The Environment Chronicle

Owners of cars may return their scrapped vehicles to manufacturers or importers free of charge from now on. Following the new law, this is only valid for vehicles which have been licensed after the law has entered into force. Cars already in use before may be returned free of charge only from 2007 on. Germany is the first member state of the EC to convert the European directive on end-of-life vehicles (2000/53/EG) into national law.

The amendment of the Act on Managing Water Resources implements the EU Water Framework Directive. In particular the access to sustainable management of water resources across national boundaries has been anchored legally. Target is that all waters will gain a good state till 2015, not only concerning pollutants, but also the native flora and fauna. For that purpose management plans have to be elaborated till 2009.

The German "Act on the structured phase-out of the utilisation of nuclear energy for the commercial generation of electricity" makes fundamental amendments to the 1959 Atomic Energy Act: Instead of aiming to promote nuclear energy, the purpose of the act now is to phase out its use in a structured manner. Among the key points of the amendment is the ban on constructing new commercial nuclear power plants and the restriction of the residual operating life of existing nuclear power plants to 32 years from the time of the plant's start up. The new Act lays down a maximum permitted residual electricity volume for each individual nuclear power plant.

On 17 April 2002, the German government adopted the national sustainability strategy "Perspectives for Germany - Our Strategy for Sustainable Development".

Germany's new Nature Conservation Act, which replaces the old law of 1976, strengthens the country's nature conservation associations. Another important amendment is the introduction of a biotope network. Isolated nature reserves, at present small oases in a heavily-populated industrial nation, are to be expanded and linked with others. Each of Germany's 16 federal states must make available at least 10 per cent of its land area for that purpose.

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive is an important step forward in European environmental law. Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment entered into force on 21st July 2001 and has to be implemented by Member States before 21st July 2004. Article 1: "The objective of this Directive is to provide for a high level of protection of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the reparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development, by ensuring that, in accordance with this Directive, an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment.

In Germany the Ordinance on Organic Solvents (Ordinance on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain facilities ? 31st BImSchV.) entered into force. By this the European Directive 1999/13/EG has been converted into national law. For new industry plants the ordinance becomes immediately valid, for existing facilities there is a transitional period lasting till 2007. The target is to lower the emission of organic solvents during their application by further 250,000 tons every year. The ordinance covers different activities such as varnishing, printing, and gluing as well as textile cleaning or the production of shoes and medical drugs, whenever their consumption of solvents exceeds a sectoral limit.

The last phase of realization of the environmental requirements for large combustion plants has been completed. In the New Laender all the power stations and cogeneration plants driven by fossil fuels (coal, gas, and oil) with an output of more than 50 megawatts which have not been modernised must be shut down. Thus one of the most successful measures of melioration of air quality in the New Laender has been finalised.

The "Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy" or short the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) entered into force. All member states have approved the results of the mediation between the European Parliament and of the Council. Within the next 15 years rivers, lakes and costal waters shall gain a good quality. The protection of groundwater will be improved as well. Measures of protection of the groundwater quality shall be taken even before the boundary values have been reached. Further on, the prices for water shall gein® more transparency. The member states have to report their water pricing differentiated by the sectors industry, agriculture, and private households. The target is that the consumers have to bear the operational costs at least (as it is common practice in Germany) to ensure an efficient handling of this resource.

On 20 December 2000, the European Commission adopted this decision: Article 1: Lindane is not included as an active substance in Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC. Article 2: The Member States shall ensure that: 1. authorisations for plant-protection products containing lindane are withdrawn within a period of six months from the date of adoption of the present Decision; 2. from the date of adoption of the present Decision no authorisation for plant-protection products containing lindane will be granted or renewed under the derogation provided for in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC.

The purpose of this Act is to facilitate a sustainable development of energy supply in the interest of managing global warming and protecting the environment and to achieve a substantial increase in the percentage contribution made by renewable energy sources to power supply in order at least to double the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption by the year 2010, in keeping with the objectives defined by the European Union and by the Federal Republic of Germany.

The 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area has been frequently discussed and debated. It deals with the environment and biodiversity in both the seas and coastlines, and is legally binding in civil law.

When signing the new Convention on the Protection of the Rhine in Bern on 12 April 1999, the Governments of the five countries bordering the Rhine and the representative of the European Community formally confirmed their determination to reinforce their co-operation with a view to a continued protection of the valuable character of the Rhine, its banks and its flood plains. This convention substitutes the Bern Convention signed in 1963. The Convention entered into force on 1st January 2003.

This ordinance sets out the requirements, for the areas listed in the appendices, to be met when applying for permission to release waste water into water bodies.

On 1st of April the "Act on the Introduction of the Ecological Tax Reform" entered into force with the first phase of this reform. The mineral oil tax has been raised and the electricity tax was introduced. The "Act on the Continuation of the Ecological Tax Reform" (16 Dec. 1999) provided for further raisings of the mineral and electricity taxes in four steps from 2000 to 2003.

