FDP on the environment and animal welfare

The FDP wants to implement the state strategies on biodiversity, biological climate protection and soil protection together with all stakeholders. Private landowners would receive money for creating forest or rewetting peatlands. Underground CO2 storage and fracking should not happen against the will of local residents.

The FDP wants to protect nature together with the people. Landowners who plant forest should get money. The same goes for peatlands that are made wet again. There should be less plastic and less waste. The party wants to strengthen the Wadden Sea National Park.

The FDP sees environmental policy as a driver of innovation and relies on competition among ideas. The state strategies are to be adjusted where needed after an evaluation. Environmental education projects would continue to be funded, and avoiding waste keeps its priority. The party wants to act against invasive species, expand the management of flowering areas and fight ragwort more firmly. Plastic use is to fall in order to curb microplastics. The Wadden Sea National Park is to be strengthened and developed further, with local stakeholders involved in planning.

The FDP wants to fund animal shelters and wildlife rescue stations on a permanent basis and improve animal welfare step by step. It backs uniform European standards for animal husbandry and transport, fewer animal experiments and new rules for pets. Alongside legislation, it stresses the personal responsibility of animal keepers.

The FDP wants to keep giving money to animal shelters. The same strict rules for animals should apply across Europe. There should be fewer experiments on animals. Dogs should be registered. The party rejects break-ins at farms by animal rights groups.

The FDP wants to limit animal experiments to what is strictly necessary and promote alternative methods. The state's dog law would get a registration requirement, and the neutering program for stray cats would be expanded. The federal government should introduce identity checks for online pet sales, and a pet breeding law is meant to strengthen the expertise of keepers and breeders. Educational work by animal parks, zoos and botanical gardens would be supported, as would animal welfare education, including at shelters as places of learning. The platform criticizes break-ins and violence by animal rights groups against farmers and hunters. At the federal level, the FDP wants organizations that commit offenses or call for lawbreaking to be reviewed and, where appropriate, lose their tax privileges.

The FDP wants to provide more money for coastal protection, for example for reinforcing dikes, and rejects a coastal protection levy. On water protection it sticks to the existing master plan and wants to secure wastewater facilities for the long term. Ghost nets are to be recovered from the sea.

The FDP wants to spend more money on protecting the coast. For example on stronger dikes. There should be no extra charge for this. Water should become cleaner. Old fishing nets should be taken out of the sea.

The coastal protection master plan is to be implemented and updated; together with municipalities, the FDP wants to develop flood plans for inland rivers as well. The protective strip rule in the state nature conservation law would be abolished in order to reconcile coastal protection, nature conservation and tourism. Wastewater treatment is to focus on reducing trace substances and nutrients, with the polluter-pays principle applying. Sand replenishment on the North Frisian islands and the "Modellregion Schlei" project are to continue, and water and soil associations would receive support. The party rejects blanket bans on kite surfing in the Wadden Sea, but zones especially worth protecting should be closed to everyone. Volunteer initiatives recovering ghost nets would get funding, and an incentive system is meant to promote proper disposal of old nets.

The FDP wants the old munitions in the North Sea and Baltic Sea recovered within the next few years because toxic substances are leaking from corroding casings. The federal government should bear the costs, with the state adding funds of its own. Waste oil is to be pumped out of shipwrecks quickly.

A lot of old munitions from the world wars lie in the sea. They rust, and poison gets into the water. The FDP wants them recovered soon. The federal government should pay for this. Oil should also be pumped out of old shipwrecks.

According to the platform, about 1.6 million tons of munitions lie in the German part of the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and more than 2,500 wrecks lie off the coasts. The FDP wants to draw up a recovery plan with the federal government and the affected states, create a legal entity to coordinate clearance and set up an expert council. Pilot projects should start quickly, for example in the Kolberger Heide dumping area. Schleswig-Holstein is to become a flagship region for munitions clearance, which the party says could also benefit local shipyards. Also planned are a register of dumped munitions, contaminated sites and wrecks, and continued research funding. Before oil is pumped out, a risk analysis should determine which ships pose the greatest danger.

The FDP wants to increase forest cover in Schleswig-Holstein to twelve percent and push for a forest climate premium. It aims for sustainable management that takes both timber use and biodiversity into account, and wants to support forest owners rather than dictate to them.

The FDP wants more forest in Schleswig-Holstein. Twelve percent of the state should be forest. Forests store CO2 and so help the climate. Forest owners should get a payment for this. They should decide themselves which trees to plant.

To reach the twelve percent goal, existing funding programs are to continue, and compensation payments are also to be usable for this purpose. The FDP wants to strengthen state forests and private forests alike, with good conditions for selling timber as well as qualified staff and equipment. Legal limits on the choice of tree species are to be removed. The party does not want forest cleared to create new biotopes; old-growth sites are to be secured and natural succession allowed on conservation land. More research on uses for hardwood and support for forest education are also planned.

The FDP rejects stricter rules in hunting and weapons law and wants to keep supporting hunters. Hunting law is to be modernized to strengthen property rights and improve wildlife management. The party sees hunters as partners in nature and species conservation.

The FDP wants no stricter rules for hunting and weapons. Hunters should keep getting support from the state. Shooting ranges should get money and be allowed to stay. Hunters should no longer pay dog tax for hunting dogs. Checks of gun safes should no longer cost anything either.

State budget funding for the main shooting ranges is to become permanent, and the ranges are to be protected under planning law. The Landesjagdverband (state hunting association) is to receive institutional funding and could run a state hunting school; a program is to support drone-based rescue of young animals, including by groups not organized as registered associations. Hunting and closed seasons are to be set in a practical way. Fees for no-cause inspections of weapons storage and the dog tax on qualified hunting dogs are to be dropped. The FDP also wants to fund a statewide wildlife status report and, every five years, a wildlife register, and to keep public land within local hunting cooperatives.