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Environmental protection in Germany and the specific role of spatial planning - An introduction


Environment in Germany - A Brief Historic Summary
The term "environmental protection" is relatively new. Over centuries use and exploitation of natural resources was governed mainly by mankind's agricultural activities; only in few urban centres "pollution" was existing. Each different use, exploitation or "pollution" was seen and eventually dealt with individually, not in the holistic way as we do today. Protecting mountain forests had nothing to do with managing disposal of night soil in a medieval city. But each society had to manage their environmental resources and failing to do so appropriately could and eventually did result in natural as well as social collapse. Many societies disappeared because their inability to use their environment wisely. Ecological systems in moderate climates are however mostly quite stable and consequently Germany - or better the region of central Europe - did not experience major man-made environmental disasters before the age of industrialisation.

Industrial development and consequently urbanisation in the last century lead to many new environmental problems. In Germany industrialisation started relatively late in the Sixties of the 19th century. It was accompanied by a substantial deterioration of the quality of life for the industrial workers. Environmentally related or caused diseases increased. Nutrition levels, life expectancy, even the average size of the poorer common man decreased (in fact it was the German Army alarmed by the decreasing size of their newly recruited soldiers asking the Government for improvements in occupational safety and sanitary conditions). By the turn of the century -after some 40 years of industrial development - those problems had been solved to some extend. 

Water quality was controlled to the extend of ensured safe drinking water supply. Child labour was effectively prohibited, occupational safety improved and the first steps of a modern social welfare system (health insurance, pension fund, invalidity insurance) were introduced in 1890. In 1906 the German city of Leipzig had the most modern sewage treatment plant in the World. In many fields of pollution control Germany was among the leading countries. The river co-operatives and their role in promoting treatment technology development in the Twenties and Thirties were as exemplary as were air quality management in the Ruhr District in the Fifties and Sixties. (see Box)

Apart from industrialisation growing national identity and pride expressed themselves as awareness to conserve and protect the beauty of the German landscape and its monuments. With developing tourism in the 19th century certain German landscape types (the Rhine Valley, the Alps, the Northern boglands etc.) were "discovered" and calls for their protection grew. The first environmental NGO´s started their agitation in the second half of the 19th century. But conservation and pollution control were effectively linked only after environment became an international issue in the late Sixties. 

The need for a fresh and far more comprehensive, holistic approach in environmental protection became evident in the late Sixties. The slogan of "spaceship earth" was an indicative expression for this. Drastically widening the scope from