Maintaining an open cultural landscape in the Kalkalpen National Park region - implementation plan und feasibility
Brief description
For some time tree encroachment in the region's cultural landscape has been seen as a problem with negative effects for society, the tourism industry and agriculture. The project is designed to identify grassland areas in marginal locations that are at particular risk from the point of view of tourism and environmental protection and to permit a model of sustainable management to be developed with due regard for both ecological and economic aspects.
The measures in twelve fields of action listed in the framework agreements and also the first projects are to be implemented in the medium and long term. A broad-based consensus and effective communication within the region are key preconditions for the successful implementation of the long-term project for the Kalkalpen National Park region. The necessary decision-making structures for the seventeen municipalities must be developed and sources of finance tapped for projects in the fields of action. The area of Rural Development 2007 - 2013 in particular offers several potential points of contact (e.g. Leader++).
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Nationalpark Kalkalpen
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Gründung Nationalpark Region Kalkalpen
© NP Kalkalpen
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Gemeindeworkshop Offenhaltung
© Regionalmanagement OÖ
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Aims
Higher-level goals:
o Reduction of forest encroachment in the Kalkalpen National Park region
o Maintenance of marginal grassland areas, which are of great value for various reasons
o Co-operation and specialisation at the level of landscape management in mountain agriculture in the National Park region
o Achievement of a critical mass with regard to management costs, work load and the commercial use of grassland vegetation
o Product development with innovative sources of income from agriculture in the National Park region
o Lower-level goals:
o Presentation of the opportunities and risks for agriculture in the National Park region under the present conditions - scenarios
o Development of a concrete implementation plan for joint landscape management
o Creation of a reliable basis for decision-making for a regional landscape management association
o Evaluation of opportunities for integrating the unemployed and disadvantaged persons in the project
Realization
o Organisation of a regionally based steering group for the project
o International knowledge-sharing on the subject of forest encroachment (e.g. through the Alliance in the Alps local authority network) - via excursions and/or a conference on the subject in the National Park
o Research and data capture (in and outside of the region, examples)
o Creation of an implementation plan and evaluation of feasibility with
a) arguments - data - effects (structural change in regional agriculture, proportion of forest encroachment, .....)
b) land use survey + focus on areas that are particularly worthy of protection
c) models for the organisational structure of the management association (legal entity, division of labour, logistics, ...)
d) opportunities for commercial exploitation - product development
e) costs and financing for implementation and running the project
f) economic viability calculations and comparisons
o Process support with the participation of the main actors
o Planning for parallel public relations work and awareness-building
Involved
Twelve communities in the Kalkalpen National Park region; five interested communities, the Kalkalpen National Park, local Chambers of Agriculture, Regionalmanagement Oberösterreich, Regionalforum Steyr Kirchdorf, interested farmers in the region, Department of the Environment at the Upper Austrian regional authority, Linz District Office of Agriculture related regional projects
Financing
Subsidy from DYNALP² (in euros): 20,000
Own funds, funds from financial backers (in euros): 30,000
Sponsor: Upper Austrian regional authority € 25,000; local authority funds € 5,000
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