CDU alarm: Millions for nature conservation without control? Clarification required!

CDU alarm: Millions for nature conservation without control? Clarification required!

The discussion about financing the state office for nature conservation is gaining momentum in Lower Saxony. In a current initiative, the Lower Saxony CDU parliamentary group wants to inspect the relevant documents. CDU managing director Carina Hermann calls for all files to be submitted quickly and comprehensively. According to the Oldenburg News The State Audit Office has been criticizing for years that 300,000 euros are passed on to eight nature conservation associations every year without being audited, which the CDU sees as an opportunity to uncover grievances.

The CDU is suspected of legal violations worth millions, as well as breach of trust and disregard for budget law. However, Environment Minister Christian Meyer from the Green Party rejects the concerns as transparent and misleading. He emphasizes that the funding has already been revised and will provide the CDU's files in the future. After the summer break, the budget committee is supposed to decide on the complaints from the State Audit Office and discuss the future of the funding.

The importance of funding for nature conservation projects

Especially in a federal state like Lower Saxony, nature conservation is particularly well anchored through funding opportunities. The state supports numerous environmental and nature conservation projects, financed by the state of Lower Saxony, the EU and the federal government. A variety of guidelines regulate the application for funds. Different subsidy amounts and processing options are provided, which depends on the respective projects. Project sponsors often also have to raise their own contribution, like this Website of the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment describes.

• Agrarumweltmaßnahmen Naturschutz – AUKM (KLARA 2023-2027): Verträge zur Erhaltung der biologischen Vielfalt.
• Erhalt und Entwicklung der Biologischen Vielfalt – BiolV: Nachfolgefördermaßnahme für Arten- und Biotopschutz.
• Netzwerke und Kooperationen – NuK: Förderung der Zusammenarbeit von Agrar- und Naturschutzakteuren.
• Spezifischer Arten- und Biotopschutz – SAB: Projekte zur Verbesserung der biologischen Vielfalt in Natura 2000-Gebieten.

Environment Minister Meyer is clearly in favor of continuing these subsidies. It paints a picture of how important they are for sustainable development and the protection of local biodiversity. The focus here is on reforestation as well as the protection of habitats and species.

Climate crisis and its challenges

Lower Saxony is not only concerned with nature conservation, but also faces major challenges due to the climate crisis. In a recent interview, Christian Meyer emphasizes the need to advance climate and coastal protection. Your goal? Climate neutrality by 2040. A particularly strong focus is on agriculture, which accounts for more than 16% of emissions. Climate-friendly land use is urgently needed here in order to relieve our climate, like this NWZ online reported.

Another exciting aspect is the planned wolf management in accordance with European law, which is intended to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and herd protection. Meyer praises this as a necessary measure to protect both livestock and agricultural products.

Overall, it shows that Lower Saxony is actively working to improve nature conservation measures and combat the climate crisis. However, the challenges remain great and the use of resources will continue to need to be closely monitored.