Mountain Wilderness

In defence of mountains, the world over
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    • Biella Theses
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      • 1987-2007
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      • The Swat Project
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      • Bernard AMY
      • Xavi ARIAS
      • Núria BALAGUÉ
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      • Chris BONINGTON (Sir)
      • Fausto DE STEFANI
      • Kurt DIEMBERGER
      • Barbara EHRINGHAUS
      • Anselmo GIOLITTI
      • Richard GOEDEKE
      • Alessandro GOGNA
      • Paulo GROBEL
      • Franco MICHIELI
      • Frédi MEIGNAN
      • Carlo Alberto (Betto) PINELLI
      • Jordi QUERA
      • Afzel SCHERAZI
      • Francesco TOMATIS
      • Patrick WAGNON
    • Presidency Team
      • Gabriella Suzanne VANZAN – President
      • Jordi QUERA – Vice President
      • Sabine RENTSCHLER – Vice President
      • Laura MORO – Vice President
      • Anouk SCHARNHOLZ – Secretary General
      • Hervé THIEBLEMONT – Deputy Secretary General
      • Susanna GONELLA – Treasurer
    • Governing Board
    • Asian Desk
      • Carlo Alberto PINELLI
      • Gianluca UGOLINI
      • Lorenza PRATALI
      • Francesco CAPPELLARI
      • Sara POZZETTI
      • Mauro BOLOGNA
      • Francesca COLESANTI
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  • Sheen Alpine Association (1, featured cut)

    From Girls in Action to Sheen Alpine Association: Pakistan’s first women-led mountaineering and environmental association takes shape

  • Mountain Wilderness General Assembly 2026 (1, featured cut)

    A general assembly at the heart of the Dolomites

  • Brenner Protest (featured cut)

    Thousands block Austria’s Brenner motorway to protest rising traffic noise and pollution

  • Interview MW Democratic Republic of Congo (1, featured cut)

    The Democratic Republic of Congo now has its own Mountain Wilderness association

  • Canal Roya, upper part of the valley, with Midi d'Ossau in the background (featured cut).

    Why protect the Pyrenean mountains and the Canal Roya valley?

  • World Day of Glaciers 2026 (1, featured cut)

    World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2026

  • Geotextile sheets in the Rhône Glacier (1, featured cut)

    The impacts of geotextile sheets on the Rhône Glacier and beyond

  • International Mountain Day 2025 (1, featured cut)

    Recording of the International Mountain Day 2025 event

  • From a dead lake, to the largest glacier outside polar regions (main picture, featured cut)

    From a dead lake, to the largest glacier outside polar regions

  • Open Olympics' third report (1, featured cut)

    Open Olympics’ third report on the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

  • International Mountain Day 2025 (1, featured cut)

    International Mountain Day 2025

  • Photo 3. CryoPyr team collecting samples on the Aneto glacier, featured cut.

    The last glaciers of Southern Europe, the Pyrenees

  • Changing face of Baltoro (1, featured cut)

    Thirty Years on Ice: A Witness to the Changing Face of the Baltoro

  • Pic de la Grave and Girose Glacier (featured cut)

    The future of the Girose Glacier

  • Girls in Action 2025 Press Release (1, featured cut)

    Girls in Action 2025!

  • Girls in Action 2025 (1, featured cut)

    Girls in Action 2025

  • Against off-road driving in the Icelandic Highlands (1, featured cut)

    A campaign against off-road driving in the Icelandic Highlands

  • Adamello and Corno Bianco, featured cut

    Protected areas in Italy: progress and setbacks

  • MoU with Pakistan (1, featured cut)

    The signing of the MoU with Pakistan

  • Heart of Asia (1, featured cut)

    From the heart of Asia, a wish that rises like the wind

  • Decline of Sheep and Goat Farming in the EU (1, featured cut)

    The Decline of Sheep and Goat Farming in the EU: A Win for Mountain Ecosystems?

