Austria: Nature park Jauerling-Wachau

The nature park Jauerling-Wachau along the Danube river in Lower Austria, was created in 1984 and covers about 11,500 ha. The park offers a rich biodiversity, providing habitats for rare orchids, butterflies, fish, birds, and other species. Agricultural production concerns mainly wine and fruit production, as well as some dairy farming. Farming is rather small scale partly conventional and intensive, and partly organic and extensive. Over the last years, the region has become Austria’s most important producer of Christmas trees. ES delivery relates to provisioning services (wine, fruits, Christmas trees) and cultural services (tourism), given the park’s location in the wider Wachau region which is an important tourist region.

In terms of governance, nature parks in Austria are to fulfill four major functions (protection, recreation, education and regional development) in an equal way, leading to sustainable development where conservation, agriculture and tourism go hand in hand. This is in contrast to national parks (German case study), where the prior focus is on conservation.