The Dolomites

The intensity of forestry activities is low and commonly limited to individual trees. However, there is no legal prohibition of for more extensive clearing. This is a low threat for the landscape value of the site and its biodiversity (IUCN, 2009). In October 2018, many forest stands across North-Eastern Italy were significantly damaged by the Vaia storm (Chirici et al., 2019).
Following the Vaia storm, a bark beetle infestation spread, aggravating the loss of forest heritage, which is present in part of the buffer zone, not the core zone. Nonetheless, although this type of outbreak is difficult to accept on a cultural, economic and landscape level, it should be pointed out that it also represents an opportunity in terms of biodiversity (Salvadori, 2022). Local and regional administrations are actively engaged in operations to monitor and contain the infestation, in reforestation actions (with scientific support from research institutes) and in providing information to residents and visitors (Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige, 2024a; Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 2024a; Regione del Veneto, 2024a).
As a result of storm Vaia, which was in South Tyrol particularly violent in the Dolomite area, the forest landscape changed drastically at some sites. It adds up to a large increase in the presence of the bark beetle, which as a result of Vaia's crashes has found favorable conditions to proliferate rapidly. Large forest patches are now characterized by a brown color of dead plants (picea abies) (IUCN Consultation, 2025).

There are few public roads crossing small parts the property, but many other roads and tracks are present. These are used for the limited forestry and hunting (only in Bolzano province) activities and to supply the mountain refuges (IUCN, 2009). These roads represent a low threat to the site’s values.

The Dolomites are a very important tourism destination within the Alps. Current visitor numbers in the Dolomites region are estimated at 10 million annually (State Party of Italy, 2017). Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, there are hints of an increase in visitor numbers and new trends in visitation behaviour at some hotspots, however the phenomenon requires further investigation by the scientific community and administrations due to its complexity (IUCN Consultation, 2024). Important tourism infrastructure surrounds the components of the site. Tourism facilities and activities are at the limits of tolerance for a natural World Heritage site in some of the component parts of the site (e.g. Marmolada, component 2 and Tre Cime, part of component 5). The UNESCO Dolomites Foundation has launched an initiative to monitor, using big data, tourist flows over several years in certain hotspots subject to high tourist pressure (Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO, 2020). Tourism infrastructure also has significant impacts within the buffer zone. Further infrastructure development can have a high potential to affect the landscape and the superlative beauty of the site, as well as its biodiversity (IUCN, 2009; State Party of Italy, 2009). The adopted Overall Management Strategy (2016), however, includes “management and containment of existing tourism facilities within the WHS” as one of its strategic goals (State Party of Italy, 2017).
Further infrastructure was built, related to the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship held in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2021 (Cortina2021, 2021) and for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo (Dolomiti.it, 2021), which is so far confined outside of the buffer zones, but already affects the landscape significantly. The Italian association for mountaineering assessed negatively the building of these new ski tracks and ski lifts (Club Alpino Italiano, 2020). In the local and national press, projects for the construction of new lift connections, which could potentially overlap the core and buffer zones of the Dolomites (such as Passo Falzarego - Cherz or Passo Giau - Monte Civetta), are identified. Projects for further ski lifts are being considered that may bring to the building of the largest network for ski mass tourism in Europe (e.g., La Repubblica, 2020). The exact map of the forthcoming new ski lifts is not known yet, but it has been anticipated that they would pass close to some of the areas of the site (e.g., between Settsass and Col di Lana) (Ski Forum, 2020). According to other sources, however, none of these projects have so far been submitted to the administrations for approval nor have they been authorised for realisation (IUCN Consultation, 2024). As far as land use planning is concerned, the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation has already expressed the incompatibility of such lift connections with the World Heritage Recognition within Strategic Environmental Assessments, e.g. for the new Regional Plan Piano Neve Regionale of Veneto (P.R.N. Piano Regionale Neve e trasporti complementari 2023), in accordance with the OMS.
While environmental and mountaineering associations have expressed great concern over the lack of a comprehensive and national Strategic Environmental Assessment of the works planned for the Winter Olympic Games (Club Alpino Italiano, 2022), the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation was nevertheless involved in the individual assessment processes of works that could have a direct or indirect impact on the Site, and also within the Strategic Environmental Assessment related to the planning of the Olympic event (Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, 2024). The subjects responsible for the design and execution of the works (Società Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2020 - 2026 S.p.A.) and for the planning of the event (Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026) act within the framework of the indications provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Supply, as well as the national regulations concerning the 2026 Winter Olympic Games and environmental protection.

