The European Recovery Program in Austria and Its Impact on the Pulp and Paper Industry’s Interaction with Water Resources along the River Mur

Abstract

Abstract Using the case study of Brigl & Bergmeister, a pulp and paper–producing company located in the southern part of Austria, this article explores the impact of the European Recovery Program (ERP) on the pulp and paper industries’ interaction with water resources. The invention of technology to use wood for pulp and paper production in the nineteenth century created a strong interaction between material arrangements and the practices of pulp and paper production. The ERP could build on an existing network of production sites and changed their interaction with their environment in several ways. This is shown by using the concept of the socio-natural site. Concerning organizational structures that were created by the ERP and the impact of decisions that were made at the time, the article takes several things into account: The goals of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) that coordinated the financing of the investment projects and how these translated into changes in the interaction of practices and material arrangements, knowledge exchange that was facilitated by the ERP, and awareness of pollution and possibilities for measuring pollution at the time. The export-oriented economic goals of the ERP, together with a favorable natural resource situation, prioritized pulp and paper production, and therefore strengthened a resource-intensive industry. While some aspects of water use in pulp production became more efficient, the investments also created path dependencies that fixed existing polluting practices for the following decades.