Action program insect protection

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Dark bumblebee on meadow daisy
Dark bumblebee on rough meadow marguerite of a poor pasture in the Black Forest. Lean pastures are sometimes very rich in species, but despite their decline, they are not addressed in the insect protection program.

The Action Program insect of the federal government is in the government CDU / SPD in September 2019 by the Cabinet has decided. It is a reaction to the social and political discourse about the insect mortality that has (also) been observed in Germany and is intended to combat it effectively. The Action Program for Insect Protection is a federal program, the federal states have decided (in addition) to state programs.

background

The dramatic decline in species and insects has been known for many years. The federal government reacted to the loss of species by signing the Convention on Biodiversity and the National Strategy on Biodiversity published in 2007 as a result of this international commitment . Despite the political declarations of intent, the state of biodiversity continued to deteriorate demonstrably on all spatial scales in the area of ​​the federal government. In response to the so-called Krefeld study , which found a biomass loss of around 75%, especially of flyable insect species, in some protected areas in Germany, a social discourse developed around the so-called insect mortality. From this discourse and public pressure, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety first developed a discussion template for a catalog of federal measures, which German citizens could then comment online. This was followed by a vote with the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture , whereupon the Federal Cabinet approved the action program for insect protection in September 2019.

Actions envisaged

The action program is divided into nine areas of activity, in which 46 individual measures are integrated. The areas of action are:

  1. Promote insect habitats and structural diversity in the agricultural landscape
  2. Restoring and networking habitats for insects in other areas of the landscape
  3. Strengthen protected areas as habitats for insects
  4. Application of pesticides reduce
  5. Reduce inputs of nutrients and pollutants into soils and waters
  6. Reduce light pollution
  7. Deepen research - increase knowledge - close gaps
  8. Improve financing - create incentives
  9. Promote engagement of society

In federalist Germany, in which nature conservation largely requires approval (in the Bundesrat ) or development at state level, the federal government's ability to enforce biodiversity conservation is limited. The action program provides for an article law . For insect protection, (additional) federal funds amounting to 100 million euros have been earmarked annually. About 40% of the planned measures are aimed at improving the information situation and generating knowledge through new research or educational offers. 21% of the measures of the insect protection action program provide for regulatory adjustments. This also includes an amendment to the Fertilizer Ordinance . Another 23% of the measures are devoted to adjustments to subsidy law such as contractual nature conservation in the forest. Other political instruments relate to the planning law and voluntary commitments for federal properties, the management of which is to be geared more towards the requirements of insect protection in the future.

The focus of the action program insect protection is agriculture, which has been identified as the main cause of insect death. The upgrading of urban ecosystems is another focus of the action program insect protection, which, based on their number, is followed by measures for the management of protected areas. The action program also addresses the future use of pesticides. For example, the glyphosate phase-out was scheduled for 2023.

criticism

According to a scientific study, the German government's action program for insect protection treats insect mortality as a national problem area that is tackled in isolation from other global challenges, although the latter have a significant impact on insect biocenosis ( above all climate change). Around half of the 46 measures in the Insect Protection Action Program are not accessible to nature conservation assessments due to imprecise formulations and non-verifiable cross-references to other federal programs. It is positively noted in the study mentioned that u. a. the glyphosate exit is fixed. Another problem is that the economic order caused by industrialized agriculture and forestry as the main driver of insect death is not called into question. Thus, the action program is more of a symptom fight in a fundamentally unsustainable use of natural resources. The authors Nicolas Schoof , Rainer Luick and Niko Paech also criticize the fact that the action program focuses strongly on urban habitats, while habitats that are more important in terms of insect protection are not addressed directly (e.g. moors , heaths , poor pastures ). Another criticism is that the federal government wants to spend a quarter of all planned funds on expanded, nationwide insect monitoring: the federal government failed to explain why the measurement results that have been available for a long time on the (unfavorable) state of biodiversity have not long been too politically adequate Actions and why this should be different with the proposed new monitoring. The additional federal funds of 100 million euros promised in the insect protection program continue to be offset by a much higher amount of environmentally harmful subsidies. In 2016, these amounted to around 57 billion euros. The authors therefore come to the conclusion that there is no program at the national level that would initiate the necessary transformation towards sustainable land use and that the effectiveness of the program of action will remain rather limited.

On the part of the non-governmental organizations , the insect protection action program was rated rather negatively, because the description of the measures was too imprecise and too ambitious. Major actors in agriculture are also dissatisfied with the insect protection action program. However, the action program goes too far for them and does not pay enough attention to the interests of agriculture. It is criticized that too little research into the causes was carried out for the action program.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d BMU: Action Program for Insect Protection of the Federal Government. Federal Office for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, 2019, accessed on July 9, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Nicolas Schoof, Rainer Luick, Niko Paech: Respect for the insect? Analysis of the insect protection action program of the German federal government with special attention to transformative access - updated version . In: Nature and Landscape . tape 95 , no. 7 . Kohlhammer, July 8, 2020, ISSN  0028-0615 , p. 316-324 , doi : 10.17433 / 7.2020.50153847.316-324 ( researchgate.net [accessed July 13, 2020]).
  3. ↑ BUND criticizes: Inconcrete, unambitious and inadequate. Action program insect protection does not meet the challenge. Retrieved on July 13, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ Action program for insect protection: Narrow root cause research is neglected. September 18, 2019, accessed July 14, 2020 .