Austria: Austria Environment Profile 2012
2012/02/16
Austria Environment Profile 2012
Environmental protection has become a more and more important social and economic issue in Austria. Conservation measures are formulated not only by the federal but also by the state and municipal authorities; in part because of the sheer complexity of the problems involved, and in part because historical precedent has determined that public responsibilities are allocated among various public authorities. the amounts invested in Austria in environmental protection are substantial.
As regards environmental policies, Austria is one of the leading countries in Europe. This fact has been acknowledged not only by the OECD in its latest report on the environmental situation in its member countries. The report of the EU Commission on the accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland clearly stated that the membership of the Union of these three countries has significantly enhanced environmental standards within the European Union as a whole.
By European standards, Austria upholds very stringent regulations in the fields of waste disposal, chemicals and air pollution from furnaces. The maximum permissible limits for air pollutants are within the same range as those in force in, for instance, the United States, Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Biological considerations are playing an increasingly important role in Austria´s agriculture, and the regulations governing the use of pesticides and fertilisers are very strict.
The Federal Government has recently passed an Environment Information Act that provides for greater public access to environment-related data. The Environmental Compatibility Control Act takes account of public concerns regarding health and the environment.
As regards atomic energy, Austria renounced the use of nuclear power by signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1979. Austria has pursued an active anti-atomic policy, with its current goal being the creation of a nuclear power-free Central Europe. At an international level Austria is seeking to strenghten the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as an instrument of control and to increase the funds for non-nuclear energy research within the EURATOM programme. Austria is also endeavouring to ensure that the nuclear power stations in the EU candidate countries are upgraded so that they at least meet Western standards.
The Austrian Constitution delegates the legal authority for nature preservation and protection measures exclusively to the 9 Länder, while authority for biodiversity rests with the federal level. Consequently, a National Commission on Biodiversity was set up in 1995 to coordinate biodiversity protection activities between the federal and sub-national level. The Austrian Biodiversity Strategy (ABS) is an example of a national strategic planning approach encompassing the broader aspects of sustainability.
The ABS process's history covers a ten years period of regular evaluations and was revised with the “Advanced Biodiversity Strategy” adopted in 2005. Austria's biodiversity is decreasing: 27 per cent of all mammals and birds, 46 per cent of fish and 64 per cent of all reptile species are currently endangered.
- 1 According to the OECD, the main driver behind this development is the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats: "Efforts to protect nature, biodiversity and landscape do not compensate for the pressure exerted by economic activity”.
- 2 In addition, the list of Natura 2000 sites in Austria is still incomplete: of 65 habitattypes relevant to Austria, 18 are not sufficiently covered likewise for 12 of 92 animal and plant species.
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3 Where nature protection is concerned, it is the Länder who have the sole legislative competence while the federal state is responsible for biodiversity. However, a recent report4 by the Ministry of the Environment highlights the fact that improved coordination between the Länder would enhance the effectiveness of their sometimes fragmented efforts considerably. This particularly applies to the issue of creating inter-linkage between existing Natura 2000 sites. Furthermore, the establishment of national standards for the management of Natura 2000 sites is explicitly mentioned as an important goal for future coordination efforts.
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