Building Climate-Resilient Forests in Tyrol

May 7, 2026 | Blogs

As a mountain region in the Alps, Tyrol has a long history of dealing with natural hazards — and developing nature‐based solutions to reduce their impact. One of the most effective of these solutions is the protective mountain forest, which helps mitigate the risks of mudslides, rockfalls, avalanches, and floods.

However, climate change is putting increasing pressure on these forests. Monocultures, especially the widely planted spruce forests below 1,000 meters, are particularly vulnerable and are struggling to adapt.

The protective forest of Wildermieming – an Invest4Nature partner municipality committed to its mountain forest

 In 2005, the contributing Invest4Nature partner, the municipality of Wildermieming in Tyrol, experienced heavy rainfall that triggered mudslides, damaging buildings, and infrastructure. The protective forest played a crucial role in preventing the situation from becoming far worse.

However, the event also made it clear that the existing mountain forest — dominated by monocultures — might not be prepared for future challenges. A new approach to forest management was needed to make the ecosystem more resilient.

R

By 2011, the local council of Wildermieming decided to become an official protective forest partner municipality. Their goal was to actively transform and strengthen the mountain forest through sustainable forest management. Since then, the forest has continuously developed and improved.

A sustainable forest management approach

In sustainable forest management, mixed‑forest “islands” gives nature space to develop and spread.
 This approach requires the active rejuvenation of small areas using tree species that are suited to the local site conditions. By applying this method, biomass such as branches, twigs and needles is left in the forest, where it helps build humus, improves the microclimate, and supports biodiversity. These measures allow the forest to regenerate after small‑scale logging and enable individual trees to grow. Long‑term maintenance and thinning are therefore important parts of the approach, helping to build humus and enhance the forest microclimate over time.

Forest transformation does not happen by itself.

Turning a forest into a climate‑resilient ecosystem and maintaining it over the long term is an ongoing process — one that defines the daily work of one of the Invest4Nature contributing partners, the forest warden in Wildermieming. As forester Karl Krug says, a mountain forest is not isolated but shaped by wider regional conditions. For the transformation to succeed, these external factors — such as wildlife damage or recreational use — also need to be addressed.

This makes the role of a forest warden incredibly diverse. The job goes far beyond reforestation and maintaining the forest through thinning and maintenance. It includes identifying potential hazards, advising forest owners, and involving local stakeholders, residents, and users of the forest. At the heart of this work lies a central goal: engaging landowners and citizens, sharing knowledge about the importance of forest transformation, promoting the benefits of sustainable management, and inspiring innovative ideas for the future of our mountain forests.

The innovative idea

Compared to many municipalities in Tyrol, where forests are divided among numerous private owners, the municipality of Wildermieming owns its protective mountain forest. In Tyrol, this is not always the case for a municipality, since the Tyrolean forest is divided among around 34,000 individual forest owners.

This fragmented ownership structure makes it challenging to reach all forest owners and users in the region when initiating the rejuvenation process.

In addition to this, the often extreme site conditions make it difficult and costly to transform forests into climate‑resilient mountain forests. Wildlife browsing slows down regeneration in many areas and further complicates the transition toward a resilient forest ecosystem.

To address these challenges, one of the other regional I4N contributing partners — the Tyrolean Regional Government Forest Division — launched the “Climate‑Smart Tyrolean Mountain Forest Tyrol” project in 2019. This innovative business model promotes sustainable forest management through forest sponsorship packages, enabling companies, organisations and private individuals to actively support the rejuvenation process.

The project places a strong focus on awareness‑raising and capacity building and offers sponsorship for mixed‑forest islands following the sustainable forest management principles successfully applied in Wildermieming. With dedicated support from regional organisations and businesses, the initiative enabled the planting of more than 5,900 young trees by 2020.

The positive trend of establishing Climate‑Smart Mountain Forests in Tyrol has continued across the region.

Example of how the Climate‑Smart Mountain Forest Tyrols business model cooperation works

Tyrol pedals for climate‑resilient mountain forests: In 2025, the I4N partners — Klimabündnis Tirol – and the Tyrolean Regional Government Forest Division (Climate‑Smart Mountain Forest Tyrol) — collaborated with the regional partner Lebensraum Tirol Holding GmbH on the campaign “Road to Paris – Tyrol cycles for climate‑resilient mountain forests.”

The six‑month campaign involved citizens, companies, and public institutions, and over the summer, 3,300 Tyrolians cycled 1.1 million kilometers. These kilometers generated sponsorship for the Climate‑Smart Mountain Forest Tyrol project Forest Islands.

This community achievement demonstrated strong public engagement in support of sustainable transport and the protection of Tyrol’s forests.

Tirolradelt_Portraits2023_c_Klimabuendni

Across seven Tyrolean municipalities, around 7,500 young, site‑appropriate trees — including beech, oak, lime, and larch — were planted to strengthen the resilience and stability of local forests. Following the initial planting phase in autumn 2025, a second round will take place in spring 2026, together with the necessary maintenance measures.

🔗 „Tirol radelt für klimafitte Bergwälder“: 7.500 neue Jungbäume für 1,1 Millionen geradelte Kilometer – Click to learn more!

h

The project was supported by the Tiroler Tageszeitung, Technogym, and the Klimafitter Bergwald Tirol program, among others, helping to further raise awareness.

This initiative shows how the Climate‑Smart Mountain Forest Tyrol project can successfully bring together different actors and combine physical activity, climate protection, and regional cooperation. For the region, the cycling challenge — together with the Climate‑Smart Mountain Forests Tyrol project — sends a strong, shared message for sustainable mobility and climate‑ready forests.

The message is clear: Tyrol is committed to a greener future