Rural Common Property in Austria

Abstract

"In the mountain valleys of Austria's South-Eastern Alps (province of Kornten), common property is one of the prevalent categories of rural land ownership and therefore a major factor in land use planning and policy. Administration of these joint ownership structures has been institutionalised in 1853 already, and since 1950 their legal status has been that of corporations under public law ('Agrargemeinschaften,' rural common property). A special supervising authority 'Agrarbehorde' has been installed as early as 1883, to safeguard sustainable management of the commons. Approximately 30% of the total are (more than 1/3 of the alpine pasture land, and 1/4 of the total area under forests belong to the more than 3000 Agrargemeinschaften in that part of Austria."