The Nature Park owes its great diversity of plants and animals to its mosaic-like cultural landscape and the extensively used meadows. Global changes are forcing many agricultural businesses to specialise or shut up shop. A consequence of this are meadows that are no longer managed and increasingly turning into woodland. To counteract this trend and preserve diversity in the Jauerling-Wachau Nature Park, a nature park brand is under development. This label stands for management compatible with nature and gives the businesses’ products added ecological value.

The loop hiking trail on both sides of the Danube connects existing trails and makes it possible to explore the unique landscape of the Wachau on foot. In this way, the Wachau can be appreciated from a new perspective on 14 stages distributed over approx. 180 varied kilometres.

The aim of Wachau 2010plus was to further develop the cultural and landscape gem of the Wachau by restaging its cultural and tourism activities in harmony with the people who live and work in the region. Doing so should reveal the special quality of this cultural landscape to visitors.

One topic that has preoccupied the region for many years is the lack of a crossing over the Danube between Melk and Spitz near the towns of Aggsbach-Markt and Aggsbach-Dorf. After several unsuccessful attempts to set up a conventional bicycle ferry between them, the two towns are now pursuing an unconventional approach: in the future, they could be connected by a cableway across the Danube.

The goal of the volunteer project is to get young people involved in maintaining and conserving Natura 2000 protected areas in the Wachau UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 2010, volunteers from Austria and around the world have come to the Wachau every summer to conserve valuable areas of dry grassland and orchid meadows.