Natura2000

New nature conservation guidelines for biodiversity

Councillor Dr. Alexander Kastner with Councillor Margit Motschiunig and Councillor Max Habenicht in the Natura 2000 area at Lendspitz.

(Bild: StadtKommunikation / Wajand )

Every five years, the city of Klagenfurt puts agricultural leases out to tender again: obligations have been decided for those tenants who have leased land in the Natura2000 European nature reserve. 

No fertilizer, no liquid manure and mowing only twice a year to preserve biodiversity - these are the main changes to the lease agreements for those farmers who manage parts of the Natura2000 protected area near Lendspitz and in future in Hörtendorf, which the city senate unanimously approved.

Project in planning for a long time
"The Natura2000 plots are subject to special framework conditions to preserve our biodiversity. Nevertheless, ecological and economic interests must be weighed up," says Councillor Max Habenicht, who is pleased to have anchored the new guidelines in the lease agreements. Susanne Glatz Jorde from the ECO Institute for Ecology and local councillor Margit Motschiunig, who has been pursuing this goal for years, have also campaigned for the contractual changes.

Subsidies for loss of earnings
The city of Klagenfurt leases a total of around 136 hectares of agricultural land, divided among 28 agricultural tenants for five years each. The new contracts begin in January 2025 and end in December 2029. The Department of Climate and Environmental Protection is to provide subsidies for the potential loss of earnings suffered by farmers in the cultivation of Natura 2000 areas.