Tyrol's environmental lawyer:

“We must stop excessive soil consumption”

Tyrol's Deputy Provincial Environmental Ombudsman Walter Tschon reacts to the "Krone" report on soil sealing. He refers to the EU regulations and emphasizes that "excessive soil consumption must be stopped".

The Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce spoke out against the daily limit of 2.5 hectares for soil sealing in Austria, as the "Krone" reported in Friday's edition. The limit was "arbitrarily set". A closer analysis was called for instead of hasty limits that were drawn "on good luck".

As expected, the report has now called the State Environmental Advocate's Office into action.

The target of 2.5 hectares per day is firmly anchored in the current government program in Austria.

Walter Tschon

"Sealing only in comparison with unsealing"
Deputy Director Walter Tschon says that "of course I believe that future generations should also have development opportunities. However, in view of the current environmental situation and the recent severe weather disasters in Austria and Tyrol, it is imperative that future sealing should only take place in conjunction with unsealing".

"The goals are anchored in the EU soil strategy"
Tschon also refers to EU regulations: "At European level, the protection of soils, sustainable management and the restoration of degraded soils are anchored as objectives in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, which was presented by the European Commission in November 2021." In addition, the target of 2.5 hectares per day is firmly anchored in the current government program in Austria.

For the future, Tschon demands that "the entire area that is functionally connected to the project should be used to calculate the land use for projects".

"Not a bold enough step"
In conclusion, he says that "the review process for the Tyrolean Spatial Planning Act and the Building Code is currently pending. Proposals regarding restrictions on land use can be taken from these drafts. However, the changes are not a bold enough step".

The "excessive use of land" must be stopped.