Day 3 - Presented to Sustainable Summits 2016 Peter Rupitsch: People in the Austrian mountains

1. Peter RUPITSCH
Sustainable Summits Conference NZ 2016

3. Protection and Sustainable Development
Alpine Convention:
 international treaty between the Alpine Countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy,
Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, Switzerland and European Union
 embracing the environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions of the Alps

4.  90.912 sq.km (less than 20% suitable for settlements)
 seven countries, 83 regions
 about 6,200 communities
 the natural, cultural, living and economic environment for nearly 14
million people
 unique combination of natural diversity
 30.000 animal species, 13.000 plant species (388 endemic)
 20% protected areas
 and cultural history (linguistic diversity: many languages and dialects)
 water (Europe`s water reservoir) and wood reserves
 an attractive tourist destination for approximately 120 million guests
every year
The Alps

5. Population
Alpine inhabitants
Surface (km2) of the Alpine
area
Austria 3,318,045 54,592
France 2,683,801 40,801
Germany 1,476,519 11,160
Italy 4,364,538 51,995
Liechtenstein 36,838 160
Monaco 36,950 2
Slovenia 385,973 6,766.6
Switzerland 1,929,424 25,211
Alps 14,232,088 190,717
Source: national statistical institutes, year 2013 (1st January).
Data for Slovenia refer to the part of municipalities belonging to the Alpine Convention.

6. Rapid growth
 is to be observed in both the main urban centres and the low-
altitude locations in the mountain valleys,
 while the small communities in the mountains proper are shrinking
at a growing rate.
 Population growth in the mountains is only to be found in a small
number of communities where tourism is a main source of income
for the local people
• Natural change alone is not sufficient
• In areas with the most 65+ population, population loss is also
tendentially more severe.
• Where population grows, is in the most cases due to in-
migration phenomena
• .
urban growth and rural decrease

7. Framework
Convention
Spatial
planning and
sustainable
develop‐
ment
Conserva‐
tion of
nature and
countryside
Mountain
farming
Mountain
forests
Energy
Tourism
Soil
conserva‐
tion
Transport
Decl. climate
change
Decl.
population
and culture
Protocols and declarations

8. ALPARC ‐ Alpine Network of Protected Areas
 gathers all categories of protected areas of large size within the Alpine
Convention area.
 since 1995: intensive exchange between
 the alpine parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves,
 institutions of nature protection,
 local actors, populations and
 scientists.

10. 2.373 km² ~ 2,83 % of the national territory

12. Glaciers Lakes

13. no access (0,25%)
Silene acaulis

14. Core Zone
Maintenance of natural ecological and evolutionary
processes without human interference (IUCN Cat. II)
Core Zone
Maintenance of natural ecological and evolutionary
processes without human interference (IUCN Cat. II)
Buffer Zone
Protection and sustainable management of a
traditional cultural landscape for the conservation of a
high biological diversity (IUCN Cat. V)
Buffer Zone
Protection and sustainable management of a
traditional cultural landscape for the conservation of a
high biological diversity (IUCN Cat. V)
Communities
Maintenance of a diverse cultural landscape for sustain-
able rural development securing the ecological and
economic foundation of the region and strengthening the
quality of life and the cultural identity of its people
Communities
Maintenance of a diverse cultural landscape for sustain-
able rural development securing the ecological and
economic foundation of the region and strengthening the
quality of life and the cultural identity of its people
Management Goals
NationalParkRegion

15.  No watercrafts
 Installation for energy generation - except for alpine huts
 no dams (hydro electric)
 No Cable cars, ski lifts, ski runs
 except ski-touring
 No motorised aircraft
 no helicopters (except for supply of huts and
emergencies)
 No motorised vehicles
 (except for agriculture, forestry and NP-Management)
generally prohibited (Austrian NP‐System)

16. Planned Hydro‐power stations
Planned water intakes
Planned Hydro‐power stations
Planned water intakes

17. State/Federal
Governments
Private Others
Individuals
Communes
Alpine Club
Carinthia 1% 84% 13% 2%
Salzburg 35%* 59% 6% 0%
Tyrol 0% 54% 46% 0%
Total 16% 62% 21% 1%
* owned by Austrian Federal Forests which operates as private enterprise.
land ownership

