Network Natural Forest Region

Profile

  • approx. 1,500 km² project area
  • three federal states Austria's last primeval forests high biodiversity
  • internationally recognized protected areas
  • Great cultural and historical heritage
  • Region of Austria's only UNESCO World Heritage Site
Map of the Natural Forest Network project area with Kalkalpen National Park, Gesäuse National Park and Dürrenstein - Lassingtal Wilderness Area

The project area covers approx. 1,500 km² and is located in the northern Limestone Alps in the "border triangle" of Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria.

The mountainous landscape is characterized by a high proportion of forest. The partially inaccessible landscape has made it difficult to develop large areas for settlement and forestry.

This has allowed natural forests to survive in secret - including the last remnants of primeval forest in Austria! These areas are home to an exceptionally high level of biodiversity and a large number of species worthy of protection - including numerous animals and plants that only have their habitat here worldwide!

The density of protected areas in the region is correspondingly high. Three of them are recognized by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) as large international protected areas and have their own management: the Dürrenstein-Lassingtal Wilderness Area (IUCN Category I – strict nature reserve), the Gesäuse National Park and the Kalkalpen National Park (both IUCN Category II – National Park).

The core of the Eisenwurzen region, located within the project area, has a significant cultural and historical past, during which accessible parts of the forests were intensively used, primarily for iron processing. This era ended abruptly with the advent of coal mining. Since then, nature has been transforming the former commercial forests back into near-natural forests where humans allow.

At a time when many rural areas are affected by the migration of businesses and the population to conurbations, the special natural features of the project region offer great opportunities - nature and culture as potential for the region.

The fact that the region is home to Austria's only UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site is proof of the uniqueness of this region. The Natural Forest Network is working to ecologically connect these areas, which are important for the whole of humanity.

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