!!!Naturschutz

Protection of Nature, in Austria within the legislative and executive 
purview of the provinces. Protection of Nature comprises the 
protection of 1. natural monuments, 2. certain wild-growing plants 
(e.g.  Alpine Flora) and wild animals, 3. areas marked off as nature 
preserves, 4. landscape in its function as general depiction of nature 
(landscape conservation). Areas Subject to Strictest Protection are 
natural preserves which are completely or almost completely untouched 
(primaeval forests, barren land, remains of steppe areas, moors, 
etc.); in such areas any interference with nature is strictly 
forbidden.

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Areas Subject to Partial Protection are areas with rare species of 
plants and animals or various natural monuments.

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Landscape Conservation Areas / Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are 
self-contained areas used for recreation and tourism because of their 
picturesque landscape. Certain recreational areas can decide to merge 
as  Nature Parks One special type are the  National Parks. Provincial 
governments and district administration authorities have to keep a 
Naturschutzbuch ("Conservation Book") accessible to everyone, which 
lists all protected areas and objects. Apart from official 
conservationist activities, conservation has been practised by the 
Oesterreichische Naturschutzbund association since 1913.

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The Imperial Forestry Act of 1852 for the first time created laws 
protecting nature. However, there were already regulations in the 
Middle Ages (forestry precepts,  Protection Forest) for economic 
reasons. In 1860 laws were passed concerning  Agricultural Production, 
Protection of and damage done to or theft of crops. In 1886 Salzburg 
passed a law for the protection of the Edelweiss flower; similar laws 
followed in Tirol (1892), Styria (1898) and in Vorarlberg (1904). 
Lower Austria enacted a similar law on the protection of Alpine plants 
in 1905, in 1924 the 1%%sup st/%  Provincial Law on Nature Protection 
and the 1%%sup st/%  Provincial Law on Cave Protection were passed. 
This was followed in 1924 by Tirol, in 1926 by Burgenland, in 1927 by 
Upper Austria, in 1929 by Salzburg, in 1931 by Carinthia, in 1932 by 
Vorarlberg and in 1935 by Vienna. The Lower Austrian law was the model 
for the German law on Nature Protection (1935) which was introduced in 
Austria in 1938. After 1945 new provincial laws on conservation (Lower 
Austria, Styria and Tirol 1951, Carinthia 1953, Vienna 1955, Upper 
Austria and Salzburg 1956) were based on the Lower Austrian law. 
According to this law, high-lying forests on erosive grounds or 
forests on precipices can be declared protection forests in order to 
protect people from avalanches, landslides, rockfall, karstification, 
etc. Plants protected by law must not be removed from their location, 
must not be damaged or destroyed, transferred, purchased, transported 
or offered for sale. This also applies to single parts of these 
plants. Partial protection of plants is limited to certain forms of 
development, times, locations, use or parts. It is forbidden to remove 
the subterranean parts of these plant species, but picking the surface 
parts for private use is allowed. Certain species must not be 
gathered, traded or offered for sale. The majority of nature reserves 
and landscape conservation areas are lakes and their shores, areas 
around highways and mountain roads, primaeval forests, moors, narrow 
gorges, steppes and the green belts of large towns.


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