Now the report of a private expert, who was commissioned by the Gmunden district authority, shows that clearly more was cleared than the permit provided for: Specifically, it is about 3093 square meters of forest area. Entrepreneur Hans Asamer had applied for the clearing of 188,147 square meters. In fact, according to the report, more than 191,000 square meters were cut down. From an area of 200,000 square meters, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) would have been necessary for the project, according to the state’s environmental department. “The area that was cleared too much corresponds roughly to the size of the Schillerpark in Linz. As a result, between 80 and 100 more trees were lost in Ohlsdorf,” says Environmental Councilor Stefan Kaineder (Greens). He also criticizes again that the clearing was approved at all: “If we don’t finally succeed in initiating a paradigm shift here, we’ll completely cement the future of our children.”
Hans Asamer doesn’t care
The OÖ Nachrichten also asked Hans Asamer why more clearing was done than approved. The former industrialist doubts the result of the private appraisal: “It’s all wrong, we had everything measured by a surveyor.” If something has actually been cleared too much, you are moving “within the tolerance limit”, says Asamer.
And even if 3,000 square meters more than approved should actually have fallen victim to the bulldozers, according to Asamer “it really doesn’t matter with such a large total area.” (hip/vaba)
Deal with gravel company
In Stadl-Paura, the municipality is selling a five-hectare forest to the Treul gravel company. Both sides assure that the forest will be preserved. Nevertheless, the SPÖ and the “Lebensraum Citizens’ List” voted against Mayor Christian Popp’s list of names, which had a three-quarters majority in power.
Source: Nachrichten
