Tyrol severely affected

Green EU law: a day of joy and anger

Meeting of environmental advocates at the end of May on the Kaunertal glacier: climate protection and nature conservation belong together, according to the resolution.

(Bild: zVg)

The EU renaturation law is viewed very differently from a Tyrolean perspective: LHStv. Josef Geisler speaks of an "attack on farmers", environmental lawyer Walter Tschon emphasizes the positive aspects. And the head of the Green Party is lashing out at the ÖVP. 

Only recently, all Austrian environmental lawyers were guests at the Kaunertal glacier. In the final declaration, the EU law on renaturation was expressly welcomed: "Many habitats protected under European law are not in a favorable conservation status. Even in Tyrol," explains Deputy Environmental Ombudsman Walter Tschon.

A happy day for Environmental Ombudsman Walter Tschon: "Intact nature is essential for the production of food!"

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

EU law a milestone for nature conservation
"Numerous watercourses fail to meet the EU criteria for good ecological status, as do the majority of moors, one of the largest of which, namely the one in the Platzertal valley, is acutely threatened by the power plant project. High soil consumption is on the agenda almost daily. But without intact nature, our livelihoods and options for action are also gradually being lost in Tyrol," Tschon analyzes the situation.

The EU law is therefore expressly welcomed. It is a milestone: "Climate protection and nature conservation belong together." Tschon emphasizes that the concerns of the agricultural sector were addressed in several rounds: "Mandatory closures are not planned. There will also be no expropriations."

Renaturation means maintaining efficient agriculture. With natural pollination by bees instead of more and more fertilizer for the yield.

Grünen-Chef Gebi Mair

"Not a matter of conscience, but an election campaign"
LHStv. Josef Geisler, on the other hand, is angry with the Greens: "Minister Leonore Gewessler has voted against the express will of the provinces and against all expertise in a way that is also highly questionable from a legal point of view. Neither this regulation nor the voting behavior of the Green Minister will help nature," said Geisler on Monday.

LHStv. Josef Geisler is annoyed: "Our country and the climate will not benefit from this regulation!"

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

According to LHStv. Geisler, Tyrol already has the highest standards
"It is also not due to their conscience, but solely to the election campaign. Because our country and the climate do not benefit from this regulation." Instead of turning whole areas of land back into swamps, regional food production and supply should be safeguarded. Meadows and pastures, together with forests, are the best CO2 reservoirs. "We already have the highest environmental standards. More than a quarter of the country's land is protected. This regulation would therefore affect the valuable areas in the valleys. The provinces, the Federal Chancellor and Minister Norbert Totschnig will exhaust all legal means to fend off this attack on our farmers and on the business location," emphasizes Geisler.

Maintaining efficient agriculture
For Tyrol, this is a great opportunity to preserve living creatures and habitats for the future of the younger generation, explained Tyrolean Green Party leader Gebi Mair. "Renaturation means maintaining efficient agriculture. With natural pollination by bees instead of more and more fertilizer for the yield. With songbirds in the air and fish in the water. The People's Party should actually be pleased about this if it takes its Christian-social mission seriously," Mair is convinced.

"Farmers further ahead than the Farmers' Union"
For Tyrol, it is now time to stop inventing fake news in the fight against species extinction and seize the opportunity. "There will be funding for renaturation. Together with our regional agriculture, we can seize this opportunity. Many farmers are already much further ahead than their supposed representatives in the Farmers' Union. They do not represent the interests of the agriculture of the future," Mair is convinced.