AlpFUTUR - The future of summer pastures in Switzerland

Photos: www.alpfutur.ch

Objectives

The joint research program AlpFUTUR aims at identifying prospects regarding the use of the Swiss alpine pasturing area in the short and medium term (10 to 40 years):

1. Evaluation of the need for political action: Are more / less / other instruments and regulations needed? What kind?
2. Analysis of the profitability of alpine summer farming, and propositions to improve it: May innovations (in products or production processes), better marketing or new land use management improve profitability?
   
3. Appraisal of the future demand for alpine pastures and summer farms: How many and what livestock categories should be summering? What are the points of view of the owners of the alpine summer farms (privates, cooperatives)? Will there be sufficient well-trained and motivated workforce?
   
4. Natural and cultural landscape services of the alpine pasturing area in the future: What will be their development? What is the appraisal of this development from a societal point of view and how could it be directed in a direction desired by society?

Synthesis

The coordination team ensures that the joint research will bring an additional benefit for science and practice. For that purpose, it coordinates the sub-projects and their requirements with each other and foresees a concerted synthesis of the results.

Advisory Board and Know-how Transfer

An advisory board with experts (ABE) supports the research program. Its members ensure that the sub-projects are oriented towards the needs of stakeholders and science and that the transfer of the results into practice takes place.

Project Coordination

The joint research program is coordinated by the Research Institute Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon ART and the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.

• Irmi Seidl (WSL)
  
• Stefan Lauber (WSL)
  
• Rosa Böni (WSL)
  
• Felix Herzog (ART)
  

Contact

• Irmi Seidl