South Tyrol has introduced new management guidelines for Natura 2000 protected areas, setting clear requirements for the application of manure and fertilizers while aiming to balance environmental protection with agricultural practices, according to the provincial government. Approved on August 28 by the provincial government following a proposal by Peter Brunner, the provincial councillor for environment, nature, and landscape protection, the new rules implement long-standing legal mandates to prevent environmental degradation in protected ecosystems.
Provincial Government Implements Natura 2000 Management Framework
Strict Bans and Conditional Exceptions for Farmland
Under the provincial nature conservation law (Landesgesetz Nr. 6/2010), applying mineral fertilizers, liquid fertilizers, slurry, and livestock manure is generally prohibited in Natura 2000 areas to comply with a strict legal ban on deterioration. However, the new management guidelines establish specific exceptions that allow farming to continue under strict environmental requirements.
Fertilization Plans and Provisions for Small Farms
According to the provincial government, farmers wishing to apply mineral fertilizers, liquid fertilizers, or outside livestock manure to meadows in these protected zones must establish a detailed fertilization plan. Farms that forgo mineral or liquid fertilizers entirely and instead use solid manure or other approved methods are exempt from the fertilization requirement.
Furthermore, small farms with an average livestock density of a maximum of 1.5 livestock units per hectare are permitted to submit a simplified fertilization plan, a measure designed to limit administrative burdens according to agriculture councillor Luis Walcher.
Conservationists Condemn Compromise and Enforcement Gaps
The Dachverband für Natur- und Umweltschutz (Nature and Environment Protection Federation) has strongly condemned the new guidelines, characterizing them as an inadequate compromise that harms biodiversity.
According to the environmental organization, a previous agreement reached in 2016 between the farmers’ union and conservation authorities required the creation of fertilization plans to curb the destructive impacts of over-fertilization on mountain meadows, but those measures were never effectively implemented.
The Dachverband asserts that intensive mountain farming practices have continued to over-fertilize Natura 2000 meadows with slurry over the past decade, severely reducing species richness. The organization has expressed deep skepticism regarding whether the newly mandated fertilization plans will be properly enforced or monitored, arguing that public subsidies continue to fund practices that degrade protected natural habitats.
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