Report on the special program Biodiversity

Overall, the state government provided a financial volume of around 30 million euros for specific measures to strengthen biological diversity for the special program 2018 and 2019. Another six million euros flowed into surveillance measures. For the phase of the special program 2020 and 2021 already started, the state government has again planned a financial volume of around 30 million euros for the implementation of projects and another six million euros for surveillance measures.

creating, maintaining and networking habitats

Environment Minister Untersteller made it clear that the state parliament must continue to approve the funds for the measures initiated in the next few years to combat the decline of biological diversity. "The good approaches of the program have to be continued." This applies in particular to monitoring. "Only a systematic long -term recording enables the effectiveness of our measures to be checked and evaluating the development of the species."

The minister confirmed that in the densely populated Baden-Württemberg it was of crucial importance to create, maintain and network habitats for local animals and plants. "In the past, we have also worked at the expense of nature and our natural resources. That has to change immediately," emphasized Untersteller. For this reason, the Ministry of the Environment works with specific projects to maintain and improve Natura 2000 and nature reserves, to strengthen protective measures for endangered animals and plants, to create more species life in our cultural landscape, to wet bogs and to expand the national biotope network. "In 2018 and 2019, as the Ministry of the Environment in the special program, we implemented a total of 2,309 smaller and larger nature conservation measures. We were also able to strengthen or restart our urgently needed species monitoring. For example, the nationwide insect monitoring," said Environment Minister Untersteller.

impulses from agriculture and forestry for biological diversity

The state of Baden-Württemberg is characterized by a special cultural landscape that largely results from the respective agricultural management, emphasized Minister of Agriculture Hauk. "With the special program for strengthening biological diversity, we have managed to set sustainable impulses for the preservation of biological diversity in our cultural landscape in accordance with management." In 2018 and 2019, the first relevant implementations from the projects financed by the MLR were achieved. For example, the subsidized areas "fallow greening with flower mixes" could be significantly increased. In order to reduce the use of pesticides, alternative methods for different types of crops and methods to reduce the drift were also scientifically tested. "We have to work with the farmers and we absolutely have to include them in the projects. It is important that we develop implementable measures," said Hauk.

In the forest, many applied, area -relevant impulses could be set for the habitats of insects, small game and other threatened species. In particular, nature conservation in non -state forests with two thirds of the forest area will benefit from concepts and financing offers such as the integrated management plan or contractual nature conservation. "In the damage situation of the past year, methods for recording forest structures were indispensable by means of remote sensing. That is why we have confirmed our wish to stabilize the funds for surveillance," emphasized Hauk.

improvement of the lawns on streets