5.2 NATURE PROTECTION

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1 Seventh Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection 5.2 NATURE PROTECTION INTRODUCTION Nature conservation measures are playing an increasingly important part in Austria. Major changes of the landscape in the last decades and the ensuing destruction of close-to-nature habitats have become obvious in many places and demand concrete solutions. International conventions have also acknowledged that biological diversity is threatened worldwide. Due to large areas of high mountain ranges and the combination of two biogeographical regions (the alpine and the continental regions), Austria still has a wide range of natural and close-to-nature habitats with a high degree of species diversity compared to other European countries. However, this diversity is threatened almost everywhere. This is why in the future it will be necessary for nature conservation to open up new paths allowing for an improved integration of nature conservation concerns into other political areas (agriculture, forestry, spatial planning, etc.) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY TARGETS As nature conservation is the responsibility of the Federal Provinces, the targets of nature conservation in Austria are stipulated primarily in the nine nature conservation laws of the Federal Provinces. The nature conservation laws stipulate the obligation to conserve and develop the diversity of nature and landscape (biological diversity) as an essential basis for the lives of humans, animals and plants. As an example of all laws of the Federal Provinces, the relevant paragraph of the Niederösterreichisches Naturschutzgesetz 2000 ( 1 of the nature conservation law of Lower Austria 2000) is quoted as follows: The aim of nature conservation shall be to maintain, conserve or restore nature in all its appearances so that its uniqueness and capacity for development the ability of habitats to function as well as the diversity and richness of species, the representation of the native and site-specific fauna and flora and the sustainability of natural processes are preserved and developed in ways appropriate for specific regions. The aim is also to preserve, restore or improve the environment, provider of man s health and recreation, as the best possible basis for life. The preservation and conservation of nature shall apply to all its appearances, regardless of whether they are in their original state or have been formed by man (cultural landscape). 323

2 Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection The stipulations of the nature conservation laws are supplemented by EU Directives and international conventions such as: EU Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC): The aim of this Directive shall be to contribute towards ensuring biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora Measures taken pursuant to this Directive are designed to maintain or restore, at favourable conservation status, natural habitats and species of wild fauna and flora of Community interest. Convention on the Protection of the Alps (Federal Legal Gazette No 477/1995): Conservation of nature and the countryside the objective is to protect, conserve and, where necessary, rehabilitate the natural environment and the countryside so that ecosystems are able to function, animal and plant species, including their habitats, are preserved, nature s capacity for regeneration and sustained productivity is maintained, and the variety, uniqueness and beauty of nature and the countryside as a whole are preserved on a permanent basis. Convention on Biological Diversity (Federal Legal Gazette No 213/1995): The objectives of this Convention are the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components Within the framework of relevant strategies, concrete proposals for action complete these legal targets such as the Österreichische Strategie zur Umsetzung des Übereinkommens über die biologische Vielfalt [Austrian Strategy for the implementation of the Convention of Biological Diversity (see also Chapter 5.1.2)]. This strategy, which is currently being revised, stipulates a large number of measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, species and landscape protection are mentioned in this strategy as well as research and monitoring, tourism, industry and transport (BMUJF, 1998). Another comprehensive strategy at federal level is the Österreichische Strategie zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung [Austrian Strategy for Sustainable Development (BMLFUW, 2002)]. This initiative of the federal government puts into concrete terms the targets of sustainable development for four fields of action such as habitats of Austria where the aim to preserve the diversity of species and landscapes demands the development of regionally differentiated biodiversity models all over Austria and the design of site management concepts. Another important target at international level in the field of nature conservation was agreed at the world summit in Johannesburg (World Summit on Sustainable Development) in 2002: to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of loss of biodiversity (see also Chapter 5.1.2). To implement these legal aims, the following targets have been formulated for specific types of land use: Agriculture: The conservation of rare or threatened habitats that depend on agricultural use (more intensive use and the abandonment of traditional agricultural use are major reasons for the loss of wet meadows, dry grasslands, dry hay meadows, etc.). Forestry: The preservation and development of natural forests by using management practices geared to potentially natural forest communities (according to the Red List, 57% of all forest biotope types are threatened in Austria; one of the major reasons is intensive forest use; see Chapter and Chapter ). 324

