Our intention
Raising awareness of the beauty and fragility of our natural environment, understanding the impact of global warming on the economic, tourist and agricultural activities of the Hautes-Alpes, highlighting the most remarkable initiatives, opening up a place for sharing and exchange beyond everyone’s convictions, seeking together a point of balance between preservation and enhancement of exceptional nature, our greatest asset, so that we can continue to do business and live here.
Fragile
Climate change
What the GREC-SUD study says
Disappearing glaciers, rising temperatures, rock collapses, permafrost degradation: GREC-SUD experts decipher the impacts of climate change in the Southern Alps. Excerpts from the “Mountain” thematic section .
Water
From the common good to conflicts of use
More directly impacted by global warming, mountain areas are particularly exposed to changes in the water cycle. Through various testimonies in the Dévoluy and on the shores of Lac de Serre-Ponçon, journalist Sabah Rahmani takes stock of this environmental, societal and economic challenge.
Biodiversity
Should we ban access to nature to better protect it?
Should we ban access to nature to better protect it?
Behind this shocking phrase lies a fascinating debate proposed by journalist Quentin Lafay of France Culture radio. Virginie Maris, philosopher and member of the scientific council of the Parc National des Écrins, was invited to talk about the subject.
Natural disasters
Growing intensity and frequency
Global warming is wreaking havoc with our environment and our activities. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen an increase in the number and intensity of bad weather and disasters: drought in 2022, landslides at Le Chambon and Le Pas de l’Ours, torrential flooding in La Clarée, La Vallouise and Guillestrois, black frosts in Durance orchards, fire blight.
One watchword: cope and adapt.
Glaciers
On-board listening at 3,200 metres altitude, at the heart of the inner life of the Girose glacier
These men and women, glaciologists, first-aid workers and high-mountain guides, share their experiences of these places and offer some keys to understanding the current landscape transformations linked to global warming. Their stories are interwoven with unheard-of sounds captured by microphones, hydrophones and seismic sensors plunged into the depths of crevasses, glacial torrents and moraine folds.
The glacier moves 35 metres a year
with the voices of Lucas Davaze, glaciologist, and Morgan Barbot, ski patroller at La Grave.
Flying over the glacier
with the voice of David Le Guen, sales and communications manager at the Meije glaciers cable car company
We don’t know when it’s going to fall
with the voices of Erin Smart and Benjamin Ribeyre, high-mountain guides at La Grave
Agile
Climate change
The reality of an adapting department
Journalists Catherine Pétillon and Véronique Rebeyrotte from France Culture radio criss-cross the Hautes-Alpes.
From the orchards of the Haute-Durance to the glaciers of the Haute-Romanche, striking testimonies from mountain dwellers confronted with climate upheaval.
Agriculture
Ancient varieties to the rescue of Alpine vineyards
Global warming tends to alter the quality of certain wines. Higher temperatures mean higher sugar levels in the grapes and, by extension, higher alcohol levels in the bottle. To avoid disappearing from the market, the vineyards concerned have had to adapt by replanting old grape varieties, some of which have been abandoned for over a century.
For several years now, without waiting for global warming to have an impact on vines and wine, the Hautes-Alpes region has been committed to this bold approach, following the example of Domaine Allemand and its endemic Mollard grape variety.
These grape varieties, abandoned at the end of the 19th century during the phylloxera epidemic, now seem to be in tune with the changing climate.
This opens up new prospects for thePGI Vins des Hautes-Alpes and the entire industry.
Innovation
The environment at the heart of the region’s concerns
Sobriety and technological innovation, the ski areas are continuing their actions in favor of more sustainable, environmentally-friendly tourism development.
Self-generated energy from renewable sources in Serre Chevalieror energy management to regulate consumption in real time at Les Orres, find out all about the eco-responsible initiatives of the department’s resorts in the resort press kits.
Four seasons
The example of the Monêtier-les-Bains commune in Serre Chevalier
A small mountain hamlet in the Parc national des Écrins, Le Monêtier-les-Bains is renowned as a land of mountaineers.
Bouldering has also recently been introduced. A France 3 report, by Lucie Robert and Fabien Madigou.
Power supply
A departmental food project
In view of the urgent need to address climate, energy and environmental issues, the French government has presented the main guidelines resulting from the ecological planning process, with a view to more than halving France’s greenhouse gas emissions, reducing pressure on biodiversity and better managing essential resources.
The Hautes-Alpes PAT brings overall coherence to the department’s food system, with a single objective: to strive for food excellence and exemplarity. A response to the current environmental, economic and social crisis.
Corporate Social Responsibility
A territorial version of CSR
In the run-up to the 2030 French Alps Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Hautes-Alpes region has embarked on an ambitious territorial CSR initiative.
On January 8, 2026, some twenty local business organizations (consular chambers, federations, trade unions, representative bodies, etc.) signed the Hautes-Alpes CSR Charter.
Balance point
The Hautes-Alpes opens a path
From the 50th anniversary of the Ecrins National Park (in 2024), to the Vallouise speech proclaimed by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1977, the Hautes-Alpes is leading the way.
It’s the story of a mountain region aware of its vulnerabilities, seeking to strike a balance between preserving and enhancing the exceptional natural environment that is its greatest asset.
