LIFEstockProtect Conference 2024

Date: 24.10.24 | Time: 17.00-18.30

CIPRA will be organising a side-event during the LIFEStock Protect conference, specially designed for Alpine shepherds and shepherdesses.

The side-event will be an opportunity to come together and discuss different Alpine ways of dealing with grass and water supplies in times of draught, and how different pastoral systems across the Alps are adapting to climate change.

The focus will be put on the shepherds and shepherdesses’ experiences, and on sharing lessons learned and useful information.

• The meeting will take place immediately after the presentations in Salern on October 24th, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM.
• Maximum 25 people, registration on-site. Further details will be provided at the opening of the conference.
• Translation will be ensured by CIPRA staff

This side-event is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), the Payne-Smith Foundation, unaterra and the Temperatio Foundation.

25.10.2024 | 7 pm Museum of Natural History South Tyrol at Bolzano

Following the conference, everyone is cordially invited to attend the opening of the “Gras und Zähne – al pascolo – may safely graze” exhibition at the Museum of Natural History South Tyrol at Bolzano. The exhibition was realized as part of the LIFEstockProtect project. A free bus transfer from Salern to Bozen and back will be provided for all those interested - please indicate this when registering for the conference.

Description of the exhibition:

Scenes of a peaceful life of shepherds and grazing animals, of hard work in all weathers and in uncomfortable areas: the cultural history of pastoralism moves between these two poles. When humans started to settle in the Alps carrying domestic animals with them, the post-glacial landscapes began to change. The exhibition shows steps of grassland based existence until today´s debate on grazing animals and their predators. Sculptures, models, games, interviews and videos about the work of shepherds with their dogs provide insights about the cultural practice of pastoralism and the importance of shepherds, who not only protect the flock from wolves. In fact, the pastoralism can have an important role on the environment, the biodiversity, the health and well-being of animals, the Climate and the human feeding.

Date: 24.10 | Time: 09.00 - 13.00

Eurac Research is organizing a regional workshop on the topic "Return of the Wolf to South Tyrol - Solutions for the Future" as part of the Salern Herd Protection Days at the Agricultural School Salern. The aim of the half-day workshop is to discuss the possibilities and perspectives of a regional stakeholder process in South Tyrol with representatives and decision-makers at both local and EU levels. The workshop is supported by the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores, and its members have already been invited to participate in the event on-site. The event is organized by Eurac Research in collaboration with adelphi consult GmbH, which has successfully guided similar stakeholder processes in other EU countries on behalf of the European Commission.

• Closed group, participants are directly invited by the organizing team.

Support is provided by The European Commission as part of Service Contract N° 09.0201/2023/907799/SER/ENV.D.3. The Content does not necessarily reflect the official view of the European Commission. Find more information here.

Date: 25.10 | Time: 10.00 - 12.00

Brief description of the workshop: As part of the research project Feral Wool, the workshop "A Look to 2035” invites a diverse group of stakeholders—politicians, shepherds, farmers, and scientists—to imagine and co-create wool futures and ecologies of South Tyrol and beyond. Through this co-creative process, the workshop seeks to generate new visions and narrations that would help create new connections and alternative practices for a more resilient and sustainable wool futures.

The workshop “A Look to 2035” is part of the research project Feral Wool, within the framework of activities of Spoke 1 of the PNRR-iNEST project at the Competence Center for Mountain Innovation Ecosystems, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, which explores local wool, wool crafts, and its ecosystem in South Tyrol to regenerate and design alternative future narratives for a more care-oriented and multispecies future(s).

Research Team: Seçil Uğur Yavuz, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano Merve Bektaş, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano Camilo Ayala Garcia, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Contact: merve.bektas@unibz.it

Workshop language: English/Italian