ALPMEMA – ALPine mountain hay MEadows MAnagement

ALPine mountain hay MEadows MAnagement: Best practices to maintain their Favorable Conservation Status against underuse under different property right regimes inside and outside protected areas.

Flowers in the foreground and mountains in the back

The overall aim of ALPMEMA is to identify best practices to maintain a favorable conservation status of mountain hay meadows despite the threat of underuse and to explain the influence of different ownership regimes as well as the location of such meadows inside of protected areas on these best practices.

In a transnational meta-analysis in 4 countries, an interdisciplinary research team in close collaboration with local stakeholders will be comparatively

- identify, based on established knowledge in case studies, current best practices related to the maintenance of a favorable conservation status in such meadows

- identify innovative management tools, coalitions of actors and other new methods that are additionally suitable for the management of such meadows,

- explain the significance of different ownership regimes and the significance of whether the areas are located in or outside formally protected areas

- describe the condition linked to the use of these meadows through remote sensing and outline the main actual and potential spatial effects of underuse of such meadows using geographical information systems and

- develop scenarios for the management of mountain hay meadows in 2030 and 2050 through playful approaches with different stakeholders.

The Swedish part will especially contribute case studies with regard to private and public ownership situations as well asl add particular Swedish "best practices" in Swedish protected areas.