InSAR (space-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) data has revealed to be useful for surveying landslides and permafrost creeping features (e.g. rock glaciers) as it permits a time-lapse quantification of topography changes at mm to cm resolution over alpine areas where dense vegetation is no longer present. The capability of InSAR for detecting both the location of moving zones and the magnitude of their displacement rate has been successfully tested in various regions of the Swiss Alps. Research challenges are mainly focusing on the possibilities of using InSAR for monitoring tasks. The
present contribution presents first basic principles, potentials and limitations of InSAR and its use in a mountain area. Then, it overviews some past, present and future InSAR projects dealing with the detection and the monitoring of moving zones in the Alpine periglacial belt.