Designated terrestrial protected areas

In Austria, the percentage of designated protected areas is more than 29% and has almost reached the policy target of 30%. The steady increase in protected areas since 2016 is mostly due to the assignment of new Natura 2000 areas. In total, the Natura 2000 network comprises more than half of Austrian protected areas.

The total percentage of protected areas is relatively high. A high share of protected area is concentrated in mountain areas and at higher altitudes, while landscapes at lower altitudes may be slightly under-represented. Conversely, Austria’s national parks represent the biogeographic diversity in Austria in a balanced way: half of them are situated in alpine areas and the other half cover lowland river and wetland ecosystems. National parks cover almost 70% of all Austrian vascular plant species, up to 94% of breeding birds and 80% of habitats listed in Annex 1 to the Habitats Directive.

Biodiversity hotspot studies have shown the potential priorities for further strengthening the ecological connectivity of protected areas. These identified areas will very likely contribute to the achievement of the policy target of more than 30% protected terrestrial land by 2030.