel under Sedrun has led to hot debates. Broadbandcommunication networks have strongly improved over thelast years and new technologies are about to deliver low-cost wireless broadband in remote valleys. Cross-borderroaming fees for mobile phones and data connections –a nuisance for cross-border trade – can be expected todisappear in the next years. The numerous research insti-tutions in the Alpine area are increasingly organisingthemselves in networks and clusters, seeking more directcontact to business; recent reforms are leading to increas-ing numbers of combined cross-border university studies.

Sustainability as the core of the Alpine image

Stemming from the romantic image of the Alps butalso linked to real Alpine traditions is the idea that Alpineproducts stand for a link to nature, environmental friendli-ness, robustness and longevity, and small-scale productionin a rather social environment. Precision and reliable tech-

6 BAK Basel Economics et al. (2005): MARS – Monitoring the Alpine RegionsSustainability. Final Report. Basel

7 YEAN, ibid.8 Bätzing W. (2003). / Pfefferkorn W., Egli H.-R., Massarutto A. (ed.) (2005): Re-

gional Development and Cultural Landscape Change in the Alps. GeographicaBernensia, Bern

9 Perlik, M. (2001): Alpenstädte - Zwischen Metropolisation und neuer Eigenstän-digkeit. Geographica Bernensia P38. Bern

10 Diener R., Herzog J., Meili M., de Meuron P., Schmid Ch. (2005): Die Schweiz– Ein städtebauliches Projekt. Birkhäuser, Basel

11 Messerli, Paul (1999), see above

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Structural Change in Europe – Cities and Regions Facing up to Change

nical ingenuity are also associated with the Alps. Health,purity and absence of pollution in food products completethe spectrum of qualities which could be summarised asrepresenting sustainability. The statements of Alpine coun-tries and regions in national and international policy re-inforce this image.

It seems that with European integration and globalisa-tion, it has become increasingly attractive to use the Al-pine origin as a mark of quality in marketing. However,systematic approaches have so far been rare. One exampleis the attempt to develop a brand identity for the Alps inthe ArgeAlp project AlpNet12.

Tourism plays a central role in such marketing consid-erations. Every year more than 100 million tourists visitthe Alps, making up for 11% of the (border crossing)world tourism market. The direct impact of tourism isoften over-estimated and may be much lower than the in-direct image effect for the Alpine economy. It is mostlyconcentrated at higher altitudes and is of low or no impor-tance in 80% of the Alpine municipalities. Joint endeav-ours of the tourism industry to advertise the whole Alpinerange as one destination on the increasingly importantglobal tourism market are still weak13.

The old, more backward-looking image of the Alps isslowly fading. But will new cultural developments be ableto bring in a new image, one that is oriented toward sus-tainability and is widely attractive? Businesses in the Alpswill be important in supplying answers to this question.New developments, such as the emergence of a new ar-chitecture in the eastern Alps, are signs of the vitality ofa specifically Alpine culture. Are they strong enough tocompensate for the spread of homogeneous urban lifestylesacross the Alps?

The Alps are among the first areas in Europe to experi-ence the consequences of climate change. Nevertheless,they will remain highly attractive if they manage to adapt.Sustainability will inevitably remain the big issue. Alpinebusinesses in all branches are sharpening their images inthis direction.

Toward a stronger Alpine cooperation?

In 1991, the Alpine countries and the European Unionsigned the “Alpine Convention” and developed imple-mentation protocols for a wide range of policy fields insubsequent years. The Alpine Convention is the first inter-national treaty of this kind aiming at an integrated sustain-able development including environmental, economic andsocietal aspects. In order to make use of the full potentialof the convention, its organs will have to provide moredetailed comparable information on Alpine developments.There is a wide scope for mutual learning on how to deal

with structural change in the different Alpine regions.Joining the forces of the Alpine Convention, the Interregprogramme, the regions and cities, motivating businessesand NGOs could create an innovative multi-cultural “Euro-pean laboratory” to find answers to urgent challenges suchas climate change, the transformation of the tourism mar-ket, increased mobility, the preservation of cultural land-scapes, and the change in lifestyles14. However, the devel-opment of the Alpine Space in the next 20 years is still anopen question today. Will the transformation of Alpine so-cieties and economies lead to a stronger shared identity andjoint action within the Alpine mountain range? Or will theAlps fall apart into the separate backyards of the surround-ing strong economic and political centres and refer mainlyto their national contexts? Or will the broader Alpine Space,including these metropolises, develop a strong and highlyinterrelated cross-border economic area, boosted by newhigh-speed transport links and intercultural cooperation15?

Outlook

Whatever may develop, the Alps will remain an out-standing symbol for identification purposes, associatedwith the search for a balanced relationship between hu-mans and nature as well as the search for sustainable de-velopment. The Alpine core area and the surroundingregions will continue to refer to the best-known mountainsworldwide. Moreover, we can assume that the Alps willmaintain an increasingly positive image for products andservices with high and sustainable quality. Not least againstthe background of climate change, the wider Alpine Spacewith its high quality of life in different climatic zones, itscultural diversity, and its considerable innovative andflexible economic power seems to be one of the mostpromising areas in Europe. By cooperating more intense-ly, and by resolutely promoting only sustainable business,Alpine regions could make a big difference in furtherdeveloping this potential. ::

12 Arge Alp (2002): Wirtschaftsraum Alpen – Chancen und Perspektiven. CD-ROM.Innsbruck

13 Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention (2007, forthcoming): Report onthe State of the Alps: Transport, Innsbruck/Bolzano / Luger K., Rest F. (Ed.)(2002): Der Alpentourismus. StudienVerlag, Innsbruck

14 Schleicher-Tappeser R. (2005): “The future of the INTERREG Alpine SpaceProgramme – Considerations from the Alpine Convention perspective”. In:Maintaining quality of life and economic competitiveness in the rural AlpineAreas and their centres. ÖROK, Vienna

15 Bätzing W. (2003). / Schleicher-Tappeser R. (2006). / Bätzing W., Messerli P.,Scheurer Th. (2004): La Convention alpine, entre législation internationale etmise en œuvre fédéraliste: obstacles et perspectives, Revue de GéographieAlpine no 4. / Bausch, Th. et al. (2005): Alpine Space Prospective Study –Sustainable Territorial Development in the Alpine Space – towards long termtrans-national cooperation. Alpine Space INTERREG IIB Programme.Rosenheim.