Linke on the environment and animal welfare

The Left wants to protect natural areas better, designate new protected areas and add staff for nature conservation. Groundwater, lakes, rivers and coastal waters are to be protected consistently, and more water is to be kept in the landscape.

The Left wants to protect nature better. There should be new protected areas. More people should work in nature conservation. Water should stay clean and be kept in the ground.

Dams and the removal of agricultural drainage systems are meant to hold water back and help groundwater recharge. Far fewer nutrients, pesticides and microplastics are to enter waters, and the ban on farming within seven meters of the shore is to be enforced. Large protected areas and full-time nature conservation are to get more staff. Habitats are to be better connected, with priority on restoring water-based ecosystems. Management plans and monitoring are planned for protected species such as wolves and beavers.

The Left wants to secure animal welfare institutionally, for example through an office reviewing animal welfare in sports and a right for associations to sue. The platform points out that animal welfare is a constitutional state objective and that animals cannot speak for themselves.

The Left wants to protect animals better. A new office should check animal welfare in sports. Animal welfare groups should be able to go to court. Circuses should no longer have animals.

The new assessment and review office is to be housed at a ministry. The party wants to keep working for animal-free circuses. Positions for animal-assisted education are to be created and funded. Zoos are to be reviewed on an ongoing basis and focused on animal welfare, regional ties and education. A right for animal welfare associations to bring lawsuits is to be added.

The Left wants to raise the share of forest in the state's area to at least 30 percent by 2030. Forests are to be converted quickly into deciduous and mixed woodland that can cope with climate change and does not catch fire easily.

The Left wants more forest in the state. By 2030, forest should cover at least 30 percent of the land. The forests should have leafy and mixed trees. Such forests do not burn as easily.

In addition to more forest cover, the program calls for rewetting peatlands inside forests. Drainage ditches that serve no purpose are to be removed so that more water stays in the forest. The forestry administration is to get more staff. Funding applications are to become digital and simpler.