2023-06-16 15:01:39
Vienna (OTS) – The nature lovers demand a fundamental right to nature in the Austrian constitution!
Naturefriends Austria present their campaign “Berg frei” during the national conference in Graz. The focus here is on free access to nature as a fundamental right to be enshrined in the constitution. Andreas Schieder, Chairman of Naturefriends Austria, Karin Scheele, Chairman of Naturefriends Lower Austria and Günter Abraham, Federal Managing Director of Naturefriends Austria, explained the background to the campaign.
Since 1975 it has been permitted by law to enter the forest free of charge. Unfortunately, free access to nature is hampered in many ways. Lovers of nature are seeing “keep out!” signs more and more often. It is not uncommon for high parking fees to be incurred in order to even get into the forest. Mushroom picking is also a popular topic. Free access to lakes is also often blocked in the truest sense of the word.
“Barriers that restrict legal access to nature have become more and more common in recent years. Naturefriends Austria has been fighting for free access to nature for all people since it was founded. It has been proven that staying and being physically active in nature is extremely important for everyone’s health. We are now starting the “Mountain Free” campaign and have also formulated our demands for politicians,” explains Andreas Schieder, Chairman of Naturefriends Austria. “The focus is on the demand to enshrine a fundamental right to nature in the Austrian constitution”.
Naturefriends Austria, together with the nine federal state chambers of labor and the Austrian Alpine Association, commissioned the Institute for Civil Law at the University of Innsbruck to conduct a study to find out how free access to nature might be anchored more firmly in Austrian law. The aim of the study was to determine how moderate access to nature in the interest of the general public in Austria might legally look like.
Karin Scheele, Chairwoman of the Naturefriends Lower Austria on steering concepts:
„In the courses of the Naturefriends Academy and at Naturefriends events, reference is always made to our fair play rules and thus an attitude of togetherness in nature is lived. As with the demand for the opening of forest roads for mountain bikers, the Friends of Austria are always available with constructive suggestions, as happened with the position paper on ski tour guidance concepts. In certain situations we see this as a suitable tool to reconcile the interests and needs of outdoor sports enthusiasts (in this case ski tourers) and other nature users with the needs of nature conservation.”
Mountain biking has experienced a real boom in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of Austrian cyclists and mountain bikers are looking for relaxation in the forests and mountains of Austria. “Safe cooperation is the top priority here. However, cycling in the forest is only permitted on approved and marked routes. The expansion of single trails, trail areas and bike parks must be supported and promoted. The nature lovers are committed to the structural expansion of safely designed mountain bike routes and remind them that only a small part of the approximately 120,000 kilometers of forest roads is officially passable. A release of these forest roads would be an optimal low-threshold and safe offer for recreational athletes.” reminds Günter Abraham, Federal Manager of Naturefriends Austria, of the demand for the release of the forest road.
As part of the campaign, Naturefriends Austria are calling for:
- To enshrine a fundamental right to nature in the Austrian constitution
- Significantly improve the accessibility of nature by public transport
- The release of forest roads for cycling, taking into account (wild) ecological, forestry and social requirements! All other forest areas such as hiking trails, forest trails and the like are expressly excluded from this requirement!
- To start initiatives that improve public access to Austrian lakes
Questions & contact:
Public relations work for Naturefriends Austria
Peter Emrich
peter.emrich@naturfreunde.at
0664/852 17 36
1686928853
#Mountain #free #free #access #nature
