Austria
Farming in the Austrian Alps is small in scale and involves a high degree of manual labor. In the face of structural changes in agriculture, alpine farms are finding it increasingly difficult to remain economically viable. Organic farming presents a promising alternative for alpine farmers because it receives considerable financial support under the Common Agricultural Policy of the European...
According to the EU criteria for demarcation of agricultural less-favoured areas, the mountain area in Austria comprises 70% of the Austrian territory (58% of the utilised agricultural area) and is home to 36% of the Austrian population. It forms part of two of Europe's mountain massifs, the Alps and the Bohemian massif. About 50 % of all farms in Austria are situated in the mountain areas....
Mountain regions are fragile ecosystems and an important source of water, energy and biological diversity. Furthermore they are a source of such key resources as minerals, forest and agricultural products, as well as being landscapes for tourism and recreation. As a major ecosystem representing the complex and interrelated ecology of our planet, mountain environments are essential to the...
This Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) Digest provides an overview of scientific activities undertaken within MAB Project 6, whose focus is on mountain areas. It considers MAB activities in the mountains of nine European countries -- Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland -- and the former USSR. It is in these countries that the...
Within the ISDEMA project, a re-assessment of the basic requirements for sustainable development in mountain regions has been discussed. The case studies from a series of different mountain ranges in Europe underpin the need to relate the various sectoral topics, such as agriculture, forestry, tourism, transport, water and energy use to innovative strategies for...
Mountain areas have, in general, overcome farming difficulties and the handicaps of geographical peripheral location and low competivity. As the agricultural sector is of significant relevance for land use in these areas the different farm management sytems have considerable implications on the regional environment and the rural economy.
Mountain farming has been a policy subject since...
Rural policy is no more primarily about agriculture but has to address specifically all different economic sectors and actors in the area. This seems particularly important in the Austrian context for mountain areas which have traditionally been seen as remote areas. Yet, with a portion of 70% of the total land of the country and widespread positive economic performance in large parts of West-...
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