The European Nature Protection Diploma

IN 1967 THE KRIMML WATERFALLS WERE AWARDED THE “EUROPEAN DIPLOMA FOR NATURE PROTECTION” BY THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE. SINCE 1983 THE WATERFALLS HAVE ALSO BEEN PART OF THE HOHE TAUERN NATIONAL PARK AND THUS SUBJECT TO THE NATIONAL PARK ACT, WHICH TARGETS THE PROTECTION OF THE BEAUTY AND INTEGRITY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

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In the 1900s it was already clear that the Krimml Waterfalls not only attracted nature lovers but also people interested in using the considerable power of the water for energy. The ideas ranged from building a reservoir to conducting the water into neighbouring valleys. The Austrian League for Nature Conservation [Naturschutzbund] intervened early on to prevent the destruction of the waterfalls through such projects.

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To safeguard the European Diploma for Nature Protection in the early 1990s the Austrian Alpine Association
acquired an area of around 7 hectare of land at the base of the waterfalls, which made it possible to create
an information area with a series of display panels at the entrance to the falls. The European Diploma 2001
was extended as a result of the major efforts involved.