Demographic change in the Alpine space: Key challenges for the future

Recent data show that the demography of the Alps is changing along partly unexpected trajectories. In particular, after more than a century of unbroken decline there are signs of a trend reversal in the French and now also in the Italian Alps. Since growth is due more to net migration than to a positive natural balance, it is apparent that the population of many Alpine municipalities is not only increasing but also undergoing significant compositional changes. Immigration is an especially delicate issue in the Alps as it raises questions about who should be entitled to learn, transmit and valorise local cultural heritage. These questions are akin to other dilemmas that arise when taking measures to curb brain drain: should we primarily prevent young and educated inhabitants from leaving the mountains or instead open the door to newcomers? Conditions must be created that enable both natives to stay in, or to come back to, their Alpine homelands and potential immigrants to start a new life in the uplands. Tailor-made policies, as exemplified by successful cases of local demographic and economic growth, can be crucial to reach and maintain new equilibriums between population and resources in the contemporary Alpine context.