Ecological Transition in the Mountains

This project will involve the construction of artificial platforms in trees with the assistance of tree climbers and arborists, the purpose being to help the recently reintroduced vultures to nest and breed. The work will take place in the Rila and Pirin mountains during the course of 2025, with 20 to 30 platforms set to be built.

The association is taking legal action to put an end to heliskiing, which is still allowed in Switzerland. It also strives to make mountain guides who still partake in this anachronistic pastime more aware of their responsibilities, at a time when climate issues are taking centre stage in the public debate. The goal is to eliminate the carbon emissions generated by recreational helicopter flights, protect wildlife that is sensitive to this form of disturbance and advocate for quiet, unspoilt mountains.

The project’s goal is to ensure that the 3^rd edition of La Voix des Glaciers gains exposure across the Alpine Arc – with film screenings in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy – so as to raise public awareness of the devastating effects of climate change on Alpine glaciers. 2025 will be the International Year of Glacier Preservation. The aim will be to awaken the public consciousness and stimulate dialogue on the measures that need to be taken. The association is also petitioning for European legislation to protect the continent’s glaciers. The tour will run from January to April 2025.

The project revolves around the certification of Alpine rivers that are considered to be under threat and whose protection is deemed a priority. This will involve the measurement of innovative biological indicators at “sentinel stations”. The certification of rivers allows a wide array of stakeholders to be mobilised for their conservation, while making it easier to secure public funding to support their protection. The association is intent on demonstrating, through precise data, that restoring and protecting wild rivers can ensure and improve CO₂ capture by these ecosystems.

Scouts et Guides de France Alpes Maritimes is planning to create a “Refuge LPO”-certified biodiversity sanctuary on 3 hectares of land at its Malamaire base, an hour and a half from Nice. A biodiversity assessment will be conducted and recommendations for the sanctuary’s management will be put forward to allow plant and wildlife to flourish in the area. Waste reduction will also be on the agenda, with the installation of a general composter for kitchen biowaste and dry toilet waste.

Initially set up for the city’s student population, the association is now keen to expand the co-operative’s remit by loaning mountain equipment to as wide a population as possible and at a low cost, the aim being to encourage more people to enjoy the mountains and to reduce the carbon footprint of outdoor activities. Equipment for those who want to try mountaineering for the first time will soon be added to the available stock. The association is planning to launch publicity campaigns and improve access to the service so as to prompt a shift in people’s mindsets, with an emphasis on equipment use rather than consumption.

For more information about the co-operative → https://pret-materiel.alpes-la.org/

Its showpiece event is the Rencontres Montagnes & Sciences, a travelling films festival held every year from the Alps to the Massif Central. 2025 will see the 12th edition of this science outreach event, which was founded to raise awareness among people of all ages about the importance of preserving natural environments. The intention is to provide free screenings for schoolchildren (primary and secondary) and students, so as to reach 7,500 young people a year.

The association is developing a programme to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on the mountains and to introduce young people to various sectors, including the wood industry, energy and agriculture. The programme lasts 7 weeks and provides 8-10 young people (between the ages of 18 and 30) with qualitative support. The intention is to help these youngsters find employment and to raise environmental awareness.
CIMME Isère is receiving a second round of support this year, having already been among the winners in 2023.

Having already won funding in 2022 for the creation of a community orchard, the municipality has been rewarded once again for its plan to develop alternative modes of transport for the area. Its flagship project is the launch of a cycle bus to provide a shared, low-carbon, socially-responsible and intergenerational mobility solution. This 6-8 seater electrically-assisted cycle bus will be used to transport schoolchildren and seniors, so as to reduce the carbon footprint of short journeys between the various villages in the municipality.

Situated at 1,000m altitude, the Plateau des Petites Roches in Chartreuse, and its 2,400 inhabitants care about the quality of landscapes and of the environment. The town hall has established four objectives: lead its own ecological transition process, maintaining solidarity, encouraging citizens’ participation, and promote local activity. 

In the Chamonix valley, about 750 tons of organic waste from professionals are transported in trucks and incinerated each year at the lower end of the valley. Écotrivélo wishes to improve the management of this waste by increasing its global collection and handling capacity. In 2020, the association collected 3 tons of organic waste, in 2021, 15 tons, and in 2022, 40 tons.
Our support helped with creating new composting sites, buying an electric bike, and a new collection trailer.
The association has an activity peak during sports events in Chamonix. In June 2023, we went to help them collect organic waste generated by food industry providers during the Marathon of Mont-Blanc.

Humid areas are part of the richest ecosystems in the world. They host an unbelievable biodiversity, and offer us valuable ecological services: water filtration, flood limitation, carbon reserves, etc. In altitude, due to climate change, humid areas dry out, and go through an alarming declining process. Therefore, species that live in these areas or that go there (dragonflies, amphibians, water plants, etc.) find themselves in danger due to their habitat disappearing.
Even with these dangers, humid areas in altitude remain ecosystems that receive very little interest from the scientific community, and unknown to the wide public. To protect them, we must learn to know them better!
For this, the association launched in 2021 the CIMaE project; it aims at studying the impact of climate change on humid area in altitude.
After two years of research, in the summer of 2023, FNE Haute-Savoie raised awareness among outdoor users (hikers, trail runners, mountaineers, etc.) in mountain huts situated close to humid areas. To help them in this initiative, we created a video to promote this subject at a larger scale. (See opposite)

These huts are in isolated areas, in the middle of protected natural areas. They created relevant strategies to integrate in their environment, while protecting nature and saving energy. The Briançon CAF designed a game for raising awareness on sustainable management of huts, and for the discovery of the mountain area around the huts.
Events around the game tackle the following themes: electricity production, food supplies, water origin and circuit, waste management, and hot water production. But also: Watching birds of pray, salamanders, marmots, identifying edible plants in low altitude mountains, understanding glaciers receding, etc.
The global objective is to raise awareness regarding sustainable development through human interaction with hikers and hut wardens. 

In 2022, the association started a project called ‘Foyer négawatt – The Négawatt house’, following the model of the positive energy family challenges. The object is to reflect, measure, and understand the energy flow, to act towards energy sobriety in a house, with the aim of dividing the participant consumption by five.