Entry #11: Walk4Wilderness

Organisation: Generation Earth (WWF-Austria)

Website: www.generationearth.at

Dates: 3-6 July 2017

Place: Ybbstaler Alpen, Austria

Description of the activity:

We implemented this project as part of our Generation Earth Action Leader Training which we participated in from September 2016-June 2017. The theme of this year’s training focused on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs, and we were most interested in Goal # 15 - “Life on Land” and protecting biodiversity and some of the last wild places in Europe and Austria. 

The project could be split into three stages: preparation, implementation (the hike) and impact evaluation. The first stage was characterized by creating a solid planning team, planning the route, getting sufficient funding, finding connections and partners, finding the people who know the area and the situation there and, of course, finding the participants who would join us on the hike. It took months of planning, but we ultimately got to the second stage that was the hike itself.

The hike with 15 people ranging from 17 to 27 years old lasted for three days of which one was extremely demanding and took us on the edge of the existing wilderness area with a great view to the already protected forest and valley. On the first day, we were joined by a journalist from FM4, a very popular Austrian radio station particularly for young people. The reporter made a few interviews with participants and  the results will be aired on a show called “Reality Check” in September. Apart from raising awareness and having an impact on the negotiations about the Durrenstein area we also wanted to help 12 participants get a deeper connection with nature through hiking in such a pristine area. We advertised the project strongly throughout the WWF and Generation Earth channels to get as many participant applications as possible and to spread the message about our project. As the main goal of our project was to raise awareness, we kept making blog post updates and taking photos and videos (a short edit will soon be complete!) during the hike. We also had a live video stream from the mountain top on the WWF Austria Facebook page that reached almost 3000 people. The hike started in the Hochkar skiing area and continued into the wilder area where we stayed overnight in a small pasture hut. After two more days and all together almost 50 km of hiking we finished near Lunzer lake. Participants for sure had quite an experience and were all curious about the possible follow ups to this project and the options to join Generation Earth. The story was certainly not finished, especially for us from the planning group who had quite intense few days and busy months of planning before that. As we thought about our impact we remembered that the negotiations about expanding the area had restarted, the video that we streamed on the WWF Facebook was viewed by almost 3000 people, our story will be aired on one of the most popular radio stations in Austria, and the people on the hike got a unique experience that won't easily be forgotten. It was hard work for two volunteers to get everything the way it was but we really feel that we made a difference and it was worth it!

What was the environmental problem:

Our project was aimed to raise awareness about the need for wilderness areas and more specifically on the Durrenstein wilderness area. We basically wanted to have an impact on the negotiations that had stalled around the expansion. The area is a 3.500 ha big nature reserve and is the only IUCN category I reserve in Austria. The forest is, however, not big enough to be considered a self-sustaining ecosystem which requires about 10.000 ha.

There is a plan to enlarge Dürrenstein Wilderness area by another 6.500 ha by adding the old growth forest of Lassingbachtal which would make the area around 10.000 ha and therefore large enough to be declared a self-sustaining ecosystem. The negotiation process was unfortunately stopped by the Styrian Provincial Government in January 2017, which is why we wanted to support WWF get it started again.

The result of the activity:

While we cannot take full credit, as many organisations and people were involved, we are overjoyed that the negotiations were restarted about a week after our project concluded, and the sides are again talking about the expansion and how to do it. We hope that this will lead to a favourable outcome. Also, on July 10, the Lassingbachtal was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

For our role, we got in touch with various stakeholders by sending them our political factsheet with the description of why the area should be expanded. We also helped to promote the idea of wilderness by making a live video stream from the mountain top on the WWF Austria Facebook that was viewed by more than 2000 people who heard our message and also got to see some of the amazing views from the mountain top (without all the dangers associated with actually going there, lucky guys!). A few of our hiking group were interviewed which will be aired on FM4, one of the top radio stations in Austria, so everyone will hear about what we’re standing (and freezing) for. Our project was also highlighted in an Austrian magazine called “Wellness Magazin” and they helped us to spread our message in their article. And of course, the 15 people who joined us had a powerful life experience. It’s something that hopefully will shape their future decisions. Who knows, maybe one of them will be an important decision-maker one day and he or she will think about nature protection before making decisions.

Find out more:

Links to communication events:

https://www.facebook.com/WWFOesterreich/videos/10154506866837063/

https://www.facebook.com/WWFgenerationearth/videos/1402236063156822/

http://wwf.at/de/wwf-und-generation-earth-erweiterung-des-wildnisgebiets-duerrenstein-gefordert/

https://www.generationearth.at/en/walk4wilderness-a-wild-adventure

http://wellness-magazin.at/living/erweiterung-des-wildnisgebiets-duerrenstein-gefordert

Video:

Environmental challenge accepted - Public vote

Main page of the project