Grüne on the environment and animal welfare

The Greens want to invest €1 billion in protecting biodiversity by 2030. They also plan a reforestation and forest development program that the platform calls the largest in the state's history. Groundwater reserves are to be secured as well.

The Greens want to protect nature in Hesse. By 2030, one billion euros should go to animals and plants. Many new trees should be planted. Groundwater should be protected too.

Forests, nature, and animal and plant life are to be preserved as places for recreation, for biodiversity and as a basis of life. This comes with a reforestation and forest development program and better protection of valuable natural areas. On water, the Greens want to secure groundwater reserves and prevent forests from dying off and streams from running dry.

The Greens want to reverse the decline of endangered animal and plant species and reach the global goal of 30 percent protected areas. A total of 1 billion euros is to be invested for this by 2030.

Many animals and plants are at risk. The Greens want more protected areas. They want to spend 1 billion euros on this by 2030. A small part of the state should become wilderness.

A network of protected areas is planned, with zones left to natural development and linked by habitat corridors. Wilderness is to develop on 2 percent of the state's land, more nature reserves are to be designated, and Natura 2000 sites are to get binding management plans. The biodiversity strategy will be developed further and the Hessian Center for Biodiversity expanded. Species support programs are to get more money and staff, and municipalities are to get funding for habitat network planning and a pact for nature conservation. Volunteer conservation groups, landscape management associations and environmental education centers are to receive more support.

The Greens want to rely on prevention and help with damage in conflicts over returning species such as wolves, beavers or otters. In individual cases, wolves showing problem behavior may be killed.

Wolves, beavers and otters live in Hesse again. This sometimes causes conflict. The Greens want to help people who suffer damage. They also want to help prevent damage. Problem wolves may be shot in single cases.

The platform states that the return of species once wiped out causes conflicts. Those affected are to receive support in case of damage and offers for prevention. The party calls other approaches populist sham solutions. At the same time, it concedes that shooting wolves with problem behavior will be necessary in some cases.

The Greens want to further cut the use of pesticides in order to improve insect diversity. Protected areas and waters are to be shielded by buffer strips.

Pesticides are poisons against pests. They also harm many insects. The Greens want fewer pesticides. There should be poison-free strips next to protected areas and waters.

The focus is on sensitive areas such as protected sites and waters. On buffer strips around these areas, going without pesticides is to be subsidized. The protection of insects and nocturnal animals from artificial light, laid down in the nature conservation law, is to be implemented further. Agri-environment programs are to be attractive both for farmers and for endangered species, and the program for species sensitive to wind turbines is to be made permanent.

The Greens want to launch a large forest development program and align Hesse's forest law with nature conservation, climate protection and recreation. In case of conflict, protection goals are to take priority over use.

Many forests in Hesse are dying. The Greens want a big program for forests. Protecting nature and climate should matter more than using the forest. More forest should be left alone.

FSC certification stays, and natural forest areas of 50 hectares or more are to be legally protected as habitats. Forests are to store more carbon, and the share of old beech stands is to rise. Private forest owners get incentives to leave parts of their forest to nature; the goal is 5 percent natural forest. Logging is subject to upper limits, and harvested wood is to be used several times. A "citizens' forest" program invites local people to help decide on forest plans, and forestry is to have enough well-trained staff.

The Greens want to introduce a Wassercent, a levy on water extraction, to pay for sustainable water projects. Groundwater extraction is to be licensed and monitored more strictly.

The climate crisis makes water scarcer. The Greens want a new charge on water. It is called the Wassercent. The money pays for water projects. Groundwater should be better protected.

The state water law is to give priority to supplying the population and protecting nature. Water monitoring will be expanded to stop groundwater levels from falling further. The building code is to include rules on using rainwater and gray water in new buildings, and unsealing of surfaces and gray water networks will be funded. The Greens reject fracking and want to fund wider strips along waters free of pesticides and fertilizer. A fourth treatment stage in sewage plants is to get more funding and be introduced nationwide, and the "100 Wild Streams" program is to grow to 200 streams.

The Greens want the potash industry to end its discharges by 2027 at the latest and to cover its waste heaps completely. In permits for mining, clean drinking water is to take priority.

