1.2 - INTERREG IIIB Alpine Space Programme

Aim
MARS 1.1
Monitoring the Alpine Regions’ Sustainability
Monitoring sustainable development of the Alpine Space and its regions with appropriate indicators and comparative data.
Sustainable development can not be reached without taking
all three mutually interactive dimensions (economy, ecology,
social dimension) into account. However, currently no coherent
data set for all Alpine regions for such a monitoring
of sustainability is available. Therefore the main aim of the
project was to elaborate a database with appropriate indicators,
comparative data for every region and appropriate methods
of aggregation and integration for monitoring sustainable
development of the regions of the Alpine Space. With the establishment
of such a monitoring system and the communication
to the public, people and stakeholders should be better
sensitised to the problems of sustainable development and
the interrelations between the economic, ecologic and social
developments in their territory. Based on these data, a report
on the Alpine sustainability situation was elaborated and political
recommendations for actions should possibly be derived
on the basis of the project results.
Activities
In general, a common evaluation of the sustainable development
in different regions is very difficult because of varying
opinions on the definition of sustainable development and on
how to quantify the three dimensions. Each Region usually
collects its own set of data, outside the context of sustainability
and often following different standards and methods.
To come to one joint “Alpine Sustainability Indicator Set”, appropriateness
and availability of data from all Alpine regions
had to be explored, joint standards to be agreed upon and
coherent methods to aggregate existing data had to be elaborated.
Finally a joint methodology how to assess the state of
sustainability by means of these data had to be agreed upon.
All the methodology had finally to undergo a “cross check”
as a report on the current state of sustainability in the Alpine
regions was produced, relying on the project data and comparing
the state of sustainability in the Alpine regions by a
benchmarking methodology.
Outcomes and results
A quite broad data base for the monitoring of sustainable
development was finally elaborated from which several statements
on sustainable development of the Alpine regions can
be given. Especially in the economic field data quality is quite
high, which is no surprise due to the already highly harmonised
standards and methods on indicators in this field.
Within the field of social indicators, the database should be
further developed. Especially for the so-called “soft facts” (as
social capital, etc.) a common understanding is missing and
the collection of data should be enhanced.
As to the ecological dimension a fundamentally innovative approach
was chosen. The focus was put on pressures on the
environment through societal activities in order to make the
link between environment and society more visible. Together
with existing data on the state of the environment a comprehensive
picture can be derived in the future.
With the help of the established database first statements on
sustainable development of the regions of the Alpine Space
can be derived. One further necessary step is to analyse the
outcomes achieved so far more in detail e.g. through the clustering
of similar regions and illumination of the explicit background
of the different regions.
The report has been taken up by the regional administrations
that were partners within the project and its conclusions can
serve as inputs for the future elaboration of regional development
strategies. Moreover the data base created new knowledge
about the Alpine Space in the important field of sustainable
development and can serve as an excellent source e.g.
for the elaboration of the future EU-Territorial Cooperation
Programme “Alpine Space”.
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Lead partner
Project partner
Lead partner
BAK Basel Economics
ERDF Lead partner:
Bundeskanzleramt
Other partners
Land Burgenland
Land Kärnten
Land Salzburg
Land Tirol
Land Vorarlberg
Bayer. Landesamt UW
BMLFUW
Région Alsace
Regione Veneto
ARPA Bolzano
Oberöst. Akademie
Oberöst. TMG
ÖL Steiermark
Provincia A. di Trento
Regione Liguria
Regine Piemonte
Stadt Wien
Wirtschaft BaWü
MOP
Project website
www.bakbasel.com/wEnglisch/benchmarking/interreg/
indexW3DnavidW26105.shtml
Contact person
BAK Basel, CH, Thomas Schoder
Tel +41 (0)61 279 97 16
Fax +41 (0)61 279 97 28
schoder@bakbasel.com
Bundeskanzerlamt, A, Michael Roth
Tel +43 (0)1 53115 2936
Fax +43 (0)1 53115 2180
michael.roth@bka.gv.at
Duration
05.2003 – 06.2005
Total budget in EUR
1.347.300
ERDF in EUR
308.374
19
spatial planning & competitiveness