CDU on the environment and animal welfare

The CDU wants a fertilizer ordinance that follows the polluter-pays principle. Farms that work according to good professional practice should be able to exit existing restrictions. More nitrate monitoring sites are to be set up, and water protection is to be pursued in cooperation with those involved.

There are strict rules for putting fertilizer on fields. The CDU wants limits only for those who pollute the water. Farmers who work cleanly should be freer again. There should be more sites that measure nitrate in water.

The network of nitrate monitoring sites is to be expanded and improved, and the CDU wants uniform measuring conditions across Europe. The so-called Verwertungskonzept (a nutrient utilization plan requirement) is to be abolished and the ENNI fertilizer management system strengthened in a practical way. Cooperative water protection advice is to grow and be securely funded. In addition, permanent grassland rules are to become more flexible, irrigation is to be optimized with AI and digital tools, and the Grünlandzentrum Niedersachsen/Bremen is to become a research center.

The CDU backs hunters and wants to keep statewide hunting under the district-based system. The list of species that may be hunted is not to be shortened, and trapping is to remain permitted. The program regards hunting as cultural heritage and as hands-on nature conservation.

The CDU supports hunters in Lower Saxony. Hunting should stay possible across the whole state. There should be no new bans for certain animal species. The CDU sees hunting as culture and as nature protection.

Hunting seasons and methods are to be in line with animal welfare and sustainability. Gun owners who store their weapons properly should not be charged a fee for random inspections. The program describes trapping as the most important tool for protecting ground-nesting birds. Hunting and forestry are to work together under the motto "forest and game." In fighting African swine fever, the CDU counts on hunters as partners, including to bring wild boar numbers to an appropriate level.

The CDU wants to actively manage the wolf population and add the wolf to the hunting law, in line with species protection and EU law. It cites the growing population, attacks on livestock, and unease especially in rural areas. Coastal regions are to become wolf-free zones.

There are more and more wolves in Lower Saxony. The CDU wants to control the number of wolves. Hunters should be allowed to hunt wolves under certain rules. There should be no wolves on the coast. Sheep protect the dikes there.

The federal government is asked to determine that the wolf has reached a favorable conservation status for Germany or for individual states, and to set a minimum population that reflects regional conditions. The criteria for monitoring reports are to be revised so that reproduction, adaptability, and migration carry more weight. For livestock protection, the CDU wants to lift or adjust funding caps and simplify the rules on burden of proof. In coastal regions at risk of storm surges and flooding, wolves are to be removed as a rule, because grazing animals keep the dikes stable according to the program. The effects of wolves and wolf-proof fences on other wildlife are also to be studied.

The CDU wants to keep implementing and expand funding for the Niedersächsischer Weg ("Lower Saxony Way"), an agreement between environmental groups and farmers. On species protection, it relies on incentives, cooperation, and personal responsibility alongside necessary rules. Programs for insects, protected areas, and greener cities are added.

The CDU wants to protect nature and species. Farmers and environmental groups should work together on this. The CDU relies on rewards and not only on rules. There should be more flower strips for insects. Cities should become greener too.

Flower-strip programs are to be expanded and linked with measures to connect habitats, and voluntary conservation contracts with landowners are to be strengthened. Clubs and organizations are to receive "environment checks" for nature projects in cities. For the Wadden Sea, the Harz, and the Elbe floodplain, the CDU seeks a balance between protection and use, and parks and protected areas are to get financial support. Also planned are a pilot project for species protection in solar parks, more conservation advice, more green roofs and facades, and the unsealing of paved surfaces. Invasive species such as raccoons and nutria are to be controlled.

The CDU wants to launch large reforestation programs, especially in the Harz and the Heide regions, and adapt forests to climate change. It points to bark beetle damage and to the forest's role for nature, climate, the economy, and recreation.

The CDU wants to plant many new trees. This applies mainly to the Harz and the Heide regions. The forest should cope better with climate change. More trees should grow in cities too.

Forest conversion is to be carried out together with researchers and practitioners and keep economic, ecological, and social concerns in balance. The Northwest German Forest Research Institute is to get more funding for plant research and take a leading role nationwide. Forestry associations and family-run operations are to be supported in building climate-adapted forests. The CDU wants to promote a tradable certificate for the carbon stored by forests and set up a funding program for planting trees in cities.

The CDU wants a long-term strategy for water use by households, businesses, and industry. Plans include better wastewater treatment, more water reuse, and protection of groundwater reserves. The program points to the effects of climate change on the drinking water supply.

The CDU wants to protect water better. Sewage plants should clean water more thoroughly. Used water should be used again more often. When water is scarce, nobody should waste drinking water.

Water protection is to be treated as a task for all departments of state government. Advice and inspections under fertilizer law are meant to clearly improve the quality of groundwater and drinking water. Water permit procedures are to be sped up, and in times of scarcity the CDU wants to limit the waste of drinking water. For regional management of water volumes, a legal basis and funding are to be created, along with a network of adjustable water retention using ditches. The Innerste dam in the Harz is to be enlarged to store energy, build up drinking water reserves, and improve flood protection.

The CDU expects the federal government to secure the Asse II mine and to start the promised retrieval of the nuclear waste soon. It points out that Lower Saxony has borne special burdens from nuclear power for decades.

Nuclear waste lies in the Asse II mine. The CDU calls the mine run-down. The federal government should secure it. The waste should be taken out soon. There should be fewer nuclear waste transports.

For the search for a final repository, the program demands a permanently safe solution and calls it a task spanning generations. The number of transports of radioactive containers is to be reduced. According to the program, the federal government is responsible for securing the Asse mine.