  • Uphill and effortless (1, featured cut)

    Uphill and effortless

Sheen Alpine Association (1, featured cut)

From Girls in Action to Sheen Alpine Association: Pakistan’s first women-led mountaineering and environmental association takes shape

Sheen Alpine Association, born from the success of the Girls in Action trainings held by the Asian Desk of Mountain Wilderness International within the framework of the Swat Project, held their first hiking trip in June. A group of young women from Swat and Chitral spent a Sunday blending science …

Francisco Sierra June 28, 2026 News Permalink
Mountain Wilderness General Assembly 2026 (1, featured cut)

A general assembly at the heart of the Dolomites

On Saturday 6 June, Mountain Wilderness International held its annual general assembly – this year an in-person, elective event – in Auronzo di Cadore, set against the stunning backdrop of the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The choice of location was no coincidence, but was motivated on the one …

Francisco Sierra June 13, 2026 Events, News Permalink
Brenner Protest (featured cut)

Thousands block Austria’s Brenner motorway to protest rising traffic noise and pollution

On Saturday 30 May, a protest against noise and pollution blocked one of Europe’s most important highways connecting Germany and Italy. Several thousand protesters gathered on the Brenner motorway to demand action. The Brenner Pass links northern and southern Europe, with the Austrian stretch providing vital trans-Alpine access into Italy. …

Francisco Sierra May 31, 2026 Events, News Permalink
Interview MW Democratic Republic of Congo (1, featured cut)

The Democratic Republic of Congo now has its own Mountain Wilderness association

The Democratic Republic of Congo now has its own Mountain Wilderness chapter, joining other countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Catalonia and Pakistan. As part of Mountain Wilderness International (our umbrella organisation) and the International Working Group set up by MW France, MW France interviewed Keren Akatshi, Acting …

Francisco Sierra May 18, 2026 News Permalink
Canal Roya, upper part of the valley, with Midi d'Ossau in the background (featured cut).

Why protect the Pyrenean mountains and the Canal Roya valley?

The following paper was written in Spanish for the Canal Roya 2026 Pyrenean Congress held on 17-19 April 2026, in Jaca (Spain). You can read the original version here. GETTING OUT INTO THE MOUNTAINS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS AND NATURE Borja Antolín Tomás (President of Mountain Wilderness Spain), Alba Martínez Picó …

Francisco Sierra April 20, 2026 Discussion, Events Permalink
World Day of Glaciers 2026 (1, featured cut)

World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2026

Sabine Rentschler, our Vice President, attended the event hosted by UNESCO and provides a brief summary of the two days below. At the UNESCO two-day international conference held in Paris on 18–19 March 2026, delegates marked both the World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day 2026 – events that …

Francisco Sierra April 10, 2026 Discussion, Events Permalink
Geotextile sheets in the Rhône Glacier (1, featured cut)

The impacts of geotextile sheets on the Rhône Glacier and beyond

A petition from Mountain Wilderness Switzerland As you may recall, MW International has already addressed the Rhône Glacier in one of its blog posts as part of its Shrinking Glaciers Project. The Rhône Glacier in the canton of Valais, in southern Switzerland stretches from 2,197 to 3,600 m asl and covers …

Francisco Sierra February 28, 2026 Discussion, News Permalink
International Mountain Day 2025 (1, featured cut)

Recording of the International Mountain Day 2025 event

For those who missed our event to celebrate the International Mountain Day 2025, which took place on last December 11th, we publish here its recording.

Francisco Sierra February 1, 2026 News Permalink
From a dead lake, to the largest glacier outside polar regions (main picture, featured cut)

From a dead lake, to the largest glacier outside polar regions

By François Burgay, University of Baselfrancois.burgay@unibas.ch It was September. As soon as I stepped out of the jeep, I began walking across …

Open Olympics' third report (1, featured cut)

Open Olympics’ third report on the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

A few weeks before the opening of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the civic network Open Olympics 2026 – coordinated by Libera …

Read all Articles →

Want to see mountain nature better protected? Join us!

“Mountain wilderness” refers to any pristine, untouched mountain environment, where anyone can experience vast open spaces, silence, solitude, nature. “The value of wilderness therefore lies above all in its potential to stimulate a creative relationship between civilised man and the natural environment. It is the degree of authenticity of this relationship that gives a non-ephemeral meaning to adventure.”

This definition dates back to 1987, when the Biella theses, our manifesto, were written. They marked the birth of Mountain Wilderness.

Mountain Wilderness International (MWI) is the umbrella organisation of the national chapters of Mountain Wilderness. It facilitates communication and exchange among national chapters, coordinates and organises international projects and actions and officially represents the organisation in its relations with governments, authorities, international institutions and non-governmental organisations.

If you share our ideas and you wish to help us, please join a national chapter. Mountain Wilderness has chapters in a dozen countries.

