International cooperation

The Alpine Convention is engaged as an Observer in several other international organisations active in the Alpine region. While purposes and scopes differ, many of the topics addressed are similar or overlap, which makes cooperation important. Most of these organisations also have Observer status in the Alpine Convention.

Arge Alp
The Arge Alp, a transnational working community bringing together ten regions in the central Alps, works closely with the Alpine Convention. Arge Alp is an official observer of the Alpine Convention, which in turn takes part in all meetings of Arge Alp’s Steering Committee and Conferences of Heads of Government. With both organisations promoting transboundary cooperation and dialogue, their contact allows to connect the regional and national levels, and to implement common goals of sustainable development while highlighting the central role of regional governments.

EUSALP
The European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is the fourth macro-regional strategy established by the EU. Macro-regional strategies aim to address common challenges faced by a defined geographical area and to benefit from strengthened cooperation in contributing to the achievement of economic, social, and territorial cohesion. The geographical scope of EUSALP covers 48 Alpine regions, encompassing the perimeter of the Alpine Convention but also extending to peri-Alpine areas and metropoles.

The Alpine Convention has been involved in EUSALP since the beginning. The Convention contributes substantially to its design and implementation, actively making use of its observer function in the General Assembly (political level) and in the Executive Board (coordination level) of the Strategy. The Alpine Convention is represented in the EUSALP process through the Permanent Secretariat working in close cooperation with the Permanent Committee and several of the Thematic Working Bodies.

EUSALP’s implementation level consists of nine Action Groups. From 2016-2025, the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention acted as co-lead of Action Group 6 (AG6) together with the Land of Carinthia. AG6 comprises a broad network of experts, including representatives from national and regional administrations, civil society, research and education institutions, and other organisations. Its focus is on preserving and sustainably valorising the natural and cultural heritage of the Alps.

The Alpine Convention and EUSALP have been furthering cooperation between the Thematic Working Bodies and Action Groups in areas of common interest with a view to developing synergies. Examples are exchanges and joint activities between the Alpine Biodiversity Board and AG7 on biodiversity, the PLANALP working group and AG8 on natural hazards, the Transport working group and AG4 on mobility issues, the Alpine Climate Board and AG9 on energy, and the Mountain Agriculture and Mountain Forestry and Soil Protection working groups with AG6.

Interreg Alpine Space Programme
The Interreg Alpine Space Programme (ASP) is one the European Union’s transnational cooperation programmes, implemented in the Alpine and peri-Alpine regions of the seven largest Alpine countries. Since 2000, it has been co-funding international projects dealing with various aspects of the sustainable development of the Alpine region.

The Alpine Convention is an Observer in the ASP Programme Committee. In this role, the Permanent Secretariat supports the alignment of the Programme with the objectives and provisions of the Alpine Convention. The Secretariat participates in the definition of the objectives and priorities for each seven-year-programming period, as well as of the terms of reference of each project call. It can express views during the selection of projects for approval.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention and the ASP Joint Secretariat regularly exchange on the issues of Alpine-wide cooperation and further synergies, especially between the Thematic Working Bodies of the Convention and relevant ASP projects.

The Secretariat also receives requests for support from project applicants and, after evaluation of the complementarity with the current activities of the Alpine Convention bodies, can join individual projects as Observer. This allows the flow of information and expertise between the project partners and the Alpine Convention stakeholders. Project applications also sometimes emerge from the Thematic Working Bodies’ work.

ISCAR
The International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR) promotes Alpine-wide inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation in the field of Alpine research between scientists, policy makers, practitioners, and other relevant stakeholders. In this respect, the Alpine Convention is involved in ISCAR activities and committee meetings to strengthen the cooperation and allowing for access to a broad network in the Alpine countries. Furthermore, it allows a good flow of information and helps strengthening synergies in areas of common interest. 

ISCAR aims to link natural sciences, humanities, and society for sustainable development in the Alps, according to the principles of the Alpine Convention. Here, the Alpine Convention tries to assist at the science-policy interface to ensure research on relevant topics and uptake of results into political processes. On the other side ISCAR is also Observer to Alpine Convention. As such, it actively supports the organisation of the AlpWeek.

Moreover, ISCAR is the organiser of the ForumAlpinum, an interdisciplinary scientific conference series, which is designed as an interface between the scientific community and policies, offering opportunities for dialogue. Together with ISCAR, the Permanent Secretariat of Alpine Convention carries out the biennial Young Academics Award, which is regularly supported by the Presidency of the Alpine Convention and the Infopoints of the Alpine Convention.