In recent years there is a significant increase in extreme weather events, such as windstorms, heavy and localized rain and thunderstorms. Abnormal temperatures have also been documented in the Dolomite area. One of the effects is the increase in landslides and rockfalls (Paranunzio et al., 2016). A catastrophic wind storm hit the whole Dolomites region between the 26th and 30th of October, 2018, which has been called "Storm Vaia". It was an exceptional weather event which has no analogues in the historical record of this region, and compromised severely the landscape by tearing down millions of trees (Chirici et al., 2019). Forests in several components of the site were affected; floodings, landslides and rock falls also occurred as a consequence of the storm Storm Vaia, but did not seriously affect the environments above the treeline (i.e. it did not affect the core zone of the Site according to other sources (IUCN Consultation, 2024)), nevertheless, the landscape of vast parts of the Dolomites has changed dramatically, exacerbated by the associated bark beetle outbreak. Extreme weather events, such as Vaia, are now demonstrated to be a tangible threat for the Dolomites area. Wind storms may only affect the landscape, but flooding and landslides, triggered by extreme weather and/or rising temperatures, have the potential to modify also the geological value if they would hit localized geosites. However, erosion, collapses and landslides are part of the natural evolution of the Dolomites and it is those phenomena that, together with the relief's structural and lithological characteristics, shape the morphological attributes to which the Outstanding Universal Value has been recognised (State Party of Italy, 2008). Although the acceleration of these phenomena due to climate change is not a serious threat to the attributes of the Site and its OUV, it has a considerable direct impact on the frequentation of these mountains. Glacial melting is a threat for the values related to the superlative beauty, especially within component 2 Marmolada, where the largest glacier of the Dolomites is located (State Party of Italy, 2008). Permafrost melting accelerates the collapse and landslide phenomena and is therefore both a threat to some geological attributes and a generating factor for some others. Climate change has been recognized as a significant and increasing factor (State Party of Italy, 2014). Some recent studies have confirmed that significant reduction has already occurred in some glaciers, e.g. the Marmolada glacier, which has seen a reduction of 30% in its volume between 2004-2014. The same study concludes that the Marmolada glacier is predicted to disappear by 2050 (Santin et al., 2019). The Marmolada glacier, among others, is nevertheless the object of numerous monitoring programmes, often with information and active involvement of citizens, by the University of Padua, MUSE Science Museum of Trento, SAT Society of Trentino Mountaineers, CNR National Research Council and other research institutes (Università degli Studi di Padova, 2020, 2024; Società Alpinisti Tridentini, 2024; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 2022).

Since the World Heritage status came into force, almost all municipalities in the South Tyrolean part with a Dolomites component (17 municipalities) have recorded a very significant increase in both arrivals and overnight stays. In these 15 years, arrivals have increased by 64.3% and overnight stays by 33.18%, with a total number of overnight stays in the tourism year 2023/24 of almost 10 million (with a total number of overnight stays in South Tyrol of 36.3 million in 2023 and 37.1 million in 2024). Furthermore there is a high tourism intensity with 18.8 tourists per 100 inhabitants (Landesinstitut für Statistik, 2025).

While in many areas it is impossible to ignore the fact that the limits of pollution (air, noise, congestion, overcrowding, lack of parking spaces, accidents, etc.) are being exceeded, there is no sign of the tourism industry limiting growth. One begins to notice a population malapportionment due to congested traffic during peak tourist season, rising prices, visitor flows that congest tourist hotspots. In the last years there are clear indications of discontent in the population (e.g. Franceschini, 2024).

Although there are not many roads within the site, just beyond the boundaries of the sites, motorized traffic, especially in the summer season, is very high. The Dolomite passes are heavily frequented by tourists who admire the scenery directly from their cars (Dolomite Tour, Dolomite Road). Very noisy are the motorcycles and sports cars, the roar of which can be heard from far away (the sound waves rise along the mountain walls, so the noise of the engines can also be heard from high up on the mountain). The Dolomites are also sometimes advertised as the “Motorradeldorado” (motorcycles eldorado). Agencies and local businesses advertise the driving of sports cars and motorcycles on the Dolomite passes and offer private guided group tours as a unique motorsport experience. The noise and exhaust fumes are a major burden for the population. Protests against the excessive traffic are not always possible. In August 2024, a bicycle demonstration in Val Gardena, which was intended to draw attention to the congested traffic on the Dolomite passes, was banned at short notice by the police in Bolzano. The final cancellation was made on the grounds that thousands of vehicles were expected on the route that day and that a simultaneous demonstration could pose a considerable threat to public order. (Suedtirol News, 2024). Although the traffic is not a high threat to the geological values, it does present a threat to the scenic values of the site.