Italy begins its Presidency of the Alpine Convention, taking over from Slovenia

Italy officially assumed the Presidency of the Alpine Convention on 22 January 2025 during the Alpine Conference held in Brdo, Slovenia. The handover follows the Convention’s biennial rotation of leadership among its Contracting Parties.  

The Slovenian Presidency, which covered the period from 2023 to 2024, culminated in the adoption of three main products by the ministers and high-level representatives of the Contracting Parties. These outputs included the production of the Tenth Report on the State of the Alps on Quality of Life in the Alps, which introduces a common understanding of quality of life, identifies key challenges, topics and elements shaping it in the Alpine region and offers recommendations. The Biodiversity in the Alps policy brief was produced, focusing on conservation, connectivity, restoration and monitoring in the Alps. Other documents included good practice examples of climate change education in Alpine schools, as well as an expert analysis of the activities in this field, which includes policy recommendations. The decisions and attachments related to these outcomes are accessible in French, German, Italian, and Slovenian. 

Following Slovenia's successful term, the Italian Presidency, hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, has now commenced, in close collaboration with other Contracting Parties, Observers, and the Permanent Secretariat. Italy's work will concentrate on several key areas of action: biodiversity, climate change, Alpine population and culture and cooperation with other mountain regions. These efforts will contribute to the implementation of the three priorities outlined in the Alpine Conference's Multi-Annual Work Programme 2023-2030: conserving and valuing Alpine biodiversity and ecosystems; taking concrete climate action; and enabling a good quality of life for people living in the Alps. Building on the work of the outgoing Slovenian Presidency, another key objective of Italy is the elaboration of the Alpine Biodiversity Action Plan, which is being developed by the Alpine Biodiversity Board. 

The first meeting of the Permanent Committee under the new Italian Presidency took place on 26 March 2025 in Rome, Italy. The meeting was hosted by the Swiss Institute and opened by the Swiss Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Roberto Balzaretti, and the Director General for European, International Affairs and Sustainable Finance (AEIF) in the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, Alessandro Guerri. The Mountain Partnership Secretariat welcomes the new Presidency and commends both Slovenia and Italy for their continued dedication to sustainable mountain development in the Alps.