Investment management

Strategic positioning
The Torrent and Avalanche Control Service (“Wildbach- und Lawinenverbauung”), with its regional offices, is the Ministry's point of contact and administrative manager for the subsidies and ensures optimal use of the available funds.

Subsidisation of measures
The measures eligible for subsidisation relate to hazards due to floods, torrents, mudflow, avalanches, rockfall, landslides and rock slide.

The protection against natural hazards in alpine regions is an important federal contribution to the safety of settlement areas, transport routes and major infrastructure.
On the basis of the constitutional provisions (Article 10, Federal competence for torrent control), budgetary provisions were therefore made by creating the Disaster Relief Fund (“Katastrophenfonds”) to be able to provide and sustainably ensure preventive natural hazard management.

Funding
Each year, the Federal Government provides around 69 million euros for torrent and avalanche control measures. According to the Hydraulic Engineering Assistance Act (“Wasserbautenförderungsgesetz”) these funds are available to municipalities and other stakeholders (e.g. water cooperatives). The funds can be used for the planning and implementation of hazard management projects as well as for the maintenance of protective facilities and for the regeneration of forests having a protective effect.

Eligibility for funding
The central technical basis for the eligibility checks of the projects submitted is the Hazard Zone Plan as provided for in the Forestry Act 1975. The offices of the Forest Engineering Service for Torrent and Avalanche Control (die.wildbach) are responsible for the preparation of this important planning instrument. They are also responsible for handling the funds for protection measures and for planning and implementing them.

Application for funds
Municipalities prone to torrents and avalanches can apply for the implementation and subsidisation of protection measures to the local torrent and avalanche control body. An essential prerequisite is that the municipality has a Hazard Zone Plan approved by the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and that it observes this plan in spatial planning as well as in the construction and emergency management sectors. The purpose is to avoid that errors in spatial planning (e.g. settlement of vulnerable areas) have to be remedied by means of technical control measures later on.

Hazard Zone Plan
The Hazard Zone Plan enables die.wildbach employees to objectively select and prioritise applications for protective measures. Another important prerequisite that has to be fulfilled before the planning of a protection project can begin is the basic (written) consent of the stakeholders (municipalities, water cooperatives, others) to make a financial contribution.

Planning costs
If a protection project has been accepted as being eligible for support and in the public interest, the competent torrent and avalanche control body can start planning.
The planning costs for torrent and avalanche control measures are borne entirely by the Federal Government. Usually, die.wildbach also handles the necessary official procedures for the stakeholders.

Approval
The implementation of a protection project requires the approval by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management and the consent of all financing partners (Federal Government, Province, stakeholders) to the agreed financing key. Approved protection projects are then implemented according to a specific schedule, depending on the availability of funding.

Maintenance
Existing protective measures (technical control structures) must be continuously maintained (serviced) to ensure their full effectiveness. In principle, it is the responsibility of the stakeholders to ensure the maintenance and effectiveness of structures serving torrent and avalanche control. The annual inspection of the protective structures is of particular importance. However, die.wildbach maintains a support service through which minor renovation work and maintenance measures can be financed and carried out quickly and unbureaucratically.

Cooperation
Sustainable protection against alpine natural hazards is only possible if the investments are made in measures with optimum efficiency and maximum service life. The cooperation of the Torrent and Avalanche Control Service with the municipalities and water cooperatives in matters of spatial planning, planning, implementation and maintenance of protective measures as well as in the emergency management sector is therefore a key task to preserve living environments in mountain areas for future generations.