Abstract
This chapter analyses the legal instruments and regulatory approaches in German law for achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). Section 1 outlines the conceptual components of LDN that the law has to address: preventing degradation, restoring degraded land, offsetting degradation at project level and land-use planning and management. In addition, the concept of LDN requires relevant information.
Section 2 analyses which legal mechanisms German law provides to address each of these conceptual components of LDN. At project level, notably the ‘intervention rule’ in the Federal Nature Protection Act fully captures and translates into legal terms what the UNCCD’s conceptual framework calls the ‘LDN response hierarchy’. At area level, legal planning instruments include protected areas, legal planning and management instruments and soil information systems.
The assessment and conclusion in Sect. 3 argue that despite a range of legal provisions and instruments in German law that protect soil, the absence of an overarching holistic concept is a fundamental shortcoming also with regard to LDN. However, the ‘intervention rule’ in the Nature Protection Act provides a potential model for how offsetting can be legally required and implemented. In general, soil and land use play a mainly defensive part in legal planning processes and often lose in the balancing exercise. A first step towards achieving LDN could be to enable the authorities to make more effective use of the existing planning law instruments for the purpose of soil protection.
Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
Wunder et al. (2017), pp. XX-XX, Sect. 1.
- 4.
See for instance the translation of Agenda 2030 by the German Translation Service for the UN: Deutscher Übersetzungsdienst der Vereinten Nationen (2015), p. 26.
- 5.
On the functions covered by the term “soil” in the Soil Protection Act see Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), pp. 373–375.
- 6.
See the “conceptual framework” elaborated by the UNCCD Science-Policy-Interface to assist the implementation of LDN: “The objective is that losses are balanced by gains”, UNCCD/Science-Policy Interface (2016), p. 1; on offsetting in the “zero net rate of land degradation” concept see Desai and Sidhu (2017), p. 44.
- 7.
UNCCD/Science-Policy Interface (2016), pp. 9 and 12. The keyword “offset” is mentioned on page 24: “The achievement of land degradation neutrality, whereby land degradation is either avoided or offset by land restoration”.
- 8.
UNCCD (2014), p. 12.
- 9.
UNCCD (2014), p. 12.
- 10.
UNCCD, Land Degradation Neutrality – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/RioConventions/RioPlus20/Pages/LDNFAQ.aspx, last accessed 11 June 2017.
- 11.
Cf. Durner (2001).
- 12.
Wunder et al. (2017), pp. XX-XX.
- 13.
UNCCD/Science-Policy Framework (2016), p. 4.
- 14.
The UNCCD’s conceptual framework does not seem to address this issue.
- 15.
UNCCD/Science-Policy Framework (2016), p. 3.
- 16.
- 17.
Art. 288 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- 18.
European Commission (2014), p. 3.
- 19.
Altvater et al. (2015), pp. 39–52.
- 20.
See Sect. 1.
- 21.
Up-to-date versions of all federal laws mentioned in this chapter are available at https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/. The State law of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is available at http://www.landesrecht-mv.de/jportal/portal/page/bsmvprod.psml, last accessed 12.06.2017.
- 22.
Landesregierung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Antwort auf die Kleine Anfrage von Peter Ritter, Landtag Drs. 6/5329 of 13.05.2016, 2.
- 23.
- 24.
Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz.
- 25.
Schmidt et al. (2014), p. 389.
- 26.
Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), pp. 370–371.
- 27.
In this sense, the statement in Altvater et al. (2015), p. 43, that the SPA only applies if the respective sectoral law “does not contain any soil-related provisions”, is not correct.
- 28.
The key term is “adverse changes of soil” (schädliche Bodenveränderungen), which according to the SPA’s definition requires (1) that soil function are adversely affected and (2) that these effects are capable of causing concrete risks, significant adverse effects or significant nuisance for individuals or the general public.
- 29.
The delegated regulation provides indicators for erosion by water.
- 30.
www.lms-beratung.de, last accessed 23.05.2017.
- 31.
Gröhn (2014), pp. 178–179.
- 32.
§ 9 BBodSchG.
- 33.
§ 10 (2) BBodSchG.
- 34.
Landesbodenschutzgesetz—LBodSchG M-V.
- 35.
Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), pp. 366–367.
- 36.
Gröhn (2014), pp. 195–198.
- 37.
§ 13-17 Bundesnaturschutzgesetz—BNatSchG.
- 38.
Decision by the Federal Administrative Court, BVerwG, 11.07.2013 -7 A 20.11.
- 39.
§ 14 (2) BNatSchG.
- 40.
Wasserhaushaltsgesetz—WHG.
- 41.
§ 38 (4)-(5) WHG.
- 42.
- 43.
§ 9 Bundeswaldgesetz—BWaldG.
- 44.
Düngegesetz—DüngeG, together with technical provisions in delegated statutory instruments such as the Düngeverordnung—DüngV.
- 45.
Gröhn (2014), p. 231.
- 46.
Dauergrünlanderhaltungsgesetz—DGErhG M-V.
- 47.
Art. 93 and Annex II of EU Regulation 1306/2013: “good agricultural and environmental condition” no. 5.
- 48.
Ludwig (2011), pp. 176–209.
- 49.
Bundesbodenschutzverordnung—BBodSchV.
- 50.
§ 4 (3) BBodSchG.
- 51.
Möckel et al. (2014), pp. 152–153.
- 52.
§ 4 (5) BBodSchG.
- 53.
Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), pp. 386–387.
- 54.
§ 10 (2) BBodSchG.
- 55.
§ 5 BBodSchG.
- 56.
See Gröhn (2014), pp. 150–155.
- 57.
§ 179 Baugesetzbuch—BauGB.
- 58.
Peters et al. (2015), p. 107.
- 59.
UNCCD/Science Policy Interface (2016), p. 3.
- 60.
§ 14 BNatSchG; Schmidt et al. (2014), pp. 431–432.
- 61.
Möckel et al. (2014), pp. 124–125.
- 62.
Schmidt et al. (2014), p. 434; BVerwG (Federal Administrative Court) judgment of 10.09.1998—4 A 35/97.
- 63.
BVerwG (Federal Administrative Court) judgment of 10.09.1998—4 A 35/97; OVG (Higher Administrative Court) Koblenz, judgment of 06.06.2000—8 C 11556/98.OVG.
- 64.
§ 18 BNatSchG, § § 1a (2) and (3), § 9 (1a), § 200a BauGB.
- 65.
§ 3 DGerhG M-V.
- 66.
Gröhn (2014), p. 191.
- 67.
§ 21 (3) BBodSchG.
- 68.
§ 9 (2) no. 5 LBodSchG M-V.
- 69.
Gröhn (2016), pp. 161–164.
- 70.
Gröhn (2014), p. 353.
- 71.
§ 52 (5) WHG.
- 72.
Wasserhaushaushaltgesetz—WHG. See § 76 (2), § 78 WHG.
- 73.
But federal law of any type overrides State law.
- 74.
- 75.
Bundesregierung (2016), p. 198.
- 76.
Möckel et al. (2014), p. 118.
- 77.
Gesetz über die Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung—UVPG. Ludwig (2011), p. 123.
- 78.
Raumordnungsgesetz—ROG.
- 79.
The federal government has so far its own powers under the Spatial Planning Act only for planning instruments regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone in the sea off the German coast.
- 80.
§ 2 (2) no. 6 ROG.
- 81.
§ 2 no. 3-4, § 3 Landesplanungsgesetz—LPlG MV.
- 82.
Landesverordnung über das Landesraumentwicklungsprogramm (LEP-LVO M-V) of 27.05.2016, GVOBl. M-V 2016, p. 322, as corrected in GVOBl. M-V p. 872.
- 83.
§ 11 LBodSchG MV.
- 84.
Möckel et al. (2014), p. 138.
- 85.
§ 35 (3) BauGB.
- 86.
See above Sect. 2.3.1.
- 87.
§ 1a (2) BauGB.
- 88.
Gröhn (2014), pp. 286–288.
- 89.
Möckel et al. (2014), p. 140.
- 90.
§ 11 (1) BNatSchG, § 11 (3) NatSchAG M-V.
- 91.
Wunder et al., “Implementing land degradation neutrality (SDG 15.3) at national level: general approach, indicator selection and experiences from Germany”.
- 92.
- 93.
Bundesregierung (2016), pp. 197–198.
- 94.
https://www.lung.mv-regierung.de/insite/cms/umwelt/boden/geologie_fis_boden.htm, last accessed 17.02.2017.
- 95.
§ 6 AgrarZahlVerpflV, implemented by § 6 ff. AgrarreformUmsetzLVO M-V.
- 96.
http://www.gaia-mv.de/gaia/feldblockkataster, last accessed 17.02.2017.
- 97.
Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Hrsg.) (2016).
- 98.
https://www.gaia-mv.de/dBAK/Meldung/, last accessed 10.06.2017.
- 99.
Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), p. 369.
- 100.
Erbguth and Schlacke (2016), pp. 384–385.
- 101.
Reese (2015), p. 21.
- 102.
Möckel et al. (2014), p. 117.
- 103.
Gröhn (2016), p. 159.
- 104.
Möckel et al. (2014), p. 38.
- 105.
Gärditz (2016), pp. 290–291.
- 106.
Gärditz (2016), p. 299.
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Bodle, R. (2018). Implementing Land Degradation Neutrality at National Level: Legal Instruments in Germany. In: Ginzky, H., Dooley, E., Heuser, I., Kasimbazi, E., Markus, T., Qin, T. (eds) International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2017. International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy, vol 2017. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68885-5_15
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