Moor rescue in the state parliament: dispute over climate protection and forest use breaks out

Moor rescue in the state parliament: dispute over climate protection and forest use breaks out

Rewetting of moors in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: A topic that has dominated the political agenda for years and is particularly important for climate protection. These wetlands are not only fascinating habitats, but also crucial when it comes to storing carbon and regulating water supply. According to that Northern Courier There are around 285,000 hectares of moorland in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, of which around 82,000 hectares are forest moor areas.

However, the condition of these peatlands is alarming: 63% are moderately to heavily drained and are therefore ecologically weakened. Drained bogs release climate-damaging gases - it is estimated that 6.2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents are emitted from these areas every year. These emissions are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the state, as the state government states in its report Environmental policy determines.

Political challenges and demands

However, forest owners are skeptical about the renewal process. They fear legal problems as rewetting could potentially be classified as forest conversion. This means that they would have to obtain permits and pay compensation. For this reason, the SPD and the Left in the state parliament are calling for a clear legal regulation that stipulates that professionally planned rewetting does not count as forest conversion.

The main goal here is to create a legally secure solution for forest owners in order to promote the renaturation of forest moors. The SPD parliamentary group also proposes additional incentive options through eco-accounts, eco-points and MoorFutures to speed up the process.

Progress and climate goals

Despite the political aspects, progress in rewetting remains far behind the goals presented. The State Audit Office criticizes the fact that only 30% of the rewetting target was achieved: Instead of the targeted 49,000 hectares, only 15,000 hectares were renatured between 2010 and 2020. The Alliance Greens describe these results as a wake-up call and highlight the challenges facing the state government.

The demand for progress becomes all the more urgent considering the state government's climate neutrality goals by 2040. Early progress on rewetting is not expected until 2030, which endangers the achievement of these goals.

The role of the federal government

The criticism and challenges in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are part of a larger initiative that is being driven forward by the Federal Climate Protection Act and the National Moor Protection Strategy, which was adopted in 2022. The nationwide aim is to reduce emissions from peatlands by five million tonnes of CO2 equivalents annually by 2030, with rewetting being a key measure. According to that Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Moor soils make up around 8% of the agriculturally used area in Germany and are responsible for around 7.5% of German greenhouse gas emissions.

A funding requirement of around 300 million euros per year is estimated for the implementation of these measures. Creative approaches are required, such as bonification through moor securities or the promotion of paludiculture, in which wet moor areas are used for agriculture. The road to renaturation is long, but the importance of the moors for climate protection cannot be overestimated. Time is running out, and it remains exciting to see what solutions the state government will ultimately present to both advance climate protection and protect the interests of forest owners.