Government fails to protect soil: WWF criticizes vague solutions!

Government fails to protect soil: WWF criticizes vague solutions!

The Austrian federal government, consisting of ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos, is facing sharp criticism from the WWF because its soil protection initiatives are assessed as inadequate. A recent analysis has shown that out of 28 measures examined, only seven are classified as “new and positive”, while the majority remain vague and non-binding. Simon Pories, WWF spokesman for soil protection, emphasizes that “despite repeated mentions in the program, there is a lack of concrete objectives” and warns that healthy and undeveloped soils are essential in times of climate change. This worrying assessment shows that Austria is still falling short of its targets when it comes to soil protection, which could have a negative impact on the environment.

Current WWF calculations show that land consumption in Austria remained alarmingly high in 2024: around 25 square kilometers of land were newly used, which corresponds to almost 7 hectares per day. These numbers exceed the desired target of just 2.5 hectares. The promotion of new road construction projects is viewed particularly critically, which, according to the WWF, “concentrate only on traffic and sabotage the climate goals”, while at the same time valuable agricultural land is lost due to the construction of the Lobau motorway. The WWF therefore demands that the federal government implement real changes to stop this alarming development and actually advance soil protection, as shown in the comprehensive analysis, which can be viewed in detail on the WWF website.

Alarming land consumption

The devastating effects of high land consumption are unmistakable: on average, around 11 hectares of soil disappear every day in Austria. These worrying figures highlight the urgent need for effective measures to protect land as a resource, especially in a country like Austria, which is particularly vulnerable due to its geographical features. Overall developments show that structural deficiencies in soil protection remain and it is crucial that the government seriously addresses these issues to secure the basis for a sustainable future, as detailed in the WWF's expanded information.