Baltic Sea National Park: Possible exclusion zones through the back door?
Lasse Johannsen
· 27.02.2024
The environment minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Tobias Goldschmidt from the Green Party, accepted the concept, according to which nature reserves with certain rules and restrictions are to be established on large areas. A body to sanction offences was also considered. A "Baltic Sea Nature Conservation Administration" is to monitor the areas as a higher nature conservation authority and could also be responsible for a national park if it eventually receives a majority. Critics are therefore already talking about a national park light.
The authors of the proposals include the Jordsand association, the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Green Party. They are calling for concrete measures such as the reduction of nutrient and pollutant discharges, the salvage of old munitions, but also stricter regulation of fishing and further restrictions on use, including complete exclusion zones.
Zero-use zones on beaches and on the water
Water sports enthusiasts would have to expect massive restrictions on the German Baltic Sea coast if the governing parties, the Greens and CDU, were to agree to the proposals as an alternative to the Baltic Sea National Park: "We are calling for effective nature conservation areas," says Prof Dr Holger Gerth, who, as the state nature conservation officer, is the link between voluntary and full-time nature conservation in the land between the seas. "At least 30 per cent of the water surface of Schleswig-Holstein's Baltic Sea must be subject to strict protection and excluded from any kind of disturbance." Pleasure craft, surfers and kiters should be banned seasonally in protected areas. Around ten per cent of the beach sections should also be temporarily or completely closed.
Preparation for a national park
The alternative proposal for a national park law is a reaction to the CDU's rejection of the project in November. In terms of content, this alternative would not only implement what the law should have regulated, but would also already create the infrastructure required for a national park - if the political majority in favour is achieved at a later date.
Schleswig-Holstein's Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt was delighted: "As of today, an alternative is on the table," he said. He has received support from his parliamentary group. The Greens, for example, do not see a solution in the voluntary agreements offered by the water sports sector to restrict navigation.
