Rethinking European Borders as Alpine Ice Melts

March 29, 2009— -- Italy and Switzerland are planning to redraw their shared alpine border, as global warming is melting the glaciers that originally guided the line. Although peaceful, the move raises fears of future conflicts over shifting borders and resources.

Glaciers and ice fields around the world are melting as temperatures rise, with Europe's high mountains particularly hard hit.

The original proposal to move the Swiss-Italian border comes from Franco Narducci, a member of Italy's centre-left opposition party.

The Italian parliament must approve a new law before the change can happen, whereas Switzerland does not need to go through this process. The final border will be agreed by a commission of experts from Switzerland's Federal Office of Topography and Italy's Military Geographic Institute.

"I think it's fantastic that these two countries are talking about adjusting their borders," says Mark Zeitoun of the University of East Anglia, UK, an expert on international resource management and conflict. "Elsewhere in the world you see a much more nationalistic attitude."

The proposal would move the border by up to 100 metres in several regions, including the area surrounding the famous Matterhorn mountain, which will remain straddling the border.

Border communities would be unaffected by the border changes, as the area in question is more than 4000 metres above sea level, and uninhabited. However, other areas of glacial melting and geographic change could prove more contentious.

"Climate change has the potential to lead to large conflicts, particularly where water resources are concerned," says Nick Robson of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute.