The History of Utilization and Management of Commons and Consequences of Current Social Change in the Alpine Region of A
Sixty-seven percent of Austria’s total territory complies with the EU-definition of a ‘mountainous area’. Nearly half of its 2,351 communities live and work in this region. The forest area amounts to 47 % (EU 27 %). Without mountain forests, which stabili
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The History of Utilization and Management of Commons and Consequences of Current Social Change in the Alpine Region of Austria Elisabeth Johann
9.1 Introduction Europe’s roof garden has a length of 1,200 km long and a width of 300 km, and reaches from the Mediterranean up to an altitude of 4,808 m (Hamberger et al. 1998) (see Fig. 9.1). As defined in the Alpine Convention, the region of the Alps is home to some 13 million people (Alpenkonvention 1991). The 190,912 sq.km contained within the Alpine arc comprise a high cultural and linguistic diversity. The region is characterized by eight countries, about 100 regions and about 6,200 communities, four world languages, seven further languages countless dialects and traditions. Human activities can be traced back for perhaps 100,000 years, and permanent settlements for around 7,000 years. The landscape is home to a wealth of eco-systems and cultural diversity. With their unique combination of natural and cultural history, the Alps have become a living space, an economic area and a recreational playground of eminent importance at the heart of the European continent. The experiences of nature-adapted management have by some means been maintained until the present day. Austria plays an important role among the Alpine states because in relation to the national territory the share of mountain areas is the highest (70 %) within the European community. 67 % of Austria’s total territory complies with the EUdefinition of ‘mountainous area’. Fifty-two percent of the farms are situated in mountain regions, 80 % of the national territory is located in disadvantageous regions. Nearly half of Austria’s 2,351 communities live and work in this area. The maintenance of the settlement areas is therefore of great importance to more than three million people.
E. Johann (&) Austrian Forest Association, Oberdoerfl 9, A-9173 St Margareten, Austria e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
I. D. Rotherham (ed.), Cultural Severance and the Environment, Environmental History 2, DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6159-9_9, Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
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Fig. 9.1 Area of Alpine Convention (N.N. 2010)
Without mountain forests, which stabilize mountain slopes on a lasting basis, a large part of the Austrian territory would become inhabitable and substantial infrastructure jeopardized. 82 % of the forest surface is privately, 18 % publicly owned. Half of the privately-owned forests are small-scale forests; about 10 % have joint ownership structures (Pro: Holz Austria 2001–2012) (see Fig. 9.2). Rural and craftsman’s small-scale enterprises are contributing remarkably to biodiversity and livelihood of the local people. In Austria, the importance of smallscale forestry is proved by the number of about 280,000 human beings (around 5 % of the total population) earning their living in forestry and timber industry. It has been assumed, that the precondition for the sustainable development and utilization of cultural landscapes is based on the development of the
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