Forty years of the Conference of Alpine Cantonal Governments

The 1981 association that defends rural people and mountain areas includes Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Graubünden, Ticino and Valais

The Conference of Alpine Cantonal Governments was founded in 1981 and celebrates its fortieth anniversary in 2021.
Today it is made up of the cantonal governments of Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Ticino and Valais.
The presidency of the CGCA alternates at regular intervals between the cantons and has the legal form of an association.

Swiss monuments? A “hidden” treasure to be exploited…
Athenian democracy? Revive between Glarus and Appenzell…
The Europe of small States and a federalism barely sketched out…

A wide-ranging Statute, but cohesion is at the heart of it

According to the Statute, the CGCA has the following aims:
the coordination and joint representation of specific problems and interests of rural and mountain areas vis-à-vis the Confederation, the cantons, associations and the public;
an effective clarification of the usefulness of rural and alpine areas for the cohesion of the whole country;
effective cooperation between cantonal administrations through mutual information on current challenges for rural and mountain areas and the development of a joint solution strategy.

Sense of responsibility and self-determination strengthened

The Conference of the Alpine Cantonal Governments can only draw attention to the problems of the mountain cantons if they pool their strengths, including those of the municipalities and towns, and focus them specifically on the objective.
The sense of responsibility and self-determination is thus reinforced, since the common potential for the well-being of the mountain population is used in a targeted and more intensive manner from all points of view.
At the same time, it makes its resources and competencies available and contributes, also with its proportionate contribution to meeting national burdens, to strengthening Switzerland’s competitiveness.

Statuten ( Regierungskonferenz der Gebirgskantone)
Statuts (Conférence gouvernementale des cantons alpins)
Statuto (Conferenza dei governi dei Cantoni alpini)

From hydropower to… foreign policy issues

Initially, the objective of the CGCA was limited to the coordination of questions concerning the use of hydropower.
In the meantime, the objective of the Conference of the Alpine Cantonal Governments has been extended and is now proposed as a collective representation of all mountain-specific issues and interests, both at home and abroad.
This includes, in particular, issues such as spatial planning and tourism, energy policy, finance, transport and foreign policy (in cooperation with the regions bordering the Alps).

43.3% of Switzerland’s surface area, one in eight inhabitants

The surface area of the eight member cantons of the CGCA represents 43.3% of the total surface area of Switzerland.
Approximately 1.1 million people, i.e. 13% of the Swiss population, live in the area of the Conference of Alpine Cantonal Governments.
The average population density within the perimeter of the CGCA is about 84 persons per square kilometer (in Switzerland: 215 inhabitants/square kilometer).

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