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Nature Protection in the Alpenverein

by Tony Cooper

Ever since the Alpenverein was founded in 1862 it has been heavily committed to the long-term protection of endangered alpine environments and, in 1927, a statement of this commitment was added to the constitution. Later, in 1980, by when the scale and diversity of the numerous threats to sustainability were becoming known, the Alpenverein set up its Department of Land Management and Nature Protection.

The Alpenverein now rates as one of the most significant environmental organisations in Austria. They are well aware that there is an ongoing potential for conflict between the twin objectives of making it easier for more and more people to enjoy being in the mountains, and protecting the environment there. It's a balancing act that mostly seems to work quite well.


The Departmental Team:
Barbaa Reitier, Christina Schwann, Liliana Dajostin,
Josef Pichler, Brigit Kantner

The Department now has 5 full-time staff, out of the total of 40-odd employed by the Alpenverein, They're led by Liliana (Lily) Dagostin, an extravert young South Tyrolean. All are young, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable. One of their main tasks is the support and encouragement of the Nature Protection Reps in the sections and provincial federations - some of whom are significant environmental campaigners.

The Department also runs a fair number of sizeable projects, covering a diverse range of topics. Some of these operate jointly with the German (DAV) and/or South Tyrol (AVS) Alpine Associations, while in one or two there is cooperation across all the 8 members of the Club Arc Alpin, the grouping of the eight Alpine Clubs of the main Alpine countries from Slovenia to France. There are also a number of joint projects with Universities.

Here's a summary selection of the projects to show the range of what's covered:

A lot of the work is best understood in relation to the Alpine Convention, an international agreement with teeth between the governments of all the Alpine countries and the EU to preserve the special nature of Alpine landscapes and to encourage sustainable development there. (nfo in English at www.alpconv.org/en).

The Department has produced numerous publications and much website material to support the above. (Type "Abteilung Naturschutz" into the search box in oeav.at to access this.)

Let's take a brief look at some of these projects - I aim to address several of them in more depth in future newsletter articles. Many of them relate to the overarching theme of low-impact tourism.

Biodiversity Monitoring
(Vielfalt bewegt Alpenverein)
I've written about this project in an earlier newsletter. Its aim is to get Alpenverein members to record observations of a carefully selected set of 17 keynote species when they are high in the Austrian Alps The project is now yielding worthwhile results, but many more observers are needed. If any reader would be interested if the material was made available in English, please contact me at tonycooper@headweb.co.uk.

Bergsteigerdörfer
literally Mountaineers' Villages
These are a network of about 20 villages and valleys in Austria (with one in Bavaria) dedicated to providing facilities for low-impact tourism. They are supported by the Austrian Government as well as by the Alpenverein, and were partly inspired by the Alpine Convention. A village seeking this status has to satisfy some fairly strict criteria. More information and a list of the places is at www.bergsteigerdoerfer.at.

Encouraging the Use of Public Transport
The main aim is to reduce the impact of mountaineering in Austria on climate change, which is having a devastating impact in the Alps, and on air pollution, by fostering low-impact travel to and from the mountains. A number of the Sections and Provincial Federations have produced guides on to how to reach some of their most popular areas without using a car. One of the best is Sektion Innsbruck's comprehensive 100pp pocket-sized booklet, available from the Sektion or from the Alpenverein HQ. Information about how best to reach the Alps by train, boat and coach from the UK is available at https://aacuk.org.uk/p-environment-and-nature

So Schmecken die Berge
"So Schmecken Die Berge" ("The Taste of the Mountains") aims to foster the provision of high quality local food in a number of huts across the Eastern Alps. There are currently about 100 huts in the scheme, mostly in Austria (including many DAV huts) but with some in Bavaria and the South Tyrol. As with some other schemes a hut seeking this status has to demonstrate that it deserves it. They have to provide at least three menu items comprised solely of local products, and their ingredients should be organic where possible and sourced from as near to the hut as makes sense. To find a list of huts in the scheme, type "So Schmecken" into the search box at oeav.at and click on the first hit in the list generated.

The Umweltgütesiegel -
Environmental Merit Seal for Huts
The seal has been being awarded for over 20 years now; there are a few more every year. The 40-odd huts that have earned it had to demonstrate their credentials in a number of areas, including:

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