Grüne on the environment and animal welfare

The Greens want to preserve the Baltic Sea for future generations. They plan to cut the pollutants entering the sea, introduce more environmentally sound fishing methods, and develop nature-friendly tourism. The platform argues that the Baltic is severely threatened.

The Greens want to protect the Baltic Sea. Fewer harmful substances should get into the water. Fishing should do less harm to nature. Tourism should fit well with nature.

The platform describes the Baltic Sea as a place to relax, a draw for tourists, the basis of traditional fishing, and a habitat for many species. In the party's view, it is the most endangered sea in the world. Three approaches are named: lower pollutant inputs, environmentally sound fishing methods, and further development of nature-friendly tourism.

The Greens want to improve water quality and create more natural buffer zones along waters so that water stays in the landscape. They reject drilling for oil and gas in the Baltic Sea and on land. The platform points to droughts, heavy rain and risks for protected areas and tourism.

The Greens want clean water in lakes and rivers. There should be wider unused strips along the banks. Wet meadows and floodplains should store water. That helps in droughts and in floods. Nobody should be allowed to drill for oil and gas.

The EU Water Framework Directive and the state's water strategy are to be fully implemented. This includes wider buffer strips along waters as well as more wetlands and floodplains to soften flooding. The Greens reject deepening the Elbe on the stretch from Dömitz to Hitzacker. They also oppose planned oil and gas drilling on the Polish side near Usedom because, according to the platform, it would affect protected areas and tourism.

The Greens want to secure marine protected areas more effectively, restore habitats such as seagrass meadows and reefs, and cut the inflow of nutrients and litter. A broad alliance is to be formed for the endangered harbor porpoise. The party wants the state to lead on marine protection.

The Greens want to protect the Baltic Sea. Less fertilizer, oil and plastic should get into the sea. Seagrass meadows and reefs should grow again. The harbor porpoise is close to dying out. An alliance should save it.

Nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer are to be cut significantly, as is pollution from oil, plastic and microplastics. Protection against oil spills, for example from ships of the Russian shadow fleet, is to be expanded. Traditional fishers would get money to switch to nature-friendly fishing methods so that fewer porpoises die as bycatch. Science, fisheries, conservation groups, tourism and municipalities are to develop solutions together. The porpoise alliance is to be set up in the state and, through the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, for the entire sea.

The Greens want to organize nature conservation more through voluntary, paid agreements with land users and link protected areas into a continuous habitat network. Pesticides and synthetic chemical fertilizers are to be banned in Natura 2000 areas. The stated goal is conservation that finds more local acceptance.

The Greens want to protect nature together with local people. Farmers should take part by choice and get paid for it. Protected areas should be linked together. In special protected areas, pest-killing chemicals should be banned. Artificial fertilizer should be banned there too.

Contract-based conservation, meaning paid conservation work on a voluntary basis, is to grow, backed by regional advisory services. For more biodiversity in towns and villages, the platform lists flower strip programs, help with planting hedges and field margins, and protection of meadow birds and coastal habitats. Protected areas and the Grünes Band (Green Belt along the former inner-German border) are to be connected across state lines as well. Tree-lined avenues are to be better protected through a shared tree register for the state and the counties.

The Greens want to give animal welfare more weight in the state: with an independent commissioner, a right for recognized associations to sue, and a cap on livestock numbers. In the platform's view, clear rules, effective inspections and reliable support have been lacking.

The Greens want to protect animals better. An independent person in the government should look after animal welfare. Animal welfare groups should be allowed to go to court. Not too many animals should live in one barn. Animal shelters should get steady funding.

The party wants to push for a maximum number of animals per facility and region. For pasture farming, herding dogs and protective fences are to be subsidized in their ongoing upkeep too, not just at purchase. Animal shelters, wildlife rescue stations and animal welfare organizations are to receive lasting funding. Also planned are strict inspections of fire safety in barns and more inspections triggered by specific concerns. A cat protection ordinance is to apply statewide, and stunning with CO2 is to end.

The Greens want to speed up the conversion of forests into more resilient stands with an action program and preserve old and near-natural forests. Hunting rules and support for timber as a building material are to complement this. The platform cites drought, storms and pests as reasons.

The Greens want to make forests stronger. Forests suffer from drought, storms and pests. A program should speed up changing the forests. Old forests should stay. Wood from the region should be used more often for building.

Natural and old forests are to remain as refuges for species. Hunting is to be regulated so that it primarily serves forest conversion and reduces conflicts between wildlife and farming and forestry. Timber is to be promoted as a regional, climate-friendly building material, which the party says also strengthens local value creation.

The Greens want to turn EU nature and environmental rules into binding, concrete measures in the state and better protect the Natura 2000 sites in the Baltic Sea. The party rejects new oil and gas extraction. Old munitions are to be recovered from the Baltic Sea and marine pollution reduced.

The Greens want to protect the Baltic Sea and nature better. The state should really carry out the EU's environmental rules. There should be no new drilling for oil and gas. Old munitions should be taken out of the sea. Less plastic and fertilizer should get into the sea.

According to the program, European environmental goals often exist only on paper, which puts biodiversity, clean water and the coasts at risk. Implementation is to cover areas such as protecting biodiversity and restoring ecosystems. Together with the other Baltic Sea states and the federal government, the Greens want to agree on measures to recover dumped munitions and reduce nutrient runoff and plastic waste. Preventive strategies against shipping accidents and oil spills are also planned, with the program citing dilapidated tankers of the Russian shadow fleet as an example.