Financing the implementation of the Ordinance on the Restoration of Nature

The topic of this policy brief is how to finance the implementation of the Regulation on Nature Restoration tin the Austrian context. This regulation entered into force on 18th of August 2024. Based on the existing distribution of competences and tasks between across governmental levels, the federal states are entrusted with nature conservation. However, they currently only have limited possibilities to finance them. As the responsibility for implementing the Regulation on Nature Restauration and the funding options do not coincide, coordination between the governmental levels is essential in order to achieve the objectives of the regulation. Such coordination in the multi-level system is also necessary because the benefits of improving the ecosystems at the level of federal states are not regionally limited and therefore do not only benefit those who live in the sub-national region where the relevant measures are implemented. Furthermore, the desired improvements – such as connecting habitats – cannot be achieved without good coordination. The existing intergovernmental relations in Austria can be used to bring about the desired changes. The policy brief provides an overview of existing EU and federal funding instruments that can support projects of the federal states to improve ecosystems. Building on this, options for their further development are presented and innovative approaches to financing restoration programmes are outlined.