Background
The Protective Forest Action Programme was approved by the Austrian Federal Government as part of the Austrian Forest Strategy 2020+ for the preservation and restoration of protective forests. It has been consistently implemented by the BML and its partners since 2019. The Action Programme aimed at clearly defined and feasible goals. In order to achieve these goals, a package of measures was pursued and measurable results were specified to monitor success.
After a period of five years (2019 to 2024), the Action Programme was evaluated. The report now available presents the key findings, documents the degree to which the goals have been achieved and outlines perspectives for further steps.
When the Action Programme was designed, it became clear that there was potential to expand the knowledge about the functions, the condition and development of protective forests in Austria. In order to create the bases for evidence-based decisions, nationwide geoinformation on the location of forests with object-protecting effect was compiled as part of the Action Programme and a research programme was launched to deepen the level of knowledge about protective forests. This includes a study on the availability of suitable seed and plant material for the reforestation of protective forests.
In addition, by means of educational and information measures Austria’s protective forests have been brought into the focus of political and social perception to an unprecedented extent. As intended by the Action Programme, deficits in protective forest policy in Austria were clearly identified and attention was drawn to conflicting interests of use, the multiple social demands on protective forests and the challenges posed by climate change.
Achievement of goals and recommendations for action
The evaluation shows the need for further action and the consequence of making the following fields of action in protective forest policy the subject of further concrete measures:
Priority fields of action are increasing the resilience of protective forests to climate change, taking precautions against damaging risk factors (bark beetles, damage caused by game, storms), the effectiveness of investments in protective forests and establishing the social valorisation for protective forests as part of the public services.
Result of the evaluation
The evaluation of the Action Programme on Protective Forests showed that the strategic priorities set in 2019 can in many areas be considered suitable for a continuous and long-term orientation or further development of the topic ‘improving the situation of protective forests in Austria’.
Government Programme 2025- 2029
The evaluation of the numerous flagship projects in protective forests has clearly shown that the activities and measures taken within the duration of the Action Programme have done a lot to increase understanding of the necessity of protective forests in Austria.
The Austrian Federal Government therefore explicitly laid down the continuation and long-term development of this forest policy strategy in its Government Programme 2025-2029.
Due to the current and future challenges in protective forests, strong strategic answers are still necessary in order to strengthen the topic in Austria's regions in a socio-politically acceptable, sustainably protection-oriented and economically viable way.
