South Tyrolean Arbitration Commission For Ski Areas: Members appointed

State government confirms appointment of members of the arbitration commission for easement of the ski area - attempt at arbitration in case of lack of agreement regarding availability of the areas.

The state government confirmed the members of the arbitration commission for the ski area's easement. "The arbitration commission has proven its worth in finding solutions together," emphasized State Minister for Tourism Luis Walcher. The ski slope plan defines, among other things, the use of the territory for skiing. "This takes into account all areas relevant to the operation of a ski slope. Since the owners of these areas are often private individuals, it is necessary to initiate proceedings to establish an easement on these areas in the public interest," explained the state minister. According to Walcher, in the past, compromises acceptable to all parties have been reached in most cases.

Appropriate compensation is provided for the registered easement. This is intended to cover the impact on the land and any buildings caused by the easement. In addition, an annual compensation is set for crop loss and other potential damages that may arise from the use of the land.

If the parties cannot agree on the availability of the land or compensation, a conciliation procedure is planned before a specially appointed commission. Should the conciliation attempt fail, a protocol will nevertheless be drawn up, recording the parties' respective positions. Either party is free to initiate the procedure for imposing the ski area easement.

The arbitration commission consists of a person representing the tourism sector and acting as chair, a person from the asset management department, a representative of the most important professional organization of lift operators and a representative of the most representative farmers' association in South Tyrol: Following the approval of the provincial government, the chair of the arbitration commission is the lawyer Iris Erspamer from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism, members are Birgit Kerl from the tourism department, Paolo Bega from the provincial asset management department, the president of the cable car operators of South Tyrol Helmut Sartori and Evelyn Gallmetzer from the South Tyrolean Farmers' Association.