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ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE
TOPIC
ESSENTIAL DIVERSITY
Germany is a country with great biological
ernmental treaties and programmes with
diversity. Around 48,000 animal species, and
nature protection as their goal. By ratifying
24,000 types of higher plants, mosses, fungi,
the United Nations’ Convention on Biodi-
lichens, and algae are native to the country.
versity, the governments of 196 countries
Having been enshrined in the Basic Law in
pledged to significantly reduce the rate of
1994, the protection of the natural habitats is
loss of biological diversity. To date, however,
an official goal o f government. Between the
no turnaround in the extinction of species
North Sea and the Alps, the lawmakers have
has been achieved. In 2010, an international
designates 16 national parks and 15 UNESCO
framework for access to genetic resources
biosphere reserves that are totally different
and just benefit sharing was passed at the
in character, along with thousands of nature
Conference of Parties to the Convention in
reserves.
Nagoya (Japan). The Nagoya Protocol has
been in force since 2014.
Germany is a signatory state to the most
important international agreements on bio-
In Germany more than 40 percent of verte-
diversity, and a party to around 30 intergov-
brates and plant species are considered to be
endangered. For this reason, efforts aimed at
nature conservation and species protection
INFO
Wild animals For several years now, an
increasing number of wild animals have
been resettling in Germany. In more
than 30 packs, an estimated total of 300
wolves are now roaming the eastern
and northern federal states. Wild cats
and lynxes are being sighted ever more
frequently. The number of pairs of
breeding sea eagles has reached unprecedented heights; otters are almost
a familiar sight again. There have even
been occasional sightings of elks and
brown bears, which are wandering into
Germany from neighbouring countries
in the east.
→ wwf.de
on land, in the water, and in the North and
Baltic Seas are to be stepped up. The primary
objective is to reduce the destruction of habitats by house and road building, as well as
the pollution levels that result, among other
things, from intensive farming and over-fertilisation. The amount of land used for housing construction and new transport routes is
intended to be reduced from 70 to 30 hectares daily. A further aim is to allow “wilderness” on two percent of the nation’s territory
and give five percent of forests over to nature. In 2015, numerous former military
zones covering a total of 31,000 hectares, including moors and heaths, were devoted to
nature conservation.