The Alpine Convention is the first example of an international treaty focusing on a transnational mountainous area. However, many of the issues dealt with in the Alpine Convention are of interest to other mountainous regions of the world. The Alpine Convention’s activities therefore include an "external aspect", which takes the form of direct or indirect support for or cooperation with relevant governance bodies in other mountainous regions of the world. This cooperation leads to a fruitful worldwide exchange of experiences and to the building of a global platform for representing the interests of mountainous regions. 

The cooperation between the Alpine Convention and other mountain ranges of the world is briefly presented below. More information about regional governance in mountain ranges around the world is available on Adaptation at Altitude’s Mountains Connect platform.

The Carpathian Convention
The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians ("The Carpathian Convention") was signed in 2003 by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and Ukraine and has been in force since 2006. Like the Alpine Convention, it consists of a framework convention and thematic protocols (on Biodiversity, Sustainable Forest Management, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Transport and Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development). The initiative for the negotiations of the Carpathian Convention came from the UNEP Regional Office for Europe (ROE), which also hosts the Secretariat of the Convention. 

The Alpine Convention States (in particular Italy and Austria) played an active role in the process of establishing the Carpathian Convention following an "Alpine-Carpathian partnership" that was launched during the UN International Year of the Mountains 2002. On 13 December 2006, the presidencies and secretariats of the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The two secretariats cooperate regularly and reciprocally attend meetings.

The Pyrenees
The Pyrenees represent a very important landscape and biodiversity reservoir shared by three States (Andorra, France, Spain). The Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory was set up in January 2010 by the Working Community of the Pyrenees with the main aim of following and understanding the climate evolution in the Pyrenees, limiting its impacts, and providing adaptation to its effects through adaptation strategies for socio-economic sectors and the most fragile natural areas. The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention is a member of the Advisory Board of the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory. Both organisations cooperate through joint projects and events. 

Hindu Kush Himalaya
Intergovernmental cooperation is picking up speed in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, led by ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development). ICIMOD is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre of the eight HKH countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan) and has existed since 1983.

ICIMOD organised the first HKH Science-Policy forum in 2018, then published the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment in 2019, a collection of scientific research about mountain issues and the HKH specifically, as well as offering insights for policymakers. A year later, ICIMOD published the HKH Call for Action, based on the Assessment, outlining six urgent actions to take for sustainable mountain development in the region. Following this, the first Hindu Kush Himalaya Ministerial Mountain Summit took place in 2020 "to further the mountain agenda of a prosperous, peaceful, and poverty-free HKH." To continue and strengthen this cooperation, a High-Level Task Force was mandated to assess the feasibility of establishing a regional institutional mechanism for the HKH. The Task Force is coordinated by ICIMOD.

In 2022, the Permanent Secretariat and ICIMOD organised a joint webinar as well as a study visit of members of the Task Force and ICIMOD to Innsbruck, to share information and discuss issues of transnational mountain governance and sustainable development. Cooperation for awareness-raising on mountain issues is also ongoing.

Andes
The Andean Mountain Initiative, gathering Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Perú and Venezuela, was established in 2007 to promote sustainable development in the mountain areas of the sub-region. The founding Tucumán Declaration was officially presented to the Permanent Committee of the Alpine Conference and contacts have been maintained over the years.

In 2023, the Permanent Secretariat and the Slovenian Presidency hosted a delegation from the Andean Mountain Initiative in Innsbruck and in Slovenia to discuss the respective experiences of regional and cross-border cooperation in the Alps and the Andes. The Andean delegates also attended the 76^th meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Alpine Conference, as well as the 14^th meeting of the Carpathian Convention Implementation Committee.

Following their visit, the Andean Mountain Initiative produced a ‘Mountains Connect Brief: Experience exchange between the Andes, Alps and Carpathians’, highlighting the key takeaways and lessons from the visit.

Resolution by the Dinaric States
The Alpine Conference of 2006 declared The Western Balkans to be an area of “priority importance for cooperation” for the Alpine Convention on the initiative of Italy. Under the Slovenian Presidency in 2009, a process was launched with a view to achieving a common declaration. 

A common Resolution by the Dinaric States ("on the sustainable development of the Dinaric arc region") was negotiated in 2010 and approved on 9 March 2011 by the Ministers or High representatives of Albania, Croatia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Slovenia on the side of the XI Alpine Conference. This Resolution intended to pave the way to a possible future instrument of international law, similar to the Alpine and Carpathian Conventions. 

