Background In 2000, the “Grosses Walsertal” valley became one of the first Biosphere Reserves in Austria according to the UNESCO document. The LIFE project was the logical continuation of initiatives taken in recent years in the field of sustainable regional development. The focus of this project is accordingly to provide an integrated platform for existing and future measures and model components for a defined territorial unit. The central environmental problem in remote alpine areas like the “Grosses Walsertal” valley is the growing risk of under-utilisation as a result of depopulation. Neglect of the protective forests and mountainside meadows creates a threat to the whole of the valley, e.g. from mudflows and avalanches. The limited economic opportunities for the inhabitants, with commercial logging operations, tourism and agriculture as the main pillars, have to be improved. In addition, the indicators, criteria and methods to be established within the project will be transferable to other Alpine regions. The socio-economic and socio-cultural problems relate not merely to the threat of depopulation of peripheral regions but also to the increasing pressure of the exodus to the cities and urban conurbations with related problems in the fields of spatial planning, the labour market, social integration, etc. Considering this fact, the project complies with the “Environment and Health” strand of the EC’s 6th Action Program. The project will have a positive effect on the socio-economic situation in the valley after the project duration, especially in the field of tourism. Objectives • Integrated environmental management system based on the EMAS Regulation for the public sector • Use of renewable regional resources and development of a sustainable tourism structure • Development of the 6 small project municipalities so that they achieve e2 status (energy audit) • Application of the Austrian Ecolabel to tourism businesses and evaluation of the potential for environmental management for micro-enterprises ( Results The introduction of an environmental management system in a region of six municipalities has been accomplished following the EMAS standard. Even though EMAS certification for a region is not theoretically possible within the framework, the project team found a sound solution which could be an example for other regions as well. In addition to the EMAS criteria the project team developed and applied sustainability criteria for economic, social and cultural issues. These additional criteria and the ‘certification’ of a region can be considered an innovation. For the established sustainability report the team was awarded the European Award for Sustainability Reporting in 2005. The project area was certified e3 within the 5-rating scale. This score means that at least 50% of energy use is already covered by renewable resources. The project showed that the use of renewable resources is permanently growing, which means that there is potential to reverse the trend seen in recent decades. The project team was successful in promoting ecologically sustainable tourism in the region, which will likely have long-term impacts. 37 businesses are participating in the network “Biosphärenpark Partnerbetrieb” and 4 have been certified with the “Österreichisches Umweltzeichen für Tourismus”. Various sustainable tourism, marketing, training and education concepts were established. The project ran a number of workshops and presentations involving experts and the local population. Dissemination activities aimed at other regions, e.g. the Wienerwald and international networks, e.g. “Allianz in den Alpen” and “Prepare” were carried out. The excellence of the public relations work is illustrated by 18 different awards that were awarded to the project team during the last 3 years of project implementation. Some expected results, which were not achieved in accordance with the objectives laid out in the proposal, were compensated for by other activities, and the project team made its best possible effort for achieving the expected results. This project has been selected as one of the 21 "Best" LIFE Environment projects in 2005-2006