The purpose of the act is to conserve the marine environment and protect it from pollution by waste and other substances or objects. As a licensing authority, the FEA is able to prevent the disposal of hazardous waste at sea.

The Aarhus Convention is a international "Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters" by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

The purpose of the act is to safeguard the life and well-being of animals out of responsibility for them as fellow creatures. No person may harm an animal or cause it to suffer without good reason.

The purpose of the act is 1. to protect plants, especially crop plants, from harmful organisms and other harm. 4. to avoid hazards which might arise from the use of crop protection agents or other measures, especially for human and animal health and for the balance of nature. 5. to implement European Community law on crop protection. The legislature extends the competence of the FEA to cover testing the effects of crop protection on the balance of nature in its entirety.

Ordinance on taking back and disposing of used batteries and accumulators: the aim is to reduce pollution from batteries in waste, by removing certain types of battery from circulation, taking back used batteries for proper and harmless disposal, and encouraging the production of reusable, long-lived batteries.

The purpose of the act is to ensure or recover soil function sustainably. Harmful soil change is to be prevented, contaminated land and subsequent water contamination is to be cleaned up and preventative measures against negative impact on soil are to be taken. Where soil is affected, impairment of its natural functions, including as an archive of natural and cultural history, should be avoided where at all possible.

The German Act Implementing the Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty (Environmental Protocol Implementation Act) is designed to protect the Antarctic environment and the ecosystems that are associated with or depend on it. This Act transposes into Germany’s national law the international regulations set out in the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Environmental Protocol) and names the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA) as the national competent authority.

§1 The entire territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and the regions of which it is made up shall be developed, organized and protected by integrative general regional plans and the harmonizing of regionally significant plans and measures. 1(2) The overall concept ... is that of sustainable regional development which will bring the social and economic demands made on an area into line with its ecological functions and result in a stable order which will be well-balanced on a large scale.

The Used Cars Ordinance comes into force, in conjunction with a voluntary commitment by car manufacturers to recycle used cars.

The Federal Economics Ministry may, with the agreement of the Employment Ministry and the upper house of the German parliament, determine that information on the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances should be made available, and set out upper limits on energy consumption by household appliances.

§1a (1) As a part of the ecobalance the waters are to be managed in such a way that they serve the general well-being and, in harmony with this, also serve the purposes of an individual and in such a way that any avoidable damage does not occur.

This guideline provides measures avoid and, where this is impossible, reduce emissions ... to air, water and soil - including measures affecting waste - in order to achieve a high level of protection for the environment, without prejudice to other relevant community regulations.

§1 The purpose of this Act is to ensure the effective implementation of an EU directive ... on the voluntary participation of commercial companies in a common system for environmental management and inspection.

The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is the largest of its kind developed so far under CMS. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 in the Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999. The AEWA covers 255 species of birds ecologically dependent on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycle. The agreement covers 118 countries and the European Community (EC) from Europe, parts of Asia and Canada, the Middle East and Africa. Of the 118 Range States and the EC currently 62 countries have become a Contracting Party to AEWA.

Art 1 No.2: "After Art 20 the following Art 20a will be inserted: "The state also has a responsibility to protect the natural basis for life for future generations, within the constitution by legislation, execution of the law and in legal judgements."

The act applies to the cross-border transport of waste into or out of Germany.

§1 The purpose of this Act is to promote closed substance cycle waste management (Kreislaufwirtschaft), in order to conserve natural resources and to ensure environmentally compatible disposal of waste.

Official statistics are to be collected for use in environmental policy-making.

§1 The purpose of this Act is to protect man and the environment from the harmful effects of dangerous substances and preparations, in particular to identify them, avert them and prevent their occurrence.

The UNFCC is first ratified by c. 50 states, by Mai 1997 by 166. The convention's goal is to stabilise the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level which prevent dangerous destruction of our climate system.

The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats is an international treaty that binds the Parties on the conservation of bats in their territories. The agreement was concluded in September 1991 and entered into force on 16 January 1994, after the required number of five states (Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and UK) had ratified it. The Bat Agreement aims to protect all 45 species of bats identified in Europe, through legislation, education, conservation measures and international co-operation with Agreement members and with those who have not yet joined.

§1 The purpose of this Act is to ensure free access to the information on the environment possessed by authorities and the distribution of this information, as well as to lay down the fundamental prerequisites according to which information of this nature is to be made available.

The ITTA's core aims are sustainable use and marketing of tropical timber, cooperation in management and technology transfer, and reclaiming degraded tropical forests. It is legally binding in civil law.

The Voluntary Environmental Year provides an opportunity for personal development with an emphasis on environmental awareness. Full-time voluntary work is available at suitable institutions and other bodies concerned with conservation and the environment. The act was last amended on 24.3.1997

Within the portfolio of the Environmental Minister, an independent Federal Nature Protection Agency shall be set up.