3 Seventh Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection Spatial Planning: Protecting habitats of importance in terms of nature conservation as far as possible in infrastructure plans and other plans as well as reducing the rate of soil sealing (see Chapter ). Settlement Areas: Conservation and new development of typical village habitats (farmyard gardens und uncultivated areas in villages are two of the most threatened biotope types in Austria). Water and Wetlands: Conservation of river reaches that correspond to the natural, typical state; of floodplains, floodplain forests and other wetland habitats (see Chapter ). Tourism: Restricting the extent of recreational use in sensitive ecosystems that are close to nature and on the basis of coordinated control measures SITUATION AND TRENDS General In the last few years, a large number of nature conservation measures have been carried out in Austria with many successful results: The number, surface area and categories of protected areas have increased. For many species and habitats specific conservation programmes have been developed. The extended application of instruments of promotion from areas such as agriculture, water management and regional development for nature conservation concerns has proved successful. Despite mounting tasks and insufficient personnel and financial resources, it has been possible to make available some extra capacities (e.g. for the management of protected areas) in the last few years. Many trends however have not been reversed, nor have the necessary forward strategies been developed. Consequently, the decline of species and habitats continues the prevention of soil sealing (and thus permanent habitat loss) has not been achieved (an average of 20 ha of flora and fauna habitats are irrevocably lost every day to building and transport) the fragmentation of habitats continues with the building of more and more transport routes The fauna and flora in Austria Wild animal and plant species as well as habitats are those elements of biological diversity that are the focus of nature conservation and that may serve as indicators of the overall conservation status of biodiversity. 325

4 Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection Because of the topographical conditions and the climate, Austria is rich in species with regard to both her fauna and flora. Compared to other central European countries, Austria is one of the richest countries in terms of her autochthonous animal and plant species, and the richest country with regard to her flowering plant and fern species. Country Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians Ferns and flowering plants Austria Germany Switzerland Hungary No data available Tab : Species number of selected plant and animal groups in Austria and some neighbouring countries. (Various sources: see UMWELTBUNDESAMT, 1998b) Protected areas Apart from areas protected in general ( ex-lege protection ), some 25% of the Austrian national territory is covered by areas protected under nature conservation laws. 326

5 Innsbruck Sources: Governmental authorities of the Federal Provinces, as of December 2000; National Park Gesäuse: Planungsgesellschaft Gesäuse, as of October Compilation: Sonderegger, December 2003 Bregenz Nature Parks Other Protected Areas Protected Landscape Components Landscape Protection Areas Nature Reserves National Parks Salzburg Areas protected under nature conservation laws in Austria Klagenfurt Linz 0 Graz 25 St. Pölten 50 Eisenstadt Wien 100 km

