SPD on the environment and animal welfare

The SPD wants better upkeep of green spaces, a new large public park in eastern Berlin, and a sharp increase in the number of street trees. Small parks, fountains and unsealed squares are to provide cooling in neighborhoods. The climate adaptation law is to be implemented without creating a new state agency.

The SPD wants more green in Berlin. A new large park is planned in the east of the city. There should be many more trees along the streets. Small parks and fountains should cool the city in summer. The city cleaning service should clean parks and playgrounds. Swimming in the Spree river should become possible.

District offices are to get permanent funding and staff for near-natural upkeep; the BSR (city cleaning service) is to clean all playgrounds and, by 2030, all parks, and park rangers are to be secured and expanded. The number of city trees is to rise by 70 percent by 2040, carried out by existing administrations. Old trees are to be better protected and felling permits tied to the actual start of construction. Mini parks, splash areas and fountains run by the water utility are to offer cooling close to home, starting in the most burdened areas. Squares such as Washingtonplatz are to be unsealed or greened, and swimming in the Spree is to be allowed.

The SPD wants to protect allotment gardens and open them to neighborhoods, implement the biodiversity strategy, and convert Berlin's forest into a climate-resilient mixed forest. Voluntary environmental work is to be recognized through the volunteer card and vouchers.

The SPD wants to protect nature in Berlin. Allotment gardens should stay and be open to neighbors. The forest should cope better with the climate. It should mainly be a place to relax. People who collect litter as volunteers get vouchers for museums or pools.

Allotment garden sites are to be developed into local recreation areas for everyone, and community gardening in public space is supported. The SPD wants to use the EU nature restoration regulation, under which Berlin is to restore a fifth of its area, for education and information work as well. According to the platform, the forest remains a recreational forest with commercial use taking second place; the conversion is to rely mainly on natural regeneration and be monitored by satellite. Litter clean-ups are to be rewarded with vouchers for culture and pools, and the BSR's clean-up campaigns are to be expanded.

The SPD wants to strengthen the veterinary offices so they can police illegal animal trade and harmful breeding, and to secure funding for the animal shelter. The list of restricted dog breeds is to be replaced by a dog owner's license. Animals are not to be used on state-run stages.

The SPD wants to protect animals better. Offices should check illegal animal trade more closely. The animal shelter should get secure funding. Instead of a list of dangerous dog breeds, there should be a dog owner's license. Circuses with wild animals may not perform on land owned by the state.

Besides stronger veterinary offices, the platform provides for support of programs for neutering cats and managing city pigeons. In the SPD's view, the dog owner's license creates safety through owners' knowledge. Animals are no longer to appear on state-owned stages, and circuses with wild animals remain banned from state-owned land. The office of the state animal welfare commissioner is to be kept.

The SPD wants to develop Berlin into a sponge city where more rainwater seeps into the ground on site instead of flowing into the sewers. At the same time, the drinking water supply is to be secured, water saved, and water bodies brought into good condition.

The SPD wants to use rainwater better. It should seep into the ground and not flow into the sewer. That helps plants and rivers. Berlin and Brandenburg should protect groundwater together. People should save water.

Together with the water utility and the rainwater agency, more rainwater is to be disconnected from the sewer system; rainwater management across property lines is to become legally binding. Because of looming groundwater problems, the SPD wants to work with Brandenburg on joint adaptation strategies. Water bodies and banks, especially small ones, are to meet the EU Water Framework Directive. Also planned are secured emergency wells, a water-saving campaign, more use of gray water, and cleanup of contaminated soil, for which districts get more staff and money.

The SPD stands by the zero waste concept and wants a packaging tax to cut waste from food packaging. Against illegal dumping it relies on more neighborhood collection days, doorstep pickup of bulky waste, longer opening hours at recycling centers, and stronger enforcement.

The SPD wants less trash in Berlin. A tax on food packaging should help. The city cleaning service picks up bulky waste at your door twice a year. Every neighborhood gets a bulky waste day four times a year. People who dump trash on the street should be caught faster.

Prevention is to take priority over recovery; the NochMall secondhand store and the repair bonus continue, and waste sorting becomes a topic in daycare and school. The recycling rate for waste wood is to rise well above 25 percent, and more households are to get organic waste bins. The street cleaning law is to be changed so that the BSR cleans based on reports and sensor data and assigns staff by waste volume. Bulky waste pickup is organized digitally and paid for through household waste fees. So-called trash sheriffs are to work in the public order offices, and the public order office app is to be developed further.