Institution founded in 1968 by the Canton of Valais and the City of Sion
Presentation
The Centre de recherche sur l’environnement alpin (CREALP) is a non-profit foundation that carries out mandates, expert appraisals and innovation projects in the fields of environmental sciences and geosciences. Our expertise mainly covers natural hazard issues, sustainable and integrated water resource management, and the development of web-based tools and platforms for environmental data management and valorization. CREALP acts as an intermediary between public institutions, academia and the private sector. The center also provides training for practitioners and students at universities and federal institutes of technology.
Sustainable, integrated management of natural resources such as groundwater, surface water and subsoil requires in-depth knowledge of local and regional conditions.
NATURAL HAZARDS
The aim of natural hazard management is to prevent and limit damage to property and people caused by natural phenomena.
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
CREALP collects, manages and disseminates a vast amount of geological and environmental data.
INNOVATION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
Through its innovation and applied research projects and the services it has provided in recent years, CREALP is working to improve understanding and management of natural hazards in Switzerland and abroad.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Knowledge transfer is a fundamental part of CREALP. We offer training courses for professionals and universities in the fields of water resources and natural risk management.
VULGARIZATION
In addition to our research work, we are actively involved in the popularization of science.
Co-designing sustainable management solutions for resilient Alpine headwaters Climate change and human pressures are having an increasing impact on alpine waters, the main sources of freshwater in the Alpine Space. Significant alterations in water availability and quality pose significant challenges to Alpine communities and have profound implications for the ecosystem services on which they depend. WATERWISE involves 12 project partners from France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. This project aims to… Read More
Hydrological Forecasting Online with Routing System HyFORS is a cloud platform that makes the adoption of operational hydrological/hydraulic forecasting systems accessible anywhere in the world with limited resources. By using global weather datasets and automating the creation and deployment of a complex operational system on Google Cloud Platform, this solution will help reduce hydrological risks and better manage water resources. A plug-and-play cloud platform for global flood forecasting In its 2022 Global… Read More
Real-time operational warning system for debris flow forecasting in Valais The aim of the Système d’Alerte de Laves Torrentielles (SALT) project is to set up a meteorological warning system for selected sites throughout the canton of Valais. These areas have been affected by numerous debris flow events in the past, which is why a real-time warning system project has been initiated to prevent such events in the future. This system enables SMS… Read More
Inventory of the hydrothermal capacities of the Canton of Valais through the study of resurgent hydrothermal springs Initiated in 1988, the GEOTHERMOVAL program was designed to research, evaluate and develop potential geothermal resources in the canton of Valais as an alternative energy source, in particular for space heating and domestic hot water. This geothermal prospecting program was carried out by the CRSFA (Centre de Recherches Scientifiques Fondamentales et Appliquées de Sion, formerly… Read More
