Deutsche Umwelthilfe demands improvements to nature infrastructure law

Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) considers the strengthening of natural infrastructure to be urgently necessary but criticizes the draft law of the same name as insufficient. According to the environmental group, the planned improvements for protection are weakened by numerous exceptions, diminishing the importance of forests, moors, river floodplains, and protected areas in political decision-making.

DUH also expressed concern over the unusually short consultation period. Following months of inter-ministerial coordination, federal states and associations were given a mere two and a half days to submit their statements on the proposal.

Sascha Müller-Kraenner, DUH's federal managing director, emphasized that Germany needs not only roads, bridges, and railways but also intact forests, moors, and river floodplains. These function as central infrastructure in the climate crisis by storing water and protecting people from heat, drought, and floods.

Müller-Kraenner stated that the law also fails to provide a real counterbalance to the "Infrastructure Future Law" (Infrastrukturzukunftsgesetz), which permits the construction of new motorways through moors and forests without significant restrictions. He urged the federal government to revise the law to truly earn its name in supporting nature and climate protection.