WWF ranks Vorarlberg mid-table on soil protection policy

Vorarlberg has received a rating of 3.6 and ranks in the middle of Austria’s states for soil policy, according to a report by WWF Austria published on Tuesday. The environmental organisation said all nine states had failed to protect their soils adequately.

The WWF Soil Report 2026 assesses 11 policy areas, including settlement boundaries, the protection of undeveloped land, commercial zones, road construction, housing subsidies and the use of vacant buildings. No state achieved a rating of “exemplary” or “solid”.

In Vorarlberg, the WWF particularly criticised the legal framework. Measures to protect green spaces were described as inadequate, with exceptions allowing construction even in the Landesgrünzone, a designated green zone. Most municipalities also lack binding, supraregional spatial planning.

The report rated Vorarlberg more positively on land consumption. It was the only state besides Vienna where land use did not increase faster than population growth.

However, 30 percent of Vorarlberg’s available permanent settlement area is already in use, the highest proportion among Austria’s Alpine states. The corresponding figures are 23 percent in Tyrol and 20 percent in Salzburg. Mountain terrain, protected areas and natural hazards further restrict the available settlement space.

The WWF said non-binding concepts such as the inventory of “white zones” could not replace legal protection. It cited the World Cup course built in Zürs in 2020 as a negative example of sensitive Alpine land being converted for large-scale projects.

Salzburg received the best rating, at 3.1, but was still classified as “incomplete”. Vorarlberg and Tyrol shared fifth place with scores of 3.6 and were rated “critical”. Vienna scored 3.9, Carinthia 4.0 and Upper Austria 4.2, placing them at the bottom of the ranking.

The WWF said its figures were based on its assessment of state legal frameworks and data from the Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning. The data on land use and designated building land reflect conditions in mid-2022 or 2025, while official data on soil sealing only cover 2022. Undeveloped building land is counted as being in use if, for example, it is no longer used for agriculture. Undeveloped areas such as sports grounds are also included.

Vorarlberg’s Green Party called the report alarming and urged the state government to change course and introduce legal measures to achieve net-zero soil consumption by 2035. It criticised current policies for weakening nature protection.