Alpine Associations Demand Stricter Protection Rules for Alpine Construction Projects

ÖAV President Wolfgang Schnabl said: "Die Energiewende ist notwendig, aber sie darf nicht auf Kosten der Natur gehen." He criticized that accelerated procedures, simplified approvals, and relaxed protection regulations for construction projects in alpine areas were leading to "dass sich Grenzen immer weiter zulasten der Natur verschieben".

From the nature conservationists' perspective, there is therefore an urgent need for "klare Leitplanken zugunsten des Naturschutzes". Schnabl and his fellow campaigners see the legal mandate to protect the Alps – as anchored in the Alpine Convention, for example – endangered by current practice.

Planned Major Projects in Tyrol

Immediately before the event, the organizations had already pointed to the scale of the planned interventions in Kühtai and the neighboring Platzertal. Planned there are reservoirs, pumped-storage power plants, and an expansion of the existing facilities. Opponents see these as interventions in previously largely untouched high valleys whose ecological significance extends far beyond the region.

The critics complain that the bundling of several major projects – including the expansion in Kühtai and projects in the Kaunertal – creates cumulative effects that are not adequately examined in the individual procedures. In addition, effective compensatory measures and independent monitoring of the conditions are often lacking.

Demands on Politicians and Authorities

In addition to the ÖAV, other organizations took part in the appeal. They see the developments in Tyrol as exemplifying a trend observable in several Alpine countries: the expansion of renewable energies and the adaptation of infrastructure to climate change are leading to growing pressure on highly sensitive areas.

Among their demands, the associations call for binding spatial planning at the Alpine level, stricter environmental impact assessments, and consideration of the precautionary principle. The participation of affected municipalities and civil society is also to be strengthened.

Further Procedures Under Observation

With a view to upcoming political decisions in Austria and at the EU level, the organizations announced that they would maintain the pressure. They would closely monitor the further procedures in Kühtai, the Platzertal, and the Kaunertal and take part in the public consultations, it was said.

The media event at the Dortmunder Hütte was, according to the organizers, deliberately placed near the planned construction projects in order to make the scale of the projects visible. The message of the conservationists was directed equally at politicians, the authorities, and the energy industry.