urbangreen

“on average, 11.5 hectares of valuable green space, grassland and forests fall victim to the excessive land consumption every day (annual mean value for 2018-2020). due to excessive construction and land development, the productive functions of the soil are lost, such as its ability to cool in the summer, to protect against natural hazards (e.g. floods), to produce food and filter water, etc. millions of small animals could use this soil as their habitat to fulfil their vital ecological functions – building up humus, absorbing carbon, nutrient enrichment and storing water. but excavators, concrete and asphalt impose a considerable burden on nature.

excessive construction and land development permanently destroy valuable habitats and the basis of life every day. today in austria, an area almost twice the size of the state of vorarlberg has been built upon. not even nature reserves are spared from this construction frenzy. the high consumption of soil is one of the most significant environmental problems of our time and has a profound impact on the environment and on us humans.”

excerpt from natur-statt-beton.at /  wwf austria