International cooperation for Austrian and German Ramsar site

Austria and Germany celebrate their first Transboundary Ramsar Site

"Austrian-Bavarian Wildalm"

On September 4th 2008, a ceremony took place at the "Austrian-Bavarian Wildalm" Transboundary Ramsar site, a large mire area situated at 1430 meters asl. covering the whole bottom and the slopes of a karst depression or polje with a natural brook that vanishes into a ponor. The site comprises the two Ramsar sites -- the bog Bayerische Wildalm and Wildalmfilz in Tyrol, Austria, and Bayerische Wildalm in Bavaria, Germany, and the complex supports several endangered plant species.

The regional affairs officer of the Ramsar Secretariat, Alexia Dufour, presented diplomas to the Bavarian Secretary of Environment, Marcel Huber, and the Tyrolean Landeshauptmann, Hannes Gschwentner, at the Gufferhütte, Tyrol, a mountain refuge, starting point of excellent hiking trails to the site.

Congratulations to Austria and Germany for this initiative of great interest for the promotion of international collaboration for the conservation and wise use of wetlands!

-- Alexia Dufour, Ramsar

(photo: Franz Speer)