Caucasus Mountain Co-operation
The Caucasus mountain range links together two seas on a territory with unique geological and environmental characteristics. With the aim of environmental protection and support for the sustainable development, the Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, the Russian Federation and Turkey) came together with a meeting of the Authorised Representatives on the Development of a Legal Instrument for the Protection of the Caucasus Mountain Ecosystem in 2001 where a resolution recognising the need for a legal instrument was signed. 

One of the first steps towards cooperation in the Caucasus region was made through forming synergies between existing projects and fostering multilateral partnerships for mountain issues within the region as well as with the other mountain regions of the world. The project "Sustainable development of mountainous regions of Caucasus" was launched, inspired by the Alliance in the Alps network and financially supported by some Alpine countries, with a goal of providing a draft for development programmes for eight mountain villages. 

Central Asia
Mountain partnership in the Central Asia started in 2000 with the establishment of The Central Asian Mountain Partnership (CAMP) in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. The main aim of the project was to promote sustainable mountain development to ensure better living conditions for poor majority of mountain people. In the first phases CAMP was working in four main areas: resource use, product development and marketing, village development, and policy dialogue. In 2003 CAMP established the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities (AGOCA), after the model of "Alliance in the Alps", as a network of mountain communities with a goal of promoting the interests of the mountain communities, improve communication between mountain villages and exchange of knowledge and experiences. AGOCA today comprises 70 participating villages and is the reference organisation for coordinating transboundary cooperation projects. 

The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention has cooperated in the past with CAMP and AGOCA and some of the Alpine Convention governments finance specific small-scale projects in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. 

Despite their geographical diversity, mountain regions worldwide also show great similarities in their challenges. Therefore, the Alpine Convention acts in a spirit of cooperation with several partners around the globe to exchange experiences and to raise awareness of the specificities of mountainous regions. This transcontinental cooperation contributes to the goal of protecting a balanced and sustainable development of mountain areas.

The international dimension of the Alpine Convention is briefly outlined below.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The Alpine Convention has been active within the UNFCCC framework in order to raise the awareness of climate negotiators of the particular vulnerability of mountains to climate change and their specific solutions. Contracting Parties and the Permanent Secretariat, in cooperation with other mountain areas of the world, have been organising or participating in side events dedicated to mountains in most sessions of the COP since 2011. The Secretary Generals have also delivered several speeches in the high-level segment.

Convention on Biological Diversity
In 2018, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) celebrated 25 years of “safeguarding life on Earth”. The CBD promotes nature and human wellbeing and is structured according to the following three main objectives:

1. conservation of biological diversity;
2. sustainable use of the components of biological diversity;
3. fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.

The world’s mountains are hotspots of biodiversity and home to many unique and rare species. Cooperating at international level to address the threats to this precious mountain biodiversity is crucial, which is why the Alpine Convention has signed a trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Carpathian Convention. The first MoC was signed in 2008 to facilitate the exchange of information and experience between the parties and to formalise their collaboration. Following several successful years of cooperation, a new MoC was signed in 2023 to reflect the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the will of the three Conventions to enhance the synergies between them and their common activities.

Mountain Partnership
The Mountain Partnership was set up as a “Partnership type-2” in the framework of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development as a voluntary alliance with the objective of creating a platform for cooperation among all states, organisations, and NGOs interested in sustainable mountain protection. The legal basis for its establishment are Article 13 of Agenda 21 and Article 42 of the Johannesburg Action Plan. It currently includes 50 governments, 16 intergovernmental organisations, and 143 major groups (e.g. civil society, NGOs, and the private sector) including the Alpine Convention. Its Secretariat is hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome (IT).

Each year on 11 December, the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention celebrates International Mountain Day by organising the cultural and literary Reading Mountains Festival.

European Environment Agency
In 2012, a partnership agreement was signed between the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention. This is implemented via two-year work programmes. A close cooperation is pursued in data collection and data sharing, contributions to publications, networking, and dissemination of activities. The latter aims at fostering exchanges between European transnational regions and mountain conventions on environmental observation and information. To this end, the EEA collects and harmonises national data, supported by the EIONET network (European Environmental Information and Observation Network).

The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention is actively involved in the Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT, which is maintained by the EEA. The manifold common topics, with a focus on climate change, and the need for data sharing makes the cooperation with the EEA and EIONET particularly important.

Forest Europe Process 
In 2009 the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention obtained observer status to the Forest Europe Process.