Potash mining pollutes rivers and groundwater. From 2027, no more wastewater should be discharged. The waste heaps should be covered. Leftover material should go back underground. Drinking water matters more than mining.

The Greens want to stick to the agreed path for the potash industry. Expansions of the waste heaps are to be limited. The party wants mining residues to be returned underground. Gravel extraction is to be checked more closely for effects on groundwater. In future permit procedures, drinking water supply is to rank above the interests of mining companies.

The Greens want to limit daily land consumption in Hesse to no more than one hectare by 2030. In the long run, there should be no net loss of open land at all.

A lot of land in Hesse gets built on. The Greens want to limit this strongly. From 2030 it should be one hectare a day at most. Later, no extra land should be lost at all.

The plan relies on giving priority to building within existing settlements and on a program to unseal paved surfaces. The net-zero goal is to be secured through concrete land targets in state development planning and through the work of the state land agency. The state planning act and the contaminated sites and soil act are to focus more on precautionary protection of soil and land. Together with municipalities, the Greens want to advance soil protection plans, tools against land speculation, registers of potential building sites, and land swaps.

The Greens want to close material loops and turn the state waste management plan into a zero-waste strategy. This includes more recycling, less food waste, and statewide monitoring of raw materials.

The Greens want less waste. Materials should be used again and again. Building materials should be reused too. Less food should end up in the trash.

Hesse's resource protection strategy is to be developed further, and a CO2-neutral plan for securing raw materials is to be drawn up. Statewide monitoring would record the extraction areas and volumes of all companies, and expansions would be approved based on ecological and climate criteria. Recycling of building materials is a focus, and buildings should be renovated or repurposed rather than demolished wherever possible. Regional planning is to be strengthened, with fewer procedures allowing deviations from planning goals. The Greens also back a stricter and faster EU chemicals policy and want better enforcement of existing substance bans in Hesse.

The Greens want to give animal welfare organizations in Hesse standing to sue, as already exists in environmental law. They also support a ban on wild animals in circuses and want to curb private keeping of wild animals and breeding that causes suffering.

Animal welfare groups should be able to go to court for animals. Wild animals should no longer perform in circuses. Fewer people should keep wild animals at home. The Greens also want fewer animal tests.

The constitutional goal of animal protection is to be worked into existing laws, and animal husbandry should follow behavioral research. A “Task Force Tierschutz” of experts would advise local veterinary offices on exotic and wild animals, and wildlife and rescue stations would get support. An “Aktionsplan Tierschutz” (animal welfare action plan) is meant to teach people about keeping and caring for pets. State research money is to be directed toward methods that avoid animal testing, and findings from the 3R professorships are to become part of teaching.

The Greens call for higher animal welfare standards in farming and for tying livestock numbers to available land. Long transports of live animals are to become largely unnecessary, and transports to countries outside the EU are to be banned.

Farm animals should have better lives. A farm should only keep as many animals as its land allows. Long trips with live animals should mostly end. Transports to countries outside the EU should be banned.

Funding is planned for open-air barns on farms with no more than two livestock units per hectare, for endangered livestock breeds, dual-purpose breeds of chickens and cattle, and working horses. Use of veterinary drugs is to drop. Through federal initiatives, municipalities would get more say over the construction of livestock barns. Transport times are to be clearly limited, and mobile and semi-mobile slaughter will continue to be supported. Counties would get targets for transport inspections, and veterinary offices would be better equipped to inspect transports and slaughterhouses.

The Greens want a new hunting law that gives more weight to animal welfare, climate, and the environment. Endangered species would no longer be hunted, and culling plans for roe deer would be dropped.

The Greens want a new law for hunting. It should protect animals, the climate, and nature better. Nobody should hunt endangered animals anymore. Fixed shooting plans for roe deer should end.

Hunting of hoofed game such as deer and wild boar is to depend on how many animals a habitat can sustain. To that end, damage caused by dense game populations would be monitored on an ongoing basis. The Hegegemeinschaften (local game management associations) would be made responsible for natural forest regeneration and for the growth of climate-resilient forests.