The living river Isel

2025 – A year for the Isel

The Isel is more than meets the eye. It shapes our culture and our way of life, and is the lifeblood of East Tyrol.
People come here to find peace and recharge their batteries. Many people walk along its banks every day, sharing all manner of stories with it. As you listen to the murmur of its waters, you can let your thoughts drift whilst relaxing on its gravel banks. The Isel inspires us. We work with it. We share with it, and it shares with us.

It is precisely this sense of community that we want to celebrate together and bring the Isel into the heart of society!
In 2025, we want to highlight the many facets and connections between the people of East Tyrol and the Isel. We want to engage in dialogue – with the river and with one another. Because the activities and interests centred on the Isel are as diverse as the river itself. That is exactly what this Year of the Isel aims to showcase. Whether she is a source of leisure, a companion or a teacher to us. Through art; culture, tradition; modernity, with you; with her.

Our aim is to foster a respectful coexistence based on responsibility, mutual consideration and mindfulness. This applies both to the people living and working in the region and to the character and nature of the Isel as a largely unspoilt glacial river.
In recognition of the needs of both people and the Isel, we are striving to set new standards for coexistence.
For us.
For the future generations.
For the Isel.

The Rights of Nature – a meeting on equal terms:

What if nature – or ecosystems such as rivers, forests or entire oceans – had rights of its own? A right to exist, to remain intact and to the protection of biodiversity? The idea is that, just as companies or associations are recognised as legal entities, ecosystems could also be represented in court if their rights were infringed.

What sounds like a vision is already a reality in many places. In 2008, Ecuador enshrined nature – ‘Pachamama’ – in its constitution as a legal entity. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River was granted this status in 2017. Europe, too, is taking steps in this direction: Spain’s Mar Menor lagoon became the first ecosystem to be recognised as such in 2022, followed in 2025 by the symbolic honorary citizenship granted to the River Seine in Paris.

Why? The principle is simple: respect
The rights of nature call for a new relationship between humans and our environment, and this is, first and foremost, simply about treating one another with respect. Nature is recognised for its dignity and intrinsic value – without viewing it merely as a resource. It is an encounter between equals.

Together for a living Isel

Well, and what might the Isel wish for? Perhaps a constant sense of togetherness – with the people, the animals and the natural spaces that surround it.

You can find out more on the (german) website: www.die-isel.at, which was set up by the Tyrolean Environmental Ombudsman.
There you’ll find information on the Rights of Nature, events taking place during the Year of the Isel, and the chance to send us your personal stories about the Isel.