Adapting Mountain Huts in the Western Alps to Climate Change: Strategies, Challenges, Governance, and Recommendations

Climate change significantly affects alpine huts and surrounding recreational activity infrastructure, making these structures highly vulnerable. In response, stakeholders have implemented various adaptation strategies to enhance the resilience of these huts and support local recreational and professional practices. This article examines the diverse adaptation strategies employed by key actors. Moving beyond binary typologies (eg adaptation versus maladaptation or incremental versus transformative adaptation), we explore the barriers and limitations affecting these efforts by focusing on adaptive governance. Our goal is to identify effective practices and provide recommendations for adapting alpine huts to the challenges posed by climate change. This study is based on an action research program conducted in the Franco-Swiss Alps in collaboration with mountain hut stakeholders to better understand and address the ongoing tourism transition in the European Alps. To investigate adaptation strategies, we employed a qualitative and participatory approach, integrating field observations, semistructured interviews, stakeholder workshops, and a survey of 45 huts. This multimethod framework allowed us to capture diverse perspectives, assess implemented strategies, and identify both constraints and opportunities for adaptation.