19. Surface area: 1,856 km²/180 km² glaciers/766 moors/
848 lakes/approx. 15,000 animal species/approx. 1,500 plant species

21. ibex capra

22. back again: bearded vulture

23. Luchs
Wolf
Bär
Discussion

24. Tourism
 1800: first ascent of Grossglockner - the highest mountain of Austria
(3.798m)
 primarely for scientific reasons
 1840 - 1860: beginning of alpine tourism
 : the first alpine huts (shelters) are bulit;
 a mountain guide club has been founded
 1930-35: the Grossglockner high alpine road opend the area to mass
tourism
 1981: Hohe Tauern National Park has been founded – 1st NP in Austria!
9 Mio. Overnight‐stayings per year (45 % summer, 55 % winter)

28. ~ 80 huts (3.000 beds)

30. Grossglockner High Alpine Road 1935

31. Austrian law form 1921: free acces above the tree line
Persuasion and example rather than by law or regulation
two typs:
1. Day-trippers (by car) - mainly in summer
2. hikers, mountaineers, …
Visitor Management
Challange: maximize the benefits and minimize the harm!

33.  Main visitor attraction , open from May to October, ..
 One of the most senic routes in Europe, reaching 2.576 m
 80% owned by the state, 20% by the provinces of Salzburg and Carinthia
 Toll road
 900.000 visitors, down from a peak of 1,5 million in the early 1960s and 1,3
in the early 1990s (fall of the eastern-border)
 Road is excluded from the park,
 close coorperation
Grossglockner High Alpin Road

35. Visitor Center
 Sereral visitor centers
 Selfguiding trails
 Guided tours
 ….

36. Services
 visitor centers
 Selfguiding trails
 Guided tours
 ….

37. Nature trailsInformation pointsInformation/education centres
Visitor facilities

38. IUCN: Good Practice

39. Sustainable Mobility Services
Why?
Sustainable visitor‐service during their national park vacation with
sustainable mobility systems
How?
Partnership:
 International: Deutsche Bahn (German Railway Association)
 national: regional tourism board , Austrian Alpine Club, Parkmanagement
Funded by the Ministry of Environment (klima-fonds)

40. holidays by train
special ticketing by DEUTSCHE and OESTERREICHISCHE BAHN to
raise train arrivals in the park region

41. Sustainable Mobility Services
Nationalpark Bus

42. xxx
An integrated transport system, based on high frequence „fixed lines“ and low
frequence „call services“
service for hikers and park-visitors to reach the park-entry points without own
car.

45. Alpine Trails

47. Alpe‐Adria‐Trail
 The Alpe-Adria-Trail is the joint flagship hiking project of the three countries
Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli (Italy).
 With a length of almost 700km, the trail is connecting the shifting
landscapes and cultures in three countries from the glacier to the adriatic
sea.
 8 hiking stages are winding through the carinthian part of the Hohe Tauern
National Park, followed by 5 stages, crossing the Triglav National Park
 The trail management is running a booking-centre, which offers flexible and
sustainable trail services (including luggage transport) along the whole trail.
 Founded 2012, the trail has been yet ranked by the National Geographic
Traveller several times; this year „TOP 10“ among „Best New Trails“.


48. Starting point

49. Alpe‐Adria‐Trail:
Stage 2: mountain farmer landscape with a special hertige site:
high alpine mills at Apriach
NP Hohe Tauern NP Triglav
Soca River Adriatic Sea

50. Create a walking route across three countries, all of them celebrated
for their glossy landscapes and strong cultures, and you´re left with
something a bit special. The new Alpe‐Adria‐Trail threads a path
through parts of Austria, Slovenia and Italy, beginning beneath the
snow‐tipped immensity of the Grossglockner in the Central Alps and
finishing at the fishingharbour of Muggia in the Adriatic Coast.
That´s quite a journey!
National Geographic Traveller
World´s Best Hikes

51. Natur Experience
 Objectives
 Quality
 Partnership
 Education/Training
 Research
Protected Areas and Tourism: added value!!!

52. www.hohetauern.at
peter.rupitsch@ktn.gv.at