‘Cooperation must grow; it cannot be dictated from above.’

This year's symposium of the Alpine-wide network of municipalities, Alliance in the Alps, took place not just in one location, but in four – namely the Vorarlberg towns that together form the Kumma region: Altach, Mäder, Koblach and Götzis. The overarching theme of the conference was ‘Strong together! Cooperation as the key to resilient communities’, and it became clear in the many discussions, presentations, workshops and on an excursion during the conference that many things are much easier when done together.

This was confirmed by the four mayors of the Kumma region: Gerd Hölzl (Mayor of Koblach), Daniel Schuster (Mayor of Mäder), Manfred Böhmwalder (Mayor of Götzis) and Markus Giesinger (Mayor of Altach) reported on their active cooperation in many areas during a panel discussion moderated by Katharina Gasteiger, Managing Director of Alliance in the Alps. They coordinate their youth work, network on the issue of elderly care and jointly organise refugee accommodation. "Every form of cooperation is important – we want to keep the structures as flat as possible. People must want to cooperate; cooperation must grow and cannot be dictated from above,‘ said Manfred Böhmwalder. Daniel Schuster added: ’The foundations for our cooperation in the region were laid decades ago, and we can continue to build on them." Markus Giesinger cited the pump track as a concrete example of where cooperation works excellently: ‘The costs were divided according to population size, maintenance is financed by the region – and the facilities are used intensively by young and old throughout the Kumma region.’ Gerd Hölzl added what else is needed for a well-functioning cooperation: ‘It is important to set guidelines for yourself, for example for a spatial development concept. This allows you as a municipality to refer to cornerstones, for example for greening flat roofs.’

Sophie Baumschlager from KLAR! am Rhein, a somewhat larger association that includes four additional municipalities in the surrounding area in addition to the four Kumma municipalities, also sees cooperation as a key element. KLAR! am Rhein is committed to climate change adaptation, with the aim of supporting municipalities in adapting to the consequences of climate change – something that is also easier to achieve when many municipalities pull together.

Meteorologist and ‘climate hunter’ Andreas Jäger, a native of the neighbouring municipality of Hohenems, was playing on home turf, so to speak. In his keynote speech entitled ‘The Alps in fever,’ he presented impressive figures, data, facts and images on climate change – but without spreading a mood of doom and gloom among his audience. Andreas Jäger said that even the smallest community can have a positive impact. Mayors are multipliers in this regard. ‘Vorarlberg is a model region – in my opinion, everything is being done right here,’ said Jäger.

In her keynote speech entitled ‘The Power of Cooperation’, Kriemhild Büchel-Kapeller, an expert in social capital, sustainability and participation processes, demonstrated in many ways that the future will require more cooperation, collaboration and partnership. ‘The future is a joint task and cannot be delegated to a single individual,’ said Büchel-Kapeller. ‘Humans are naturally designed for cooperation and resonance.’ What will become increasingly important for the future is swarm intelligence, the wisdom of many, the networking of local knowledge – as the Kumma region is already implementing at the community level.

An exciting cooperation project was also presented from the nearby Principality of Liechtenstein: Sabine Monauni, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment, together with Christian Öhri, Mayor of Ruggell, presented the Biodiversity Action Plan 2030+: The plan includes a vision for near-natural spaces and diverse nature, as well as close cooperation between the state, municipalities and the population for successful implementation.

The RHESI project of the century can only work through cross-border cooperation: the state of Vorarlberg is working together with neighbouring Swiss municipalities to provide flood protection in the Rhine Valley. In their joint presentation and subsequent excursion, Marlene Engler and Bernhard Valenti from RHESI impressively demonstrated where the project stands today and how it will continue in the coming years. ‘A project like RHESI is always a compromise – and in a good compromise, not all parties are completely satisfied, because everyone gives up a little something for the greater good,’ said Marlene Engler.

After a short lunch break, the participants moved on to the next item on the agenda: an excursion with stops in the Kumma communities. At each stop, it became clear that cooperation is essential. The first stop was at the flood hall in Koblach, where sandbags are filled and distributed in the event of imminent flooding. The tour continued with the historic Rheinbähnle train along the Rhine dam to Mäder, where Marlene Engler and Bernhard Valenti from RHESI explained the plans in detail. After a coffee break at the Altacher football club stadium, the participants visited the renaturalised Emmebach stream in Altach, where flood protection has been improved and a local recreation area for the population has been created. The last stop was the Örflaschlucht gorge in Götzis, where a retention area with a large catchment capacity is currently being created for the Emmebach stream.

Die Konferenz-Teilnehmenden wurden am Abend feierlich von Landesrat Christian Gantner begrüßt und konnten den Abend in Mäder feierlich ausklingen lassen und einen beeindruckenden Auftritt der Akrobatik-Gruppe Novus aus Mäder erleben.

At the annual general meeting, which took place on the morning of 8 October prior to the official conference programme, board member Rainer Siegele stepped down from his position at his own request after 28 years with the network, and Gerd Hölzl was unanimously elected as the new Austrian board member.

Afterwards, conference participants – mayors and employees of member municipalities, employees of organisations in the Alpine region that are active at the municipal level – were given an insight into two current projects on which Alliance in the Alps is currently working. In two workshops, in which participants were able to take on different roles in group work, there were some heated discussions. The proCURE project deals with sustainable procurement in small municipalities and provides them with a handbook and various tools to help them get started. The BrokeringSpaces project deals with conflicts in land use – conflicts that are set to increase as space becomes increasingly scarce.