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Dispute over Forchet protection: local council overturns years-long plan!
The Haiming local council rejects the protection of the Forchet, despite strong support from the population and years of preparation.
Dispute over Forchet protection: local council overturns years-long plan!
After years of preparation and heated discussions, the Haiming local council has decided to reject the Haiminger Forchet's protection. Despite the intensive support from the citizens' initiative “Schützt das Forchet” and Mayor Michaela Ofner, 9 of the 17 mandates voted against the plan - including the strongest faction, the General List under Vice Mayor Christian Köfler. The decision provoked sharp criticism from numerous quarters, for example from the Tyrolean Greens, who characterized the change of opinion as “premature” and disappointing, as well as from the SPÖ, who spoke of “party games” that ultimately came at the expense of the natural area, such as meinkreis.at reported.
Political differences in the local council
The protection of Tyrol's last large valley forest was long in the making and was originally intended to cover an area of 93 hectares. But the largest faction did not follow the consensus that had emerged from many discussions and analyzes and instead raised its own concerns. At the local council meeting, Köfler rejected the already “stripped down” version of the project as too large and instead advocated a much smaller protection area of just 40 to 50 hectares. Mayor Ofner was disappointed with the decision, which she sees as characterized by “personal hostilities”, while the citizens' initiative wants to continue to fight against this decision. Marianne Götsch, spokeswoman for the initiative, emphasized that public opinion would show clear support for the protection of the Forchet, despite the political hurdles, as stated by orf.at reported.
The failure to protect the natural area is widely viewed as a serious loss, as the Forchet has already been reduced over the years through clearing and rezoning. The responsible environmental authority is also disappointed and announced that it would examine the decision in detail. Final clarification on how to proceed in the nature reserve is still pending. The protection of the Forchet remains at risk for the time being, while the political discussion in the local council could continue.