Regardless of whether it is reckless mountain bikers on mountain and field paths, carelessly discarded rubbish or dog excrement in the meadows: farmers in the district will feel the consequences of the leisure rush particularly hard this year in the Corona summer.
The farmers' association therefore relies on education and a "positive dialogue".
District
farmer Christine Singer quickly gets to the point: "We have a problem," said the woman from Hofheim right at the beginning of the press conference to which the Bavarian Farmers' Association (BBV) had invited people to the Garmisch-Partenkirchner town hall.
Of course, the vacationers and day visitors are welcome and important, she clarifies.
Because: “Our region lives from it.” But agriculture is noticeably suffering from the excesses of the mass onslaught - especially now in Corona times, when “vacation at home” is booming.
Everyone is talking about overtourism
The dilemma is well known, everyone is talking about “overtourism”.
It starts with the catastrophic traffic situation with the many traffic jams and ends with serious environmental sins in the middle of a sensitive natural landscape.
Now the farmers are also joining the lament.
The list of difficulties they have to deal with is long: there are, for example, the cyclists and joggers who claim the country lanes for themselves and contest the bulldogs for space, hikers who run cross-country and trample everything down, or dog owners, who leave the legacy of their four-legged friends behind - and thereby risk that cows that eat this grass will die.
Conflicts are therefore on the agenda - especially since the maintenance and harvesting work is usually done when the weather is great for excursions.
The farmers in the district - there should be a total of almost 1000 farms, especially dairy farming - are now trying to appeal to common sense.
Singer emphasizes that one wants to enter into a “positive dialogue” with the locals and guests.
For this purpose, a flyer created by the BBV is displayed, for example in town halls, tourism offices and tourist businesses.
The title of the brochure: “Consideration broadens the way” - a collection of “Tips for understanding and neighborly cooperation” (see box).
Discussion in the large meeting room
District chairman Klaus Solleder has made the experience that often simply ignorance leads to misconduct.
With information and education, you can often get ahead.
“Most understand it,” says the Unterammergau resident.
But - this was also made clear in the discussion in the large conference room - there are also the unteachable people who forget their good nursery and become abusive.
For District Administrator Anton Speer (Free Voters) it is clear: “We want to preserve our valuable cultural landscape.” This is the prerequisite for a functioning tourism.
But this requires cooperation, because: "We are all in the same boat." The work of agriculture is not valued enough, says Elisabeth Koch (CSU), mayor of the district.
"That is a social problem."
Would nature guardians be a solution who regularly check on hot spots to see if things are going well?
The Ammertal has had very good experiences with nature park rangers.
And the hiring of “Green Sheriffs” for the district is also being discussed in politics.
Opinions on this differed at the press conference of the farmers' association.
Singer would appreciate such support.
“Everyone who approaches people is good for us,” she says.
Your colleague Solleder is rather skeptical.
It would take umpteen rangers to effectively cover the region, he argues.
"This is not feasible for the municipalities and the district," is his sober conclusion.
