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The progressive use of new land and landscape dissection by the construction of traffic routes leads to habitat destruction and fragmentation – a principal cause of the continual loss of biological diversity.
Consequently, there is a need to counteract the rise in transport volume through environmentally friendly land-use planning, to decouple the amount of traffic (tonnes kilometres, passenger kilometres) from economic performance (gross domestic product GDP) and to ensure that mobility is environmentally friendly and makes sparing use of resources.
The principal determinants of traffic growth – settlement structure, trade links, changed lifestyles, and the availability of a transport infrastructure – must be influenced through the following measures:
On 22 March 2006, the Federal Government adopted a national strategy for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in Germany and in so doing implemented a corresponding recommendation by the EU (Recommendation 2002/413/EC).
As a process and instrument, ICZM is intended to bring together the various economic and social demands for the utilisation of the coastal region – fisheries, shipping, port management, industry and trade, land-based traffic infrastructure, agriculture and forestry, wind power, settlement development, tourism, etc. – and the interests involved in the protection of the coastal region – prevention of pollutant discharges, economical use of the ‘area’ resource, nature conservation, flood prevention – and at an early stage to highlight development opportunities, potential conflicts and solutions to these conflicts. In view of the increasing utilisation pressure, the aim is to develop the coastal region, both on the seaward side and on shore, in an environmentally compatible and economically sustainable manner, bearing in mind the efficiency and capacity of the coastal environment.
The objection levelled against binding quantitative targets for spatial planning is that they are too inflexible to permit an on-the-spot reaction to unforeseeable economic or social requirements and developments. In order to introduce greater flexibility and to meet 30 ha/day in the increase in the take-up of land by 2020 target, the introduction of a trade in area quotas has also been proposed, along similar lines to the tradable certificates in the area of climate protection. The controlling effect of traditional planning remains in force at the same time, however, so that protected areas, designated areas and priority areas retain their integrity.
In the year 2009, the new Federal Government decided in the coalition agreement between the governing parties (=program of the newly installed government, negociated between CDU, CSU and FDP), on the basis of research results and pilot projects, to embark on a nationwide pilot project for the trade in area quotas. Preparations for this will be made in the next few months. The Federal Environment Agency is actively involved in the preliminary work for this pilot project.
The 30 ha/day target of the Federal Government means that any future use of land for new development must be transferred from outlying areas (=greenfields) into the interior areas, by allocating new developments to existing empty sites or redundant abandoned sites or by moderate infill on previously developed sites. In the event of a constant demand, and in order to meet the 30 ha/day target, three quarters of any new developments would have to be allocated in future to the inner areas of agglomerations and one quarter to the outlying area.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/2010/countries/de/land-use-national-responses-germany or scan the QR code.
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