In the research of Climate Change in the European Alps, the Alps are identified as the “water tower” of Europe, source to three principal rivers – the Rhine, Rhone, and the Po. They are also one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in Europe with over 30,000 animals and 13,000 plant species.
The popular and burgeoning success of Crans-Montana with skiing, ski du font and mountain biking have already driven the farmers away from the meadows servicing the growing visitors, leaving the deep blue gentians and pasture flowers smothered by Juniper as it spreads, ungrazed across the once meadow lands higher up in the ski slopes