Changes in the law – The government limits the state’s environmental advocacy

As a result, the LUA will be excluded from a number of procedures in the future, for example when drawing up dismissal plans, or will lose the right to appeal to the Administrative Court.

Following the already adopted amendment to the Nature Conservation Act, there are now also amendments to the National Environmental Protection Act, the National Park Act, the Environmental Protection and Environmental Information Act, the Spatial Planning Act, the Hunting Act, the Camping Act, the Forestation Rights Act and the Land Constitution Act, which, among other things, now no longer has the LUA’s right to appeal to the administrative court.

In its current form, the state environmental prosecutor’s office often leads to a “lose-lose situation for all areas: nature conservation, agriculture and forestry, as well as our economic and general livelihood,” explains conservation officer and deputy governor of the state Marlene Svazek. (FPÖ).

In concrete terms, the LUA will no longer be involved in the following procedures: the reservation of approval in landscape protection regulations, notifiable measures and simplified nature conservation procedures. In the future, these decisions will rest solely with the responsible authorities and experts.

She is also excluded from proceedings relating to agricultural and forestry buildings, freight and rope routes, land consolidation, small energy generation systems and event locations, as well as from hunting matters, such as drawing up and issuing the shooting plan and in nature conservation cases. ecology advisory board.

The LUA’s right to appeal to the administrative court should therefore be completely eliminated.

The law changes will be assessed from today and will last until November 14. They will then be forwarded to the state parliament for a decision in December.