Gesäuse National Park – Feasibility Study

Associated persons Michael Jungmeier, Iris Velik, Hanns Kirchmeir, Gerhard Dullnig
Clients Federal Ministry of the Environment, Office of the Styrian Government
Regions Austria
Year 1998

In the context of an extensive expert report we established whether the implementation of a category II national park would be sensible and feasible for the Gesäuse region of Styria. The work was divided into the following eight modules, which required interdisciplinary cooperation and consistent project management. • International requirements: Application of the IUCN provisions to the area under investigation together with comparison with European mountainous national parks • Natural area: Description and assessment of the physiographic features including consolidation of the available data (handled by: ÖkoTeam) • Usage and conflicts of usage: Ascertaining current usages and their intensity in the area; analysis in respect of potential conflicts and combination into an integral evaluation • Acceptance: A study of the acceptance of the national park by the general public using interviews and synoptic assessment • Regional economic effects: Determining the effects of the planned national park on employment and value creation in the region by means of a model calculation • Costs: An estimate of the costs of establishing and running two versions of the national park • Summary assessment: Combining the partial results into a feasibility profile. The individual aspects were weighted using Delphi procedures with the involvement of notable experts. • PR: Communicating the subject and the course of the study to all participants in a continuous information and discussion process • Derivation of the zoning proposal