The Soil Protection Plan in the Federal Republic of Germany

Summary

Soil protection plays a central role in environmental policy in the Federal Republic of Germany today. On 6 February 1985, the Federal Government therefore passed a comprehensive Soil Protection Plan (Official Journal of the Bundestag 10/2977) which sets the framework for striking a balance between claims on using the soil on the one hand and the prevention of damage, hazards and long-term risks on the other. At the same time it states that natural resources are worth saving for their own sake. The Soil Protection Plan identifies two areas in which action is primarily to be taken: (i) the reduction of inputs of substances which pose a problem either because of their quality or because of the quantities involved, and (ii) changing land-use patterns including the exploitation of raw materials and changes to the natural state of habitats. Implementation of the Soil Protection Plan will entail integrating soil protection into all the Federal Government’s existing legislation and regulations in preparation and working out a package of soil protection measures between the Federal Government and the Länder. This package of soil protection measures covers four areas: legislation, administrative implementation, research and information.

Paper presented by Mr R. Schier.