National Parks
Tyrol, a mountainous territory with fragile and remarkable ecosystems, has two national parks, as well as nature parks, crossed by numerous hiking and cycling routes.
Hohe Tauern National Park: located partly in Carinthia and partly in Tyrol, it is the largest national park in Central Europe. Famous for its magnificent landscapes, it is home to a rich biodiversity.
Stelvio National Park: shared between Trentino, Lombardy and South Tyrol, it is home to high mountains, lakes and forests that offer sublime landscapes throughout the seasons.
Among the natural parks, we can mention
Karwendel Nature Park: located in North Tyrol, north of the Inn Valley, it offers a great variety of environments and a very rich biodiversity.
Zillertal Alps Nature Park : in North Tyrol, very famous among mountaineers, it is home to 85 glaciers and breathtaking landscapes.
Fanes-Sennes-Braies Nature Park: located in South Tyrol, it is home to extremely picturesque landscapes, high mountains and lakes, mountain pastures and high plateaus. Besides its geology, its biodiversity is exceptional.
Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Park: in South Tyrol, home to the emblematic Dolomite mountains (Santner and Uringer) and their rich ecosystems.
Towards a resilient agriculture
In 2021, with more than a quarter of the agricultural land cultivated - and certified - in organic farming, Austria was at the top of the world rankings in this field. This success is due to pioneering farmers in the inter-war period, the structuring of the sector since the 1960s, communication in the media, and financial support from the State. Supermarkets have also been involved in the distribution of organic products since the 1990s. The consumption of organic products is growing in the country.
In Italy, in the South Tyrol, voices are being raised to develop organic farming in a landscape marked by intensive arboriculture, which is a major consumer of pesticides and accounts for nearly a quarter of European production. However, organic farming is growing, with 10% of the region's apple production grown organically. The municipality of Malles Venosta, in Alto Adige, has been a forerunner in this field thanks to the activism of its inhabitants, and despite the powerful pesticide lobby. It became, following a referendum in 2014, the first municipality in Europe without pesticides. More precisely, a regulation was put in place prohibiting the spraying around houses, making the use of pesticides in the municipality obsolete given the small surface area of the plots.Faced with the ecological emergency
Tyrol is particularly vulnerable to climate change. A scientific assessment report stated in 2014 that the temperature increase compared to the pre-industrial era was already approaching +2 °C in the Alps. Climate change could lead to a greater frequency and intensity of extreme events (including floods, droughts, landslides, forest fires). Melting glaciers - 80% of which could disappear in the Alps by the end of the century - would threaten agriculture and hydroelectricity production. Faced with this situation, Austria has set itself the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. In addition to the mobility-related actions mentioned above, the country wants to introduce tax incentives, as well as measures such as a ban on oil-fired heating by 2035. The energy mix, composed of two-thirds fossil fuels, would see its share of renewable energy (hydroelectricity, biomass) increase to 50% by 2030, and be expanded (wind, solar). Energy efficiency is an important lever, along with sobriety and the circular economy.
Civil society is also involved in climate protection. For example, more than 160,000 people have signed a petition against a mega-project to link the two glaciers in the Pitztal and Söldenn resorts, which will cost 130 million euros and require, among other things, blasting and pouring concrete to build a tunnel, a water reservoir and ski lifts. The population of the Austrian Tyrol also, in 2017, voted against the organization of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Val Venosta, in the South Tyrol, was the forerunner in the Alps of the economy of the common good. This is an approach based on ecology, social justice and solidarity, in order to develop quality of life and resilience. This has resulted, for example, in the introduction of specific criteria in public procurement. For more information on this type of initiative: www.cipra.org.
Let us also be aware that our activities generate impacts and that we are also actors of change.Promote "slow travel"
Austria has embarked on an ambitious policy to promote low-carbon mobility. This strategy is based on the extension of its rail network, which now has 27 lines. The country has also announced a budget of 7 billion euros to electrify the entire network by 2035. The region is accessible not only by train, but also by bicycle. North Tyrol offers nearly 1,000 km of bicycle paths, with associated services (rental, etc.). These include the Inn cycle route, the Via Claudia Augusta, the Drauradweg cycle path, the Adige (Etsch) cycle route and the EuroVelo7. A network of Alpine villages, Alpine Pearls, offers car-free tourism(www.alpine-pearls.com)
. Another pillar of climate and life protection is food from short and local circuits, produced using agro-ecological processes. The Slowfood movement , among other actions, develops ecotourism programs around food, and supports small producers (slowfood.it). The agriturismo network groups together organic farms that welcome visitors(www.agriturismo.it/fr).
