SPD on the environment and animal welfare

The SPD wants to significantly expand the reuse of raw materials in the state. In its view this serves climate and resource protection while creating growth and jobs.

The SPD wants materials to be used again more often. This is called a circular economy. It protects the climate and saves raw materials. It should also bring new jobs.

At the federal and EU level, the SPD wants to push for clear rules. These include a modernized Circular Economy Act and swift implementation of the National Circular Economy Strategy. It also calls for a revised ordinance on substitute building materials so that materials can be reused faster and municipalities carry less of a burden.

The SPD wants to combine farming and environmental protection through cooperation and strengthen the "Schulterschluss Artenvielfalt" (biodiversity alliance). For water and soil protection, a denser monitoring network is to make the designation of polluted areas more precise.

The SPD wants to bring farming and nature protection together. Farmers and conservationists should work together. There should be more measuring sites for water and soil. This shows more exactly where pollution comes from.

The program relies on the professional practice and sense of responsibility of farmers and winegrowers. Red areas are polluted with nitrate, yellow ones with phosphate; their designation is to rest on differentiated data and reflect regional differences more strongly. The SPD keeps the polluter-pays principle: measures should apply where the pollution actually arises. It names the protection of water and soil as its top priority.

The SPD wants to convert damaged forests into mixed forests that are better adapted to climate change. Forestry is to be transformed in partnership with forest owners, and the Gemeinschaftsforstamt (joint forestry office) is to be kept.

Many forests have suffered from heat and drought. The SPD wants to plant mixed forest there. Mixed forest copes better with the new climate. Forest owners should get help with this. The forestry offices should stay as they are.

The platform points to a forest share of 42 percent and sees wood as an indispensable renewable raw material for the energy transition and regional value creation. Private and municipal forest owners are to be supported in reforestation. The joint forestry office is to remain the backbone for all types of ownership. The state agency Landesforsten is to be strengthened as an employer, and digital processes and modern technology in forest management are to be funded.

The SPD wants to keep promoting timber as a renewable raw material and make forestry more productive through research and practical expertise. The state forest law is to be updated on a scientific basis.

The SPD wants to support wood as a raw material. Wood grows back and creates work in the regions. The law on forests will be updated. Aid for forests in a changing climate will continue.

According to the platform, timber should be used first as a building and working material, including softwood for local sawmills and the construction industry. Leftover forest wood should remain available for heating to a moderate extent, in line with existing plans for habitat and dead wood. The SPD wants to modernize the Landeswaldgesetz (state forest law), also with the shift to climate-neutral heating in mind. Damaged forest areas are to be addressed with a 50 million euro package. Existing funding programs that protect forests against climate change are to continue.

The SPD wants to put the state-level arrangements in place to actively manage the wolf population. Hunters and others affected are to take part in drafting the new state hunting ordinance.

The wolf is now covered by hunting law. The SPD wants to be able to control the number of wolves in the state. Hunters should have a say in the new hunting rules. Rooks and Egyptian geese should also be hunted in towns.

The Landesjagdverordnung (state hunting ordinance) is to be drafted with active input from hunters so that game care, forestry and farming are taken into account and the rules are widely accepted. According to the platform, the Jagdgenossenschaften (associations of landowners holding hunting rights) keep their importance. If practical problems emerge once the state hunting law takes effect, the SPD wants to review and adjust it. Rooks and Egyptian geese should be huntable in a workable way in urban areas too, to protect residents' quality of life.

The SPD wants to step up nature and species protection, relying on cooperation with farming, forestry and municipalities. The state program Aktion Grün is to continue, and the party wants the EU Nature Restoration Regulation applied in a practical way with reliable funding.

The SPD wants to protect nature better. Farmers, foresters and conservation groups should work together. The Aktion Grün program will continue. Nature parks and the national park will get more money.

The platform cites the Schulterschluss Artenvielfalt (biodiversity alliance) as an example of farming and conservation working together. Conservation stations are to be developed step by step to promote regional cooperatives on the Dutch model that jointly plan and carry out agri-environmental measures. The SPD wants to talk with farmers and foresters about how extra efforts for biodiversity and climate protection are paid for. Nature parks and the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park are to receive investment in visitor guidance, regional value creation and environmental education. On the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, the party wants to press at federal and EU level for practical application and secure funding.

The SPD wants to continue the state's Zukunftsplan Wasser (future water plan), support municipalities with investments against floods and heavy rain, and push at federal level for natural hazard insurance. Municipalities are also to get help greening town centers and redesigning them on the sponge city principle.

The SPD wants to keep drinking water safe. Towns get money to protect against floods and heavy rain. Cities should become greener and soak up rainwater better. The SPD wants nationwide insurance against damage from natural events.

As lessons from the Ahr valley flood, the platform cites the 7-point flood prevention plan and the revised state water law. Municipalities with prevention plans are to receive money for retention areas, soil management and regional early-warning systems for extreme weather. Through the Aktion Blau plus program, the SPD wants to invest in interconnected supply networks, restoring rivers and streams, and smart water management, and to fund a fourth treatment stage at large sewage plants. The EU Water Framework Directive is to be implemented. Municipalities are to get support for unsealing surfaces, public drinking fountains and areas where rainwater can seep away and evaporate, which the platform justifies with quality of life and climate protection.

The SPD wants to expand state support for animal shelters. It also backs a cat protection ordinance that applies across Germany, to improve animal welfare and ease the burden on shelters.

The SPD wants to give animal shelters more help. It also wants a rule to protect cats in all of Germany. This should help the animals. The shelters would then have less strain.

The platform commits to strong animal protection and to supporting people who care about animal welfare. Funding for animal shelters is to increase. The cat protection ordinance is to be adopted at federal level, and the SPD says it will push for that.