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Landscape experts met in the European Alps

19.09.2016

Around 200 participants from the Americas, Asia and Europe met at the Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape (PECSRL) 2016 conference in Innsbruck and Seefeld, Austria to discuss the past, present and future of rural mountain landscapes. Hosted by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, this year’s meeting of the PECSRL focused on European mountains and their forelands.

Several sessions followed a comparative approach and included experiences from the Brazilian Highlands, the Japanese Alps and the Peruvian Andes. Debates centred on the development of protected areas, the use of renewable energies, the challenges for mountain agriculture, and tourism and the role of local identity and cultural heritage, which are all under the impact of global changes.

Geographer Oliver Bender, who organized the conference, reminded audiences, “Rural mountain landscapes do not only bear witness to the past, but they also play a crucial role in the future-proof, or sustainable development of the world’s urban areas.”

To complement the theoretical facts and figures, five field trips provided the participants with new practical insights into the host region, from hydropower generation and glacial melt to an Alpine dairy. The participants were warmly welcomed by the President of the Regional Assembly, Herwig van Staa, and the mayor of Seefeld, Werner Frießer, who issued an invitation for a ride in a funicular up to the Rosshütte restaurant at 1 760 m for a dinner with spectacular views.

News by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research

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Photo: Oliver Bender