An analytical framework for solutions of conflicting interests between climate change and biodiversity conservation laws on the example of Vienna/Austria

Measures that aim to enhance different environmental assets are increasingly conflicting also in urban areas and there is a lack as well as a need for science-based assessment tools that also provide solution-oriented approaches which work in practice. This paper aims to provide a new analytical framework for conflicts of interest between such measures. The framework is applied to climate change and biodiversity (including ecosystem) conservation law as well as thereon based measures and tested on the example of a city embedded in different geopolitical governance levels. The analysis is based on an in-depth literature review and develops an analytical framework in particular grounded upon differentiations between actions and inactions as well as between voluntary and compulsory activities. When testing this framework for the Viennese case, the authors systematically discuss the different types of Viennese endangered habitat types especially according to their required legal and other governance interventions, particularly under the climate change related forest law regime and biodiversity conservation law (both especially against the background of the Natura 2000 scheme of the European Union). The paper explains the logic and structure of the new framework and describes its theoretical applicability on conflicts of interests in general. Furthermore, the case study tested on the city of Vienna/Austria indicates also the practical applicability of the framework and offers different solution approaches de lege lata (how the law is) and de lege ferenda (how the law should be). (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.