Renaturation

“Farmers take a differentiated view of the law”

Provincial Climate Councillor Stefan Kaineder (center), farmer Klaus Bauernfeind (left) and researcher Professor Franz Essl (right).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Werner Dedl)

State Councillor for the Environment Stefan Kaineder now wants to bring objectivity to the discussion about renaturation. It is certainly not the case that the majority of farmers are against it. 

This law is the central measure of the European "Green Deal" and provides the necessary measures to restore damaged ecosystems, says Kaineder. The criticism of the measure is based on half-truths and hardly any facts worth mentioning, the Provincial Councillor suspects that it is being deliberately polarized in order to stir up fears: "The climate and biodiversity crises are the major challenges. Farmers are now feeling the consequences massively."

Klaus Bauernfeind, himself a farmer and chairman of the Mühlviertel organic region, does not believe that farmers in Upper Austria are against the legal anchoring of renaturation.

Talks and discussions on various platforms would reflect a much more differentiated picture. "We organic farmers live renaturation every day. A reversal or at least a slowing down of constant growth and change is long overdue," says Bauernfeind. Researcher Franz Essl adds: "An intact natural environment is not something you can do without."