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The Aletsch glacier stretches majestically along 24km to meet the famous range / massif of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains. It is an unspoiled icy world of unique beauty and the longest glacier in the Alps.
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Switzerland wants to have the Aletsch region nominated by UNESCO as a region of world heritage. This would place the glacier on a par with the Galapago islands or Yellowstone park. The application is due to be submitted to UNESCO in June.
In the middle of the Alpine chain, Switzerland could be the first and only Alpine country to be awarded UNESCO heritage status for a mountain region. Conservationists all agree that this international distinction would be the peak for the Aletsch.
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(Laudo Albrecht, Aletsch Glacier Conservation Centre:)
Here we are overlooking the Aletsch face. The landscape is not only beautiful to look at but has undergone biological, geological and glacialogical processes of major significance. Part of it is already a protected area, and the Aletsch face itself has been a conservation area since 1933. For me, all of these criteria simply strengthen our case for UNESCO status.
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Winter sports form the livelihood of several tourist resorts at the bottom of the glacier. Here on the Belalp, above Naters, people generally agree that there are enough cable cars - they want a UNESCO protected area.
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(Beat Ruppen, Swiss college of tourism, Siders)
UNESCO status would give us a great opportunity to broaden the type of tourism that the area attracts, and improve our future prospects. Tourists
would then come here to appreciate the local beauty and not just to ski. We want them to come because the glacier itself is an attraction as well as the skiing facilities - and they would treat the area with more respect if it were classed as a nature reserve.
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World heritage status has ist price - the entire Aletsch area will have to be put under strict control. This means that no new cable cars will be built. The existing national ban on building new facilities will be practically sealed forever by UNESCO.
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All eight of the tourist resorts affected can live with that - apart from one - Ried Mörel.
The 324 inhabitants of the village make a good living from tourism. Above the resort on the Riederalp there are numerous hotels, chalets and ski lifts.
People here also want world heritage status, but not at the cost of a total ban on construction. The Ried-Mörelers still have their eye on a new cable car, which would be erected at the boundary of the existing conservation area. At some point in the distant future, the Riederalp is supposed to be linked with the Belalp opposite.A cable car connection across to the other ski resort is not a dream they are prepared to give up for world heritage status.
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The highest official at the Swiss Ministry for the Environment, Meinrad Küttel, is attending the round table talks in Ried Mörel. He is hoping for success with his UNESCO application, but all of the surrounding communities have to agree unanimously. Ried Mörel wants both -world heritage status and a new cable car.
3'40 - Round table discussion
Norbert Walker, vice-president of the Ried-Mörel village council: You have to see that this cable connection is an issue for us - the resort on the other side is 3,000 metres high, which is 1,000 km higher than our
resort.
.
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Martin Kummer, Vice president of the district council.
A cable car connection would improve the local tourism industry immensely It would open up a lot more ski areas for the visitors - they could use the ski slopes on both sides of the valley. Compared to other ski resorts in Austria of France, we're very small, so it would be a good opportunity for
us.
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The boundaries of the planned UNESCO conservation area are identical with those of the current national conservation area. The Ried community wants to have ist cake and eat it- yes to UNESCO but only if a tiny part of the existing protected area is removed so that a cable car can be built.
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Meinrad Küttel, Swiss department for the environment
You have to realise that the government has already decided that there are to be no more developments in the higher mountain areas - it's not environmentally viable. The government won't permit any new development.
5'02
Norbert Walker:
We don't want to create new ski slopes or anything - we're just talking about connecting the two existing resorts - that's all. You're talking about current projects and the present situation - we're talking about our visions and future prospects. If you have your way with the UNESCO title, then we lose all our future options. We want to keep it open so that our children will at least have the choice of building up the resort later.
5'37
Meinrad Küttel
If the other surrounding villages want to restrict the area and the district council takes over, then it's likely that your plans to link up the two resorts will fail anyway.
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Then we won't have a new cable car or UNESCO- protected status. Only one in five district councillors is fighting against the cable car.
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I/V Ursula Nellen-Durschei, the only district councillor of Ried-Mörel who is against the cable car link:
Of course i'm in favour of the UNESCO idea - I think it's a unique opportunity for us to encourage eco-tourism. We really don't need a cable car between these two beautiful resorts - I thnk the facilities are adequate and we can support tourism which is environmentally friendly in two separate resorts.
(Picture of church - Some locals voice their opinions about UNESCO and the possible cable car connection:)
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Sunday morning before church in Ried-Mörel. On March 12th there is a referendum for the 300 eligible voters on the UNESCO project. This decision will have far-reaching consequences. The outcome of a referendum is usual binding for Swiss politicians.
6'51 Woman 1:
I think everyone will vote the way the village council wants us to vote they know what's best for our community. All of the locals stick together anyway.
7'06 Man:
Someone will have to give in - but it probably won't be us!
7'10 Woman 2:
We could probably stretch the boundary to build the cable car, but I'm not sure that will really happen.
- So would you rather not have UNESCO status, just to be sure that the cable car could go ahead?
We would like UNESCO, but we don't want to take any risks. We're happy with the present situation, and to have the two separate resorts - we don't wan to jeapordise anything.
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Everything lies in the hands of Ried-Mörel's inhabitants. The price is high- a cable car - although no-one knows how it will be financed or whetherit will definitely be built, could ruin the dream of being a piece ofUNESCO's international heritage.For conservationists and the other seven communities involved, it would be.a great disappointment.
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Yet the majestic glacier is bound to survive. As Swiss writer Max Frischonce said 'Nature knows no catastrophe'
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Insert:
Report: Claudia Ernstreiter
Camera: Björn Lindroos
Edit: Peter Rose