« The Research Center for Alpine Ecosystems (CREA Mont-Blanc) is an organization specialized in the study of natural mountain environments. For over 20 years, CREA Mont-Blanc has been combining high quality ecological research with communication and education initiatives. CREA Mont-Blanc is a pioneer and leader of citizen science in France and maintains a strong commitment to participatory science, aiming not only to encourage the understanding of ecology, but also to directly involve the public in innovative scientific research. »

Source : https://creamontblanc.org/en/what-crea-mont-blanc/
 

IntForOut is a collaborative research project aimed at proposing methods and tools to address the issue of wildlife disturbance caused by recreational activities in mountain areas. Mountain regions are facing major changes : climate change, diversification of sports and recreational practices, and increasing human presence.

Climate change is affecting ecosystems, including the ways outdoor activities are practiced. In particular, longer tourist seasons lead to higher levels of human presence in alpine regions, and, with a growing interest in nature, recreational practices are becoming more diverse.

Faced with these developments, local decision-makers are confronted with conflicting objectives : developing year-round tourism while preserving biodiversity. However, these strategies are often managed in a fragmented way, by separate departments and disciplines, with non-interconnected scientific databases. This lack of knowledge and awareness also affects users and citizens, some of whom discover the mountains without a real understanding of ecological issues.
 

Based on a collaborative, multi-source approach, the IntForOut project therefore aims to assess the impact of alpine recreational activities on mountain biodiversity and to propose educational solutions that reconcile nature conservation with outdoor activities.

Many objectives have been defined, including several key points :

• Monitoring certain populations
• Quantifying the intensity, as well as the spatial and temporal predictability of visitor flows in mountain areas, and analysing the spatial and temporal behaviour of users
• Modelling interactions between humans and wildlife
  
   

The project is structured around three main goals :

• Overcoming data gaps and uncertainties through a multi-source approach: creating and combining diverse databases, including GPS tracking, camera traps, satellite imagery, citizen science, weather stations, and data on refuge and lift usage. These datasets will be used to characterise human presence in mountain areas.
• Developing tools and a methodological framework to model human–wildlife interactions, produce maps of human use in mountain regions, and develop indicators of human pressure.
• Once sensitive areas have been identified, providing insights and proposing strategies adapted to local challenges by involving stakeholders (managers and local actors). Reports, consultation sessions, and mediation activities are planned to support decision-making.