MUFLAN

Short description

The pilot project MUFLAN develops possible solutions for the future environmental resources management in three model regions in Austria. In close cooperation between the Federal Environment Agency and the regional experts essential preconditions for integrated resource planning are created.

Point of departure

As a consequence of long-term socio-economic changes (demographic change, globalisation, urbanisation, climate change, scarcity of fossil energy sources) the need for high-quality environmental resources is growing. We can assume today that the pressure regarding the use of relevant environmental resources, like water, soil, air, landscape and biodiversity, will increase in the future (e.g. due to resource-intensive lifestyles, rising necessity of mobility etc.).

As comprehensive environmental resources are mostly found in rural regions, the regional context is gaining importance. Especially on regional level considerable progress is presently being made in the fields of environment, climate and resource protection. Furthermore, it will be vital to enhance management effectiveness in conflicts of use regarding the availability of environmental resources between the many different interest groups - for the conflicts on environmental resources will generally increase in and between regions.

Targets and target groups

For the Pongau regional association, the use and the outcome of the project can be structured along three levels:

1st level: The project provides an ecological status-quo analysis of the region. The process and the result of the project create awareness in the region (ecological value of environmental resources becomes visible for stakeholders, politics and the population) and represents a valuable basis of information and decision for regional development, in particular for the future development of resource use.
The project will address and deal with regionally specific environmental problems. In the district of St. Johann im Pongau, these are, for example, details of the issues
* soil and area,
* mineral resources,
* water supply,
* biological diversity & nature conservation,
* land use.

2nd level: The regional action programme offers a central information basis which the entire region can use prior to relevant administrative procedures on the regulation of claims and conflicts of use regarding regional environmental resources (e.g. when it comes to the identification of priority areas in landuse planning). The region gets a tool for foresighted resource planning and for improving the coordination of user interests and conflict avoidance.

3rd level:
The environmental quality of the region can be used to communicate marketing and strategic positions both inside and outside the region. The region’s ecological profile is an important information basis for its strategic positioning.

Project implementation and measures

* Project management, kick-off workshop
* Setting up of regional resource stocks and a “utilisation profile” (stage of analysis)
* Presentation of the results in the region (feedback stage)
* Preparation of an action programme

Processing of the results of the analyses and working out of two or three ecologically optimised utilisation scenarios for the region, incl. the planning of measures and working programmes (strategic options for future use of resources in the region), deduction of action programmes, implementation concept, organisation of the implementation, individual measures, etc. for each of the scenarios
* Presentation of the results in the region (transfer)
* Accompanying public relations work