INSTITUTE OF MOUNTAIN RESEARCH: MAN AND ENVIRONMENT
AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The Institute of Mountain Research: Man and Environment in Innsbruck (IGF) aims to carry out inter- and transdisciplinary research in mountain areas across the world in cooperation with international groups of scientists. The IGF institute is part of the Centre of Social Sciences at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (http://www.ssrc.oeaw.ac.at/)

Thematic focus:

  • regional sustainability (settlement, economy and transport, landscape analysis and management),
  • interdepence of man & environment,
  • global change (climate change, globalization).

Current regional focus:

  • the Alpine arc,
  • the high mountain regions and uplands of Europe
  • the Central and Southern Andes.

Methodical focus:

  • Remote sensing, geoinformation and database systems, cartography, empirical social research, field work

The IGF is committed to the concept of sustainability formulated in the Mountain Agenda at the Rio de Janeiro summit and in the Alpine Convention. For the practical implementation this means considering ecological, social and economic issues and finding a balance between them. The IGF supports the efforts to realize corresponding conventions for other mountain areas.