What’s it all about?
Is the common hamster a protected species in Austria? Is it listed as a threatened species in Austrian Red Lists? Am I allowed to collect medicinal herbs? If so, how many? Am I allowed to remove a hornet’s nest from my toilet?
To date, such questions have been difficult to answer. The Austrian provinces are in charge of legal species protection, which means that there are nine different protection laws. For mammals, fishes and birds it will also be necessary to consider fishing and hunting laws. More than 100 Red Lists have been published providing information on the threat status of Austrian species. Frequently, these volumes are now out of print and only available in libraries. Some Red Lists have been published in regional journals with a restricted circulation.
However, species protection matters to all of us, and its foundations should not be restricted to expert circles. Information on the threat status and protection status should be easily accessible. On behalf of, and supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Umweltbundesamt Austria collects protection and threat status data on Austrian species, enters them into a database and makes this information available on the Internet. |