Glacier of the Month

Events Calendar

Mountain Wilderness International

2 weeks ago

Mountain Wilderness International
The Medvezhiy Glacier lies on the western slope of the Tajik National Academy of Sciences Range, in the heart of Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains. In early summer 2011, the Medvezhiy Glacier underwent a sudden and dramatic surge down its valley, which rased serious concerns about the risk of a potential glacial lake outburst flood that could inundate the Vanch River valley.Read our new #glacierofthemonth blog post. #shrinkingglaciersLink in first comment.📷 Credits: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ... See MoreSee Less

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Mountain Wilderness International

2 weeks ago

Mountain Wilderness International
European mountain forests were considered safely above the worst of the climate-driven fire problem. That view no longer fits the data.Researchers tracked wildfires across eight European mountain regions from 2000 to 2025 and discovered that fires are climbing the slopes at roughly 236 feet (72 m) per decade, finding fuel in stands that almost never burned before. ... See MoreSee Less

Wildfires are climbing Europe’s mountains as heat dries forests

www.earth.com

Forest fires are spreading toward European mountains and threatening forests that once protected ecosystems and cities.
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Mountain Wilderness International

2 weeks ago

Mountain Wilderness International
Are you wondering why we chose Auronzo di Cadore, in Italy, and who the members of the newly elected Presidency Team are? Or what plans we have for our 40th anniversary?You will find all answers and lots more information on our #GA2026 in our new blog post.Link in first comment And if you want to know more about any of the members of the new PT, you can find a short bio under "Presidency Team" on our website.Here's a little sneak peek at the new PT ⬇️ ... See MoreSee Less

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Mountain Wilderness International

3 weeks ago

Mountain Wilderness International
As proud members, we are delighted to share the important news that the Mountain Partnership has reached the 700-member mark! The Partnership, which stretches from the Carpathians to the Kyrgyz ranges, from the Ethiopian highlands to the peaks of Central America, from the Appalachians to the islands of the Pacific, has reached the 700-member milestone thanks to the Government of Haiti that joined the voluntary alliance, bringing the total number of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) within the Partnership to 10 and the number of governments to 75.#MountainsMatter ... See MoreSee Less

The Mountain Partnership reaches 700 members: A global community united for mountains

www.fao.org

The Mountain Partnership has reached a landmark milestone of 700 members! This vibrant coalition unites governments, civil society, intergovernmental organiz...
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Mountain Wilderness International

3 weeks ago

Mountain Wilderness International
On June 6 we held our General Assembly 2026 in Auronzo di Cadore, nestled in the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We reviewed our activities over the past year and laid the foundations for the association’s work in the coming year, which will mark our 40th anniversary. We have many projects in mind to celebrate this important milestone! 🥳🥳We also went to Cortina, to see for ourselves the damage caused to nature and the landscape by the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.And we also elected a new Presidency Team as well as some new International Guarantors! 💪A big thank you to Mountain Wilderness Italia for the logistical and organisational support, to all chapters that came and also to those who couldn't make it. To the latter: you were still in our thoughts and in our hearts!More information to follow in the coming days and weeks, stay tuned! 👀Mountain Wilderness DRCongoMountain Wilderness PakistanMountain Wilderness CatalunyaMountain Wilderness EspañaMountain Wilderness FranceMountain Wilderness Deutschland ... See MoreSee Less

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
31 Dec

Mountain Wilderness wishes you all...

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
30 Dec

A few weeks ago, the third report on the Winter Olympics 2026 was released by the NGO network Open Olympics 2026. The text is only available in Italian, but here is a brief summary in English ⬇️⬇️⬇️
#MilanoCortina2026

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
24 Dec

Whether you are celebrating or not, whether you are on top of a mountain or in a crowded city, we would like to thank all mountain lovers who have followed and supported us again this year in our fight in defence of the mountains. Happy Holidays to all of you!

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
22 Dec

Want to know more about the webinar we held on #IMD2025 entitled "Glaciers: A Story Worth Preserving"?
While waiting for the video recording - to be published soon - read the article below!
It provides a brief summary and interesting insights #IYGP

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mwildernessint Mountain Wilderness International @mwildernessint ·
5 Dec

A first glimpse of what our event
"Glaciers: A Story Worth Preserving"
for #InternationalMountainDay 2025 will be like...
Next week, celebrate #IMD2025 with us!
To register, follow link below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
#mountainsmatter #shrinkingglaciers

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