St. Poelten (04/04/2012) The province of Lower Austria has been an active member of the European Land and Soil Alliance since 2003, and the campaign "Our soil - we stand upon it!" has become an international best-practice example for practice-oriented creation of awareness. The SONDAR soil protection network (Soil Strategy Network in the Danube Region), subsidized by the European Union, cooperates with the neighbouring countries of Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic in preventive soil protection and practical topics and projects.

International network of sustainability in St. Poelten

Working groups of the Working Community of Danube Countries have held a meeting in St. Poelten for the 19th time. This time, the working groups of "Ecology, Soil Protection and Sustainability", Rural Area" as well as an expert group of the IAD and project partners of the networks of SONDAR and "Social Production" have gathered in the conference hall. With Lower Austria presiding, current topics and projects of preventive soil protection and a sustainable development in the Danube region have been dealt with. In the coming years, also the European Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) will considerably increase in significance. The great potential in respect of practical implementation of the network projects of SONDAR and "Social Production" has been emphasized by Florian Ballnus from Bavaria (EUSDR Coordinator of the field of "preservation of biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soils") and his colleague Roland Hanak from the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection in Vienna (Coordinator of the field of "investments in people and qualifications").

EU Project "SONDAR HU-AT" presented

7 partner organizations from Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Vienna, and Hungary create a network of increasing responsibility for soil within the framework of the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), subsidized by the European Union, between science and practice, between administration and users of land, between education, arts, and the population.

Partners of SONDAR HU-AT are the North Transdanubian Environmental and Water Directorate, the West Hungarian University of Agriculture and Nutrition Science, the City of Mosonmagyaróvár, as well as on the Austrian side the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna/Tulln, Bio Research Austria, and the international Working Group Danube Research (IAD). Lead partner is SENEC, Soil and Energy Network of European Countries, located in Eschenau/Lower Austria. The European Land and Soil Alliance (ELSA) takes part in the project as a strategic partner.

The Department of Rural Development of the Lower Austria Government is responsible for strategic control of the international SONDAR network. Chairman of SENEC, mayor and baker Michael Singraber provided for the official kick-off of the SONDAR HU-AT project, and surprised the project partners present with a beautiful and tasty baked piece of art.

Contents of project of SOIL AWARENESS and SUSTAINABILITY

In the intense cooperation scheduled until end 2013, the targets are to increase soil awareness among the population by means of information on the communal level, service and support for multiplicators, launching events, work in educational institutions, and the documentation of communal best-practice projects. Around 20 "soil ambassadors" shall be trained in Hungary and Austria, and just as many municipalities shall show their commitment for soil by their admission to the European Land and Soil Alliance. The pupils of more than 100 schools from the third to the ninth forms are enthusiastic about a competition, in which they are active in a creative and artistic manner with natural soil colours, extracted from regional soils of the project area. The soil colours have been extracted in Hungary by the general school for handicapped children of Mosonmagyaróvár, and in Lower Austria by the Emmaus social project. Also Slovak schools participate in the competition with regional colours from their soils. The best paintings of the competition will be part of an international exposition in all three countries.

SOIL as a FILTER / SOIL-SAVING SETTLEMENT

The storage and filtering of nutrients and pollutants in soil is in close connection with the production of safe food, the protection of water courses and potable water. Besides, area-covering soil protection can contribute to the reduction of soil erosion. In model municipalities, the bases for future planning considerations are being elaborated.
Many speakers of the meeting, such as for instance Domy Adriano (USA) and Walter Wenzel (AT), have taken a close look at the topic of HUMUS and emphasized its significance as a key to soil protection, climate protection and soil fertility. This has also been affirmed by organic farmer and member of the SENEC board Alfred Grand, who lectured on "Community Gardens in Scotland and Lower Austria".
SONDAR HU-AT will elaborate the storage of the „humus household" for a number of regions (for instance Lilienfeld, Tulln, Bucklige Welt mountains), as well as possible measures for the protection of or improving this humus balance. Also framework conditions for a soil-saving model of settlement will be devised. The effect of project examples shall become relevant to the entire Danube region, and later on lead to the development of strategies for a continuation of activities.

For further information, please refer to the websites listed below:

www.sondar.eu
www.unserboden.at
www.soilart.eu
www.sozialproduziert.at

• Impulsreferat - Florian Ballnus, Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit, PAC 6 in der Donauraumstrategie, DE
• „Aktivitäten im Rahmen der Europäischen Donauraumstrategie" - Roland Hanak, Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Sozialesund Konsumentenschutz, PAC 9 in der Donauraumstrategie, AT
• Charta für den Ländlichen Raum - Thomas Mitterstöger, Abt. Landentwicklung, AT

• Experteninterviews: Florian Ballnus, Roland Hanak, Phil Weller, Harald Kutzenberger, Michael Pollak, AT
• „Soil and Society" - Domy Adriano, US, Walter Wenzel

• „Der Beitrag des Bodenschutzes zur Klimaanpassung" -Meinhard Breiling, AT
• „Farming God‘s way", Simbabwe- Brian Simpson, GB
• „Gemeinschaftsgärten aus sozialer Produktion - Best-Practice-Modelle aus Schottland und Niederösterreich" -Ronald Gilchrist GB und Alfred Grand AT

• „Verbindung von Nachhaltigkeit und Bodenschutz in der
  Gemeinde Mosonmagyarovar" - Andrea Nemeth HU
• "Boden zum Begreifen" - Erlebnispädagogik im Naturpark
  der "Kleinen Schüttinsel" - Zoltan Füzfa HU
• Boden- und Wasserschutz an der Donau - Miroslav
  Urosevic, SRB
• „Humus als Schlüssel für Bodenfruchtbarkeit und
  Klimaschutz" - Walter Wenzel, Anton Reinl, AT

• Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit (ETZ-Projekte) als Motor für regionale Wertschöpfung, nachhaltige Entwicklung
  und Stärkung der Zivilgesellschaft - Impulsreferat Francois-Edouard Pailleron, AT
• Entwicklung eines nachhaltigen Modells: Arbeitsgemeinschaft "Soziale Produktion" - Doris Mayer (Abt. Wirtschaft), AT,
  Jürgen Bauer (Abt. Soziales), AT, Erwin Szlezak (Abt. Landentwicklung), AT, Franz Rybaczek (Komunitas OG), AT, Szabolcs
  Hollósi, HU