BeyondSnow

Many small medium-altitude snow tourism destinations (STDs) and communities across the AS are facing climate change (CC) issues, especially regarding the diminishment of snow coverage. Climatic data indicate that this effect will considerably worsen in the future. Next to ecological impacts, these STDs have also to consider the socioeconomic ramifications. BeyondSnow aims at increasing the socio-ecologic climate resilience of STDs and communities and enable them to retain their attractiveness for residents and tourists. New sustainable development paths, transition processes, and implementable solutions will be conjointly devised within specific pilot working areas (PWAs), which are spatially distributed across six Alpine countries, differing in size, development level and criticalities. In WP1 PPs will address the relation between CC induced current/future lack of snow coverage and possible effects on Alpine SDTs and investigate the PWAs in detail. Future climate and socioeconomic scenarios as well as vulnerability indicators and main transition models for STDs will be identified to elaborate an innovative Resilience Adaptation Model (RAM) for Alpine STDs. The core project activities in WP2 will focus on (a) the conversion of the RAM into a Resilience Decision- Making Digital Tool (RDMDT) which will be developed to be freely available and publicly accessible for the Alpine community (b) its implementation with the participative involvement and support of the PWA’s communities by co-designing future alternative development scenarios, sustainable transition paths and strategies for each PWA (c) implementing on an experimental basis initial pilot actions (PAs). The findings of WP1 and WP2 will be generalised in WP3 which focuses on the implementation of training, dissemination and awareness raising activities targeting different technical and political levels and citizens through the PPs, and the elaboration of resilience-oriented policy guidelines for AS STDs.