SPD on the environment and animal welfare

The SPD wants wolf management that adequately funds the protection of grazing animals and sets clear compensation rules. It justifies this with the importance of grazing for biodiversity and habitats. Wildlife rescue stations would also be set up, and animal shelters would receive basic funding.

Wolves can kill grazing animals. The SPD wants to pay for protecting pastures. There should be clear rules for paying for damage. Hurt wild animals should get help at rescue stations. Animal shelters should get steady funding.

According to the program, farming and grazing of the cultivated landscape are essential for preserving species and habitats. Hay meadows and pastures in areas covered by the EU Habitats Directive and in biosphere reserves would get particular protection. Each county, where possible, would get a rescue station for injured wild animals. Animal shelters would receive basic funding for their tasks.

The SPD wants a mixed, species-rich continuous-cover forest that can better adapt to the changing climate. Forests would be managed gently, with ten percent left unused. HessenForst, the state forestry enterprise, would get more staff for this.

The SPD wants to use the forest gently. Many different trees should grow there. Then the forest copes better with the new climate. One tenth of the forest should stay unused. The state forestry service should get more staff.

Clear-cutting would be avoided, and less timber would be harvested each year than grows back. Five to 15 habitat trees per hectare would be left unused, skid trails would be at least 40 meters apart, and FSC certification is treated as a minimum standard. Ecosystem services provided by forests would be paid for. The party will examine whether HessenForst can be turned back into a state agency and wants more staff, training and smaller districts there. A "Pakt für den Wald" (pact for the forest) is meant to stabilize forests; the state would use more timber in construction and procurement. Hunting would adjust game populations so that damage to forests is avoided.

The SPD wants to reduce water consumption and charge a levy on use above the average household level. Water bodies should reach good condition statewide. A program would expand flood protection in light of more frequent heavy rain.

The SPD wants people to use less water. People who use a lot of water would pay a levy. Rivers and streams should get cleaner. Flood protection should get better. Cities should store rainwater better.

Revenue from the levy would pay for water-saving measures and new rainwater storage for irrigating fields. Treated surface water would be used more to relieve existing extraction areas. The party wants to use the final deadline of the EU Water Framework Directive and carry out the "100 Wilde Bäche" (100 wild streams) program. Pollutants would be reduced mainly at the source, along with riparian buffer strips and additional treatment stages at sewage plants. For flood protection, the program relies on local retention storage, so-called sponge cities, and new retention areas.

The SPD wants to create a network of habitats on 15 percent of Hesse's land so that migrating species can find new living space. The administrations for nature conservation, agriculture and forestry would work together more closely and be better equipped.

The SPD wants to connect living spaces for animals and plants. This would cover 15 percent of the land in Hesse. Then animals can move around. The offices for nature, farming and forests should work together better. They should have enough staff.

The network would run along forest and path edges and small habitats in the landscape, with wildlife bridges added where needed. Landscape conservation associations would be supported in their work and founding. The bird protection plans agreed with conservation groups for wind power expansion would be staffed and carried out. Initiatives for old regional livestock breeds and seeds would be supported. Data from the EU's Copernicus program would be used for climate protection, transport and land use, and a dark-sky initiative would raise awareness of light pollution.