DACH Region – 19th November

Session Title:
Nature-based therapies in the Alpine region: New evidence and future perspectives in the DACH region
Session Date:
19.11.25
Session Time:
On-site arrival 12.00h CET (Central European Time)
On-line start 12.45h CET (Central European Time)
Duration:
4 hour
Format:
Online and In-person
Language:
German with English translation through Zoom’s Closed Captions for the online format
Location for the in person event:
Gastein Healing Cave, Bad Gastein, Heilstollen – health center for radon therapy

REGISTRATION
Link to Eventbrite

Discover the healing power of nature at the RESONATE Global Spotlight in Gastein on 19 November 2025.Join leading researchers and health experts as they present groundbreaking evidence on nature-based therapies across the DACH region. Experience engaging talks, a plenary discussion, and a visit to the world-famous Gastein Healing Cave. Be part of this unique exchange on the future of health, science, and sustainability in the Alpine region.

PROGRAM & CONTENT

12.00 – 12.45 Arrival

12:45 – 13:00 Welcome words (and Start of the Zoom broadcast)
Christoph Köstinger, Managing Director Gasteiner Heilstollen | Klaus Lemmerer, Managing Director Alpentherme Gastein | Julia Egger, RESONATE | Christina Pichler, PMU

13:00-14:00 Research into nature-based therapies in the Gastein Valley

Talk 1: Results of the WIWA2 study: Nature-based therapy for chronic low back pain, a multicentre study in Bad Füssing (Germany) and Bad Hofgastein (Austria)
Gisela Immich, LMU Munich | Michael Bischof, PMU Salzburg
WiWa2 is an EU Interreg project in which innovative cross-border health services related to forests and water are being developed. As part of this project, a multicentre study was conducted on the effectiveness of nature-based rehabilitation for chronic low back pain. The results from Bad Füssing (Germany) and Bad Hofgastein (Austria) will be presented for the first time in this talk.

Talk 2: Results of the GIDEX study: Nature-based gerontoprophylaxis
Arnulf Hartl, PMU | Vera Foisner, PMU
The GIDEX study investigated nature-based prevention in the Gastein Valley among people aged 65 to 75. The results show that a two-week combination of hiking and the use of Gastein’s natural healing resources measurably strengthens the immune system and changes the ratio of T cells to younger immune cells. Accompanying health apps increase the sustainability of the effects on well-being and quality of life for up to 180 days after the intervention. Thus, the study provides the first evidence-based proof of the effectiveness of nature-based gerontoprophylaxis.

14:00-15:00 Plenary session: Nature-based therapies in the DACH region – challenges & future
Moderated plenary session & discussion
Julia Egger, University of Vienna
Gabriella Squarra,
Christoph Köstinger, Gasteiner Heilstollen & Vera Foisner, PMU

15:00-15:30 Buffet (cake, bread rolls)

15:30-17:00 Entrance to the Gastein Healing Cave

PLENARY SESSION

Format: 10-minute input from each speaker followed by discussion
The inputs will be moderated

1) RESONATE GLOBAL NBT MAP
Julia Egger

2) Overview of nature-based therapies and forest therapy in Germany
Gabriella Squarra
This contribution offers a brief overview of nature-based therapies and forest therapy in Germany. The focus is on initiatives by the Bavarian Spa and Health Resort Association. Key developments, successful implementation methods and current challenges are illustrated using selected best practice examples from research and practice.

3) Big data meets nature: the Gastein Healing Gallery
The Gastein Healing Gallery treats 10,000 patients a year with nature-based therapy, primarily those with Bechterew’s disease. A digital tool collects patient-oriented outcomes according to the biopsychosocial model. The aim is to create a clinical decision support system that indicates which patient subgroups respond particularly well to the therapy. In the long term, a green prescription model for nature-based interventions for exposome-influenced diseases will be developed.

SPEAKERS

Christoph Köstinger

Christoph Köstinger has been the managing director of the Gasteiner Heilstollen for 23 years. This is a globally unique and highly effective natural remedy for rheumatic and other chronic inflammatory diseases. As a key stakeholder in the medical spa and health tourism industry in the Gastein Valley – one of Europe’s most important spa regions, with a tradition spanning centuries – he plays a decisive role in shaping strategy and development. He is also the managing director of the Gastein Research Institute’s supporting association (part of Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg) and vice-chairman of the Association of European Radon Spas.

Gisela Immich

Gisela Immich is a scientist at the Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research (IBE) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. She specialises in nature-based interventions, particularly forest therapy, as well as health promotion, prevention and the development of spa and healing forests. She designs and evaluates programme interventions for specific conditions and advises clinics, health resorts and communities on implementing evidence-based services. She is the co-author of the reference book Forest Therapy: The Potential of the Forest for Your Health and publishes work on the health effects of natural living environments.

Michael Bischof

Michael Bischof is an economic geographer and the deputy head of the Institute for Ecomedicine at PMU Salzburg. He is currently conducting research on biodiversity and health in two EU projects (LiveAlpsNature and the Alpine Space Project) and on the health effects of forests as a natural resource in the WiWa2 Interreg BY-AT project. He also heads the PMU’s sustainability initiative (Green University) and has published extensively in the fields of sustainability, tourism and health for over ten years.

Gabriella Squarra

Gabriella Squarra is the Forest Health Officer at the Bavarian Spa Association (Bayerischer Heilbäderverband e.V.). A business economist and health educator by training, she was the spa director at the Bad Reichenhall state spa for many years. As a breathing teacher and health educator according to the Kneipp method, she has contributed to numerous scientific projects and played a key role in introducing exemplary health promotion at the spa resort and the “WaldGesundheit Bayern” (Forest Health Bavaria) initiative. She has extensive experience coaching individuals and groups in relaxation, stress management, forest health training, forest therapy, and nature resilience training. She focuses her work on the role of forests in nature-based interventions, selecting suitable natural areas, adapting and transforming appropriate prevention and therapy measures, and the basic attitude of trainers and therapists.

Arnulf Hartl

Arnulf Hartl is an immunologist and the director of the Institute for Ecomedicine at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. He and his team conduct research into nature-based therapies, covering topics such as waterfalls for lung diseases, mountain hiking and ageing, healing caves and balneotherapy for healthy ageing, and hiking in the Salzburg city mountains as a therapy for metabolic syndrome (EU Horizon RESONATE). Other areas of research include alpine pastures and health, nature-based therapy for chronic back pain, and alpine biodiversity and One Health.

Vera Foisner

Vera Foisner is an ecologist and medical scientist at the Institute for Ecomedicine at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg. She specialises in the psychophysiology of nature-based therapies and occupational health issues in fully mechanised timber harvesting. She led the GIDEX prevention study: Gastein Immunology, Digital Health Applications, Exercise and Prevention for the Youngest Old, which focused on the topic of ‘Healthy Ageing’.