At the invitation of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) and the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park, 25 representatives of renowned Austrian research institutions recently met for networking at Hohe Warte and signed expressions of interest at a climate research center in the Otscher.
The mountain is predestined as a research area for scientific and transdisciplinary questions on climate change and its effects on biological diversity.
At the initiative of the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park, a project team consisting of ZAMG, the Krems University for Continuing Education and the Lacron planning office is currently working on establishing a research center in the Ötscher region.
An essential step in the current project is the networking of research institutions with each other: In order to ideally coordinate future joint research projects in the Ötscher region, the existing exchange of experience is now being intensified. Numerous representatives from various research centers accepted the invitation and came to the Hohe Warte for a morning dialogue and to get to know each other.
“The ZAMG sees the Ötscher region as an exciting research area that offers the valuable opportunity to investigate the climate, its changes and biodiversity in a kind of open-air laboratory at various altitude levels and together with other disciplines,” he emphasizes. Andreas Schaffhauser, temporary head of the ZAMG.
While climate change research has long been carried out in high alpine areas, life and economic areas in lower mountain ranges have been less well researched. It is important to develop concrete solutions for living and working at this altitude, especially with regard to the already perceptible effects of climate change and the inherent loss of biodiversity. This can be achieved through a close network of motivated regional stakeholders and solution-oriented research. “The Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park region offers the ideal environment to develop climate change adaptation solutions that may also be relevant for other regions,” says Florian Schublach, Project Manager of the Ötscher-Tormäuer Nature Park, with conviction in your opening statement at the networking event.
Ascent to the Ötscher with Jäger and Käfer
The feasibility study for the planned “Ötscher Climate Research Center – Climate Change Solutions for the Alpine Settlement Area” will be completed in June.
At the same time, the first implementation steps are already being taken: A first highlight is a botanical-climatological ascent of the Ötscher with climate expert Andreas Jäger and master gardener and “radio gardener” Johannes Käfer on July 16.
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