Austria Grosses Walsertal

Declaration date: November 2000 Surface area: 47,500 acres Administrative division: Vorarlberg

Human Activities:

Walserstolz (Walser Pride): High-quality mountain cheese from the region. Our partners: About 40 tourism compa-nies have committed themselves to na-ture by complying with a criteria cata-logue. Mountain timber: A project for the mar-keting of high-quality eco-timber with certified origins. Box with delicious specialities: Market-ing support for regional produce. Renewable energy: The efficient use of energy has high significance in the bio-sphere park. Excursions and environmental education: Experiential weeks for schoolchildren and an extensive excursion program for visitors of the biosphere park. Walser EigenArt: Typical crafts from the Walser valley

Protection classifications:

Vorarlberg: Law of nature conservation 1997 - Biosphere Reserve as a protection zone category Nature conservation areas - Gadental (since - Faludriga-Nova (since Natura 2000 areas - Gadental, - Unter-Überlut

Contact information: Biosphärenparkmanagement Großes Walsertal Jagdbergstraße 272 6721 Thüringerberg T +43 5550 20360 / F +43 5550 24174 info@grosseswalsertal.at

Ecological characteristics:

Forests, meadows, ravines, springs, streams, hills, cliffs, mountain tops, alps and karst formations: Due to its geological and morphological variety the entire Grosses Walsertal valley is a single huge biotope rich in flora and fauna. As an example, the valleys famous mountain meadows contain many herbs, various types of gentian and orchids. 90% of the Grosses Walsertal biosphere park is natural and cultivation landscapes. But nature is not the only topic here: Great attention is laid on developing possibilities to earn money and further to keep living in the valley: For a long time, livestock farming was the essential lively-hood here. Today, most of the workforce commutes elsewhere to their jobs. In the valley itself, the possibilities for earning a living are farming, tourism and a few skilled trade enterprises. Development zones 6,393 acres (13%) Living, economic and recreation space for residents and visitors. The entire permanent settlement area of the Grosses Walsertal valley is part of the de-velopment zone. Cultivation zones 32,942 acres (69 %) In the Grosses Walsertal valley, these are primarily mountain forests, alpine pastures and traditionally cultivated mountain meadows. Core zones 8,165 acres (17%) In the Grosses Walsertal valley, they are the nature conservation areas Gadental and Faludriga-Nova, the mountain river Lutz, the Kirschwald-Ischkarnei area, the Tiefenwald moor region and Rote Wand (literally “Red Wall”), the highest mountain of the valley. This zoning has not created any new regulations; each of these areas already had a special protective status under nature conservation laws prior to the new zoning.

© Grosses Walsertal BR