The population can now submit suggestions for each federal state – the first place winners will be chosen at the end of July
Vienna (OTS) – As part of the “9 Places, 9 Concrete Treasures” initiative, Greenpeace is looking for the most catastrophic construction sins in Austria. The submission period starts today, on International Biodiversity Day. People across the country are invited to submit their biggest upsets (https://greenpeace.at/betonschaetze). The environmental protection organization wants to draw attention to the massive destruction of soil and the wasteful use of soil. The top winners from all nine federal states will be chosen by public voting and an expert jury and announced at the end of July.
Melanie Ebner, soil protection expert at Greenpeace, is now calling on the population to support the initiative: “Austria is a country full of beautiful natural treasures and fertile fields, but our homeland is being built up and concreted over at a rapid pace. With our initiative ‘9 places, 9 concrete treasures’, we are bringing the most catastrophic construction sins to light with the help of the population. Is nature senselessly destroyed in your area in order to build on it? Or do you know of a particular construction project that particularly excites you? Then send us your worst candidates for soil sealing now.”
From now until June 30th, all of Austria can submit the country’s most catastrophic asphalt deserts and concrete blocks. Based on the well-known ORF television format (“9 places, 9 treasures”), the final nine “concrete treasures” will be determined both by audience voting and by an expert jury. The jury – consisting of experts from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, the TU Vienna, the Federal Chamber of Civil Engineers and Greenpeace – will evaluate the proposals according to environmentally relevant criteria. These include, among other things, the size of the construction project, the impact on nature and possible alternatives. Which nine submissions received the most votes – through audience voting and jury evaluation – will be announced at a press conference on July 30th.
Ebner: “Commercial parks, industrial areas and parking lots are not only unaesthetic, they suffocate everything that lives on and in the ground. It’s not just biodiversity that suffers: in most cases, the developed areas are fertile soils that are subsequently lacking for agriculture. In this way, we are not only endangering our biodiversity, but also putting our food supply at risk.” In Austria, almost 4,200 hectares are used every year – an area almost as large as Lake Attersee. Greenpeace is calling on state governments to set limits for land consumption and development. The aim must be to limit land consumption in Austria from the current 11.5 hectares per day to a maximum of 2.5 hectares per day by 2030.
The expert jury, which – in addition to the audience voting – will decide on the placement of the projects, consists of the following experts:
- Gerlind Weber, university professor at the Institute for Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna,
- Sabine Knierbein, Professor at the Research Department for Urban Culture and Public Space, Institute for Spatial Planning at the Vienna University of Technology
- Daniel Fügenschuh, President of the Federal Chamber of Civil Engineers
- Melanie Ebner, Greenpeace soil protection expert
The Link to the participation page of “9 places, 9 concrete treasures” can be found at: https://greenpeace.at/betonschaetze
The Factsheet “Soil sealing in Austria” can be found at: https://act.gp/4amHvNm
Images and QR code can be found at: https://act.gp/3K1K7FR
The images are available free of charge for editorial use provided the credits are given ( © Mitja Kobal / Greenpeace).
Questions & Contact:
Melanie Ebner
Soil protection expert
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel.: +43 (0) 664 46 15 019
E-Mail: melanie.ebner@greenpeace.org
Réka Tercza
Press spokesperson
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel.: +43 (0) 664 85 74 598
E-Mail: reka.tercza@greenpeace.org