2023-05-13 08:08:15
Environment
With around 49,000 hectares, Vorarlberg has a large proportion of protective forest. That accounts for almost half of the entire forest stock. Two thirds of the settlement area would not be habitable without a protective forest, says Provincial Councilor Christian Gantner (ÖVP). With the protection against avalanches and mudslides, it fulfills the function of a natural life insurance.
“The protective forest is the best in the Alpine countries because it is a natural insurance against mudslides and avalanches. In Vorarlberg, two thirds of our settlement area would not be habitable without a protective forest,” emphasized Gantner at the end of the “Protective Forest Week”, which ended on Friday.
Stable protection forest not a matter of course
How stable a protective forest is depends on various factors: structural aging and the lack of regeneration of a forest, changing social demands for use, the locally increased influence of wild animals and the effects of climate change would affect the ecological balance of the forest and reduce its function.
“However, a stable protection forest that can effectively fulfill its function cannot be taken for granted,” emphasized Gantner. Accordingly, it is important to ensure targeted and careful protection forest management.
Frassenwald in Ludesch awarded
The “Ludescher Frassenwald” project was awarded the Helvetia Protection Forest Prize this year. The area was repeatedly damaged by windthrow and bark beetle infestations in the 1980s. A restoration project has therefore been implemented since 1989 to preserve the protective forest.
In addition to forest development measures, this includes reforestation and technical measures against avalanches and landslides. In the last ten years, a slow but continuous improvement in the situation can be seen over a longer period of time, according to the state of Vorarlberg.
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