A guest in the Ländle

Van der Bellen on an excursion

Federal President Van der Bellen looking at the common tern colony in the Rhine delta.

(Bild: VLK SERRA)

One day after the opening of the festival, the Federal President and his wife Doris Schmidauer visited the Rhine delta to see the progress being made in moorland protection. The head of state liked what he saw. 

It has now become a tradition for the Federal President to attend various appointments in the province away from the lake stage during the opening of the Bregenz Festival. On Wednesday, Alexander Van der Bellen was "abducted" to the Rheindelta nature reserve by State Councillor Daniel Zadra (Greens) and State Governor Barbara Schöbi-Fink (ÖVP) in imperial weather.

As with climate policy, we have to think in terms of decades when it comes to protecting peatlands. A moor is destroyed quickly, but renaturation takes 100 years.

Bundespräsident Alexander Van der Bellen

An extremely ambitious project is currently being prepared there: As part of the "LIFE AMooRe - Austrian Moor Restoration" project, areas that were drained for agricultural use in the 1950s are to be rewetted. And not just a few square meters, but 260 hectares. The plan is to use a pumping station, which has yet to be built, to direct water onto the soil at the appropriate time. When the farmers mow, the area will dry out again. In this way, the interests of both nature conservation and agriculture are to be taken into account.

Rheindelta natural landscape
Van der Bellen was impressed by the project: "Moors are fascinating and we urgently need them in the future. Those who protect moors also protect us humans," said the head of state, emphasizing the importance of wetlands in the face of the climate crisis. However, he was at least as enthusiastic about the natural landscape of the Rhine delta. For example, he inspected Austria's largest colony of common terns with a telescope and listened with interest to the explanations of Rhine Delta project manager Manfred Vith and Christiane Machold (Department of Environmental and Climate Protection), who guided the delegation through the nature reserve, two thirds of which consists of water and one third of land.

Alexander Van der Bellen and his wife Doris Schmidauer are great nature and animal lovers - this was also evident during the excursion to the Rhine delta.

(Bild: VLK SERRA)

 However, the Rhine delta is not only a "restoration case", but also an example of how commitment to nature pays off. The core area was first placed under protection in 1976 against great resistance and has been continuously expanded. Today, the Rhine delta is one of the most important protected areas in Central Europe. Conclusion Van der Bellen: "Looks good!"