6 Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection The first nature reserves in Austria were designated in the 1950s. The following decades have seen a continuous rise in number and size of the nature reserves in all Federal Provinces. Number of nature reserves Trend of the number of nature reserves from 1980 to 2000 in the Federal Provinces Burgenland Carinthia Lower Austria Upper Austria Salzburg Styria Tyrol Vorarlberg Vienna Fig Trend of the number of nature reserves in the Federal Provinces. The distribution of protected areas in Austria and their size reflect the differences between the policies adopted by the individual Federal Provinces in the field of protected areas, which were already noticeable in the early days of the designation of protected areas. These differences exist to this day and they also have an impact on the designation of Natura-2000 sites for the Europe-wide network of the EU (see Chapter ). Burgenland has 28 nature reserves today covering 11.7% of its surface area while Carinthia has 37 covering 1.4% and Upper Austria 84 covering merely 0.7% of its surface area. Lower Austria is at the bottom of the list with only 0.4% of its surface area covered by nature reserves but has made up the difference to other Federal Provinces by designating larger sites for the Natura-2000 network. There is no Austria-wide strategy for designating protected areas, a deficiency that the Natura-2000 process (see Chapter ) has partly compensated by stipulating criteria for the designation of protected areas within the framework of the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora). But even here the different strategies for protected areas in the Federal Provinces are noticeable. Apart from the areas protected under national laws there are also protected areas designated according to international regulations. These include the Natura-2000 sites of the EU, Biogenetic Reserves and European Diploma sites (Council of Europe), Biosphere Reserves and National Parks (UNESCO) and Ramsar sites (Ramsar Convention). 328

7 Seventh Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection Number of protected areas Protected areas according to international agreements in the Federal Provinces Biogenetic Reserves Biosphere Reserves Ramsar Sites European Diploma Burgenland Carinthia Lower Austria Upper Austria Salzburg Styria Tyrol Vorarlberg Vienna Fig : Protected areas according to international agreements in the Federal Provinces Natura-2000 process Since Austria s accession to the EU, the implementation of the two EU Directives concerned with nature conservation (Birds Directive - Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds and Habitats Directive - Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) has been a major concern of nature protection in Austria. One of the aims of these Directives is the development of the Europe-wide network of protected areas Natura 2000 designed to protect the habitats and animal and plant species of European importance listed in the Annexes of both Directives. In several studies, the Umweltbundesamt has carried out a national assessment of the Austrian Natura-2000 network proposed by the nature conservation departments of the individual Federal Provinces (UMWELTBUNDESAMT, 1998a). The assessment of the level of habitat types (Annex I) covered by Natura-2000 sites selected in the Federal Provinces has shown where gaps exist and new sites have to be nominated. The studies also show a need for coordination in terms of expertise at national level given that the procedure was not sufficiently coordinated when the sites were selected. The list of sites for the alpine biogeographical region was adopted by the Commission on 22 December Thus 959 new sites ( km 2 ) were added to the Natura-2000 network EU-wide. The region includes the four major mountain ranges of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Apennines and the Fennoscandian Mountains. Austria has nominated 103 sites extending over an area of km 2 for this region. For the Natura-2000 network Austria proposed a total of 95 sites (14.7% of the national territory) according to the Birds Directive and 160 sites (10.6% of the national territory) according to the Habitats Directive. Austria lies thus in the lower range for the selection of sites according to the Habitats Directive (with only Belgium: 10.4%, Germany: 9%, France: 7.5%, UK: 10.1% having designated less in terms of surface area.), and in the top third for sites according to the Birds Directive. As a next step, the Natura-2000 process stipulates the development of management plans for Natura-2000 sites. Also, a monitoring concept has to be developed to record the state of protected sites in detail. It is therefore necessary to define the favourable conservation status mentioned in the Habitats Directive of the habitat types and species under protection. In cooperation with the Federal Provinces, the Umweltbundesamt develops criteria for assessing the favourable conservation status of the habitat types and species that can be found in Austria according to 329

8 Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive, and of the bird species under protection according to Annex I of the Birds Directive International conventions Several international conventions take account of nature protection in their targets (see Chapter 5.2.2). Austria has signed most conventions in the field of nature conservation. One of the conventions not yet signed by Austria is the Bonn Convention (concerning the protection of wild migratory animal species) but this can be expected for Another convention Austria has not signed is the European Landscape Convention, but this is currently not under discussion Red lists Red Lists are scientific expert reports on the degree of threat to objects of living nature. Since the early 1970s when the first Red Lists in German-speaking countries were published, they have been an important instrument in environmental politics. Red Lists of threatened species are instruments of nature conservation with a long tradition. After the publication of two revised editions of the Red Lists of threatened animals in Austria (BMGU, 1983 and BMUJF, 1994), a new update now intends to take into account the international discussion about harmonising the threat criteria and rendering them more objective. In 1999 and 2000 the Umweltbundesamt developed a conceptual design aimed at improving the comparability of Red Lists as well as their transparency and objectiveness. In 2001 and 2002 this conceptual design was implemented for the threat categorisation of a first group of animal species. Experts evaluated the likelihood of extinction for mammals, birds, grasshoppers, water beetles, butterflies, neuropterans and scorpion flies by means of the newly developed threat criteria. Compared to 1980 when 55.3% of the Austrian bird population were classed as threatened and to 55.7% in 1990, the percentage in the current Red List is now 57.4%. The percentage of mammals under threat has also increased. It should be noted, however, that the state of both research and available data has improved during the last years and that the new concept of categorisation does not allow hard-and-fast comparisons with former categorisations. Nevertheless, the statistical record of the proportion of threatened species shows no improvement of the situation. As opposed to the Red Lists of threatened species, Red Lists of biotopes, which indicate threats to natural habitats, represent a new trend. They will gain importance in future as the conservation of biotopes is a basic requirement for successful species conservation. In addition to the Red List of threatened animal species, the Umweltbundesamt published the first part of a Red List of threatened habitats in 2002 (UMWELTBUNDESAMT, 2002a and 2002b). As a first result the Red List of forest biotope types was completed. It provides a first assessment of the threat to the forest biotope types that can be found in Austria. As one of the richest countries with regard to forests in Europe, Austria is endowed with a proportion of forests amounting to 47% of the national territory. The condition of these forests is thus of vital importance for the whole of Austria. The Red List includes the 93 forest bio- 330

9 Seventh Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection tope types that can be found in Austria and an assessment of the threat to these forest biotope types at regional and national level. Of these 93 forest biotope types, 57% are listed in a threat category and only 24% Austria-wide are not threatened. 19% have been classified as plantation biotope types and allocated to the category no particular protection priority (and therefore not included in the threat assessment). On the whole, forest biotope types of intensively used lowland areas are under a higher degree of threat. The degree of threat is lower in the Alps. Biotopes under a high degree of threat include floodplain forests: four types of floodplain forests (three types of alluvial willow brush: alpine willow-tamarisk brush, alpine willow and sea-buckthorn brush, almond willow-osier scrub, and black poplar riparian forest) are close to extinction because of river channelisation and hydroelectric power stations. Another cause for concern is that the quality of many of the common forest habitats (e.g. beech forests and mixed oak forests) is threatened. In lowland areas this is due to large-scale exploitation SUMMARY ASSESSMENT AND OUTLOOK Several instruments have been available in nature conservation for some time, such as the designation of protected areas, the implementation of measures for management and development or the protection of selected habitats in general. But - as the Red Lists of threatened species and habitats show - these measures have as yet not put an end to the decline of biodiversity. It is therefore above all necessary to aim for, and promote, the integration of nature conservation targets into other political areas as well as the strengthening of the instruments used in nature conservation at federal level and at the level of the Federal Provinces. Demonstrating the threat to wild animal and plant species and habitats is an important part of environmental control. But comprehensive monitoring does not exist as yet. An important task for the next years will therefore be the establishment of biodiversity monitoring. Several international obligations (Habitats Directive, Birds Directive, Water Framework Directive, Convention on Biological Diversity, Alpine Convention, etc.) provide for a review of conservation issues by means of monitoring. A conceptual design for establishing biodiversity monitoring nationwide (to record changes in the different components of biological diversity such as genetic diversity, species, habitats, ecosystems) has been prepared and is planned to be completed by the end of 2005 (see also Chapter ). Red Lists have provided information on the degree of threat to animal and plant species for some time. An update of the Red Lists of threatened animals has resulted in changes of the threat categorisation for some species, which is due partly to different criteria, new data and findings and to changes in the population situation. For some animal species, continuous habitat fragmentation has caused a higher degree of threat. For the future it is planned that Red Lists will be used more than before as a basis for species conservation concepts. The categorisation of threatened species is not an end in itself. Its full potential will not be realised until the causes of threat have been systematically analysed and subsequently eliminated. In the context of a comprehensive biocoenosis and ecosystem protection, a Red List is being developed for the threat categorisation of habitat and biotope types in 331

10 Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection Austria. As a first result, the Red List of forest biotope types was completed in In 2003 the other terrestrial biotope types (grasslands, bogs and mires, alpine grassland vegetation, segetal and ruderal biotopes, etc.) were assessed. A complete Red List of Austrian biotope types is planned for 2004/2005. The actual success as regards an improvement of the situation of threatened biotope types will primarily depend on concrete measures for the conservation of individual habitats. Hence the consideration of the Red List of threatened forest biotope types as part of the Forest Dialogue (see Chapter ) initiated by the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management can be viewed as a first step in this direction. Other steps will have to follow. Since Austria s accession to the EU in 1995, the emphasis has been on the development of the Natura-2000 network and the implementation of EU Directives concerned with nature conservation issues. It is expected that nature conservation will continue to take on these challenges in the next few years. The remaining tasks include the development of management plans for Natura-2000 sites, impact assessments and monitoring of the conservation status of species and habitats under protection. The development of criteria for defining the "favourable conservation status" of habitats and species (a key concept of the Habitats Directive) provides the basis for this work RECOMMENDATIONS As nature protection is a cross-cutting issue and as such connected with, and dependent on, other types of land use, one of its main objectives is to integrate its targets into other political areas: Agriculture and forestry, hydraulic engineering and spatial planning have a major influence on the balance of nature as well as transport, hunting and fishing, infrastructure and tourism. As part of the implementation of international conventions and EU Directives it is necessary to overcome any avoidable technical and organisational difficulties that have arisen over the years because of the splitting of responsibilities for nature conservation. A harmonisation of the nature conservation laws of the Federal Provinces should be discussed, as well as an extension of the responsibilities of the federal government for the implementation of international agendas. On an international scale the OECD Environmental Performance Revue Austria (OECD, 2003) recommends the coordination of nature conservation at federal level. This report includes the review and assessments of measures for environmental protection in the OECD member countries. The establishment of a national coordination authority is recommended for Austria so that nature conservation issues of national importance can be considered efficiently and implemented effectively. What is important for measures of nature conservation is their acceptance. It is therefore necessary to improve communication and information and to raise awareness among children and young people especially. To improve the nature conservation budget, EU funding ought to be put to optimum use. In addition to specific funds allocated to nature conservation (LIFE pro- 332

11 Seventh Seventh State of the Environment Report 5.2 Nature Protection gramme), structural, educational or research funds ought to be considered and used for nature conservation purposes. Sound data constitute the essential basis for all measures. The access to nature conservation data ought to be facilitated as well as the exchange of data between the key players. The monitoring of Natura-2000 sites should become part of biodiversity monitoring. The indicators developed at the time when the favourable conservation status was defined should be considered in monitoring. The basic concept should be developed in close coordination with the European Commission and its topic centre for nature conservation as well as with the other EU Member States. In addition to the future Natura-2000 sites, which are subject to EU legislation, there are several protected areas in Austria subject to national conservation regulations. They should not be forgotten over the establishment of the Natura 2000 network. A favourable conservation status (as stipulated for Natura 2000 sites) should be obtained for the national protected areas too. Implementation is to be achieved by defining protection targets and by developing area-related management plans. The development of regionally differentiated biodiversity models (as stipulated in the Sustainability Strategy of the federal government) should start seriously. On the basis of these models, priorities are to be set for measures to be taken for the protection of biological diversity. 333