“Germany must renature more forests, floodplains and moors”

According to Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD), the renaturation of forests, moors and floodplains must move into the focus of the next federal government.

The forests must be closer to nature and rivers must be given more space, she said in Berlin before the virtual start of the UN species protection conference, which is to be continued next spring in Kunming, China. In terms of protected areas, Germany could do better.

A change in agricultural policy is also necessary, which is currently part of the problem and not the solution. In future, those farmers who take care of insect protection and varied landscapes should benefit from the financing. Environmentally harmful subsidies would again have to be dismantled.

The World Biodiversity Conference should start on Monday and be held on the Internet by Friday. The second part is planned to take place in Kunming from April 25 to May 8, 2022. The conference should end with the adoption of a species protection agreement.

With a view to the current traffic light exploratory talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, Minister Schulze expressed herself optimistically that Germany will in future invest more money internationally in the protection of biodiversity. With currently around 800 million euros a year, Germany is already one of the largest donors, she said. And the SPD wants the promised funds to be doubled.

With the government constellation that is currently emerging, there are good chances for further funds. She would like to continue as environment minister herself, she replied to a corresponding question to journalists.

The general director of the Berlin Museum of Natural History, Johannes Vogel, sharply criticized German agriculture. The “stair joke” is: “Nature in Berlin is richer than all around.” Cities like Berlin have become places of retreat for nature because the agricultural steppe reigns around them.

Vogel also took responsibility for the citizens and denounced the high meat consumption in Germany. Everyone’s behavior has to change, he stressed. This must be discussed in coalition negotiations for a new government.

The biologist warned politicians not to react to it until decades after the scientific findings, similar to climate change, and pointed out the importance of biodiversity: “Climate change affects how we as humans will live on this earth, the maintenance of the networks of life, the diversity of life, determines whether we will be able to live on this earth. “

The Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) demanded that the future government set a good example and immediately stop trade agreements that are harmful to biodiversity and the climate, such as the Mercosur Agreement. The agreement aims to facilitate trade between the EU and the Mercosur states of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Conservationists fear dramatic effects. For example, rainforests in the Amazon are primarily cleared in order to gain more land for agriculture and livestock.

The Catholic German Bishops’ Conference urged more vigilance. The Münster Auxiliary Bishop Rolf Lohmann, who is responsible for environmental issues, explained that natural resources must be used more consciously and carefully in daily life. It is about the search for nature-friendly solutions, for example in nutrition, mobility or land use. This also applies to church practice. (epd)