Animals, plants, habitats: Leopoldina paper: Much need for improvement in nature conservation
Protected areas are supposed to preserve nature. There are numerous protected areas in Germany. But do they really provide what they were designated for?
A recent analysis by the National Academy of Sciences in Halle, Germany, has found that many protected areas in Germany are in a poor state. Only 6% of habitats and 4% of species in FFH areas, designated under the EU's Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive, are in a favourable condition. Experts, including Katrin Böhning-Gaese and Josef Settele from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, stress that simply designating protected areas is not enough, and that clear protection goals, regular monitoring, and sufficient personnel and funding are needed.
The report highlights positive examples of effective conservation, including the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park in Hessen and the Königsbrücker Heide wilderness area in Sachsen.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
