Soil protection in Austria: Politics calls for drastic measures now!

Soil protection in Austria: Politics calls for drastic measures now!

The alarming developments in soil protection already throw their shadows ahead: in Austria a frightening area of 12 hectares of fertile soil is used every day - this corresponds to a loss of 17 football fields! On one of these particularly pressing topics, Leonore Gewessler, the deputy club chairwoman and spokeswoman for the Greens for soil protection, asked for the urgent need for a binding soil protection law at a press conference. "An upper limit of only 2.5 hectares per day could make a significant difference," said Gewessler in her passionate appeal for the protection of this valuable resource, as well as ots.at

This claim is supported by a new study that was developed on behalf of the Ministry of Climate Protection and shows urgent legal measures. The spatial planning expert Gernot Stöglehner emphasizes the urgency of a clear, binding goal for soil consumption. "A net zero floor consumption goal is essential to secure nutrition and raw material sovereignty in Austria in the face of climate change," emphasizes Stöglehner. This is supported by the view that healthy soils are of central importance not only for food production, but also for drinking water supply, as well as the Infothek.bmk.gv.at illustrated.

soil protection as a key to climate protection

The international world floor day on December 5 continues to focus on this topic: Experts want to raise awareness of the vital ecological functions of the soil. "Soil protection is synonymous with climate protection," says Gewessler, who emphasizes the need to maintain healthy soils in order to counter extreme weather events such as floods and at the same time guarantee food supply. In order to achieve these goals, the legal experts in the study also propose a sanction mechanism that is responsible for the federal states that do not implement effective measures for soil protection. The aim is not only to improve the legal framework, but also to create transparency so that everyone involved reveals progress in soil protection every year in order to monitor and control the development.