Nabu: Exempt half of marine protected areas from use
In the debate on the economic use of the North Sea, the environmental association Nabu is calling for more than 50 percent of the protected areas to be quickly freed from fishing, shipping and raw material extraction. "Two years after taking office, the German government must deliver the promised marine offensive," said Nabu President Jörg-Andreas Krüger in a statement on Thursday. "The natural crisis in the North and Baltic Seas leaves us no time. The latest reports on the state of our seas are dramatic." With the Nabu proposals, a draft is on the table with which Germany can meet the obligations of the EU biodiversity strategy and take on a pioneering role in Europe.
The issue also plays a major role in the planned expansion of offshore wind energy, for which the planning process for the designation of areas in the North Sea's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is currently underway. Environmental associations fear a conflict of objectives between the construction of new wind turbines, which is necessary in terms of climate policy, and the protection of marine ecosystems. Due to the poor state of the marine environment, other uses would have to be reduced in parallel with the planned expansion of wind power.
Nabu's proposals reportedly cover just over half of the marine protected areas in the German EEZ, "which corresponds to just under 15 percent of the North Sea EEZ and just over eight percent of the Baltic Sea EEZ".
In the coalition agreement, the coalition government in Berlin committed to strictly protecting 10 percent of the EEZ in accordance with the EU Biodiversity Strategy and keeping it free from harmful use. "But even in marine protected areas, bottom trawling still takes place, sand and gravel are mined and shipping routes pass through," says Nabu. "We need strictly protected areas to stop species extinction and habitat loss off our coast," said Nabu marine expert Kim Detloff.
The expansion of offshore wind energy raises concerns about conflicts between climate policy objectives and marine ecosystem protection, requiring a reduction in other uses as well. Nabu advocates for exempting a significant portion of marine protected areas from energy production, fishing, shipping, and raw material extraction to protect endangered species and habitats, contributing to the EU's biodiversity strategy and Germany's climate goals.
Source: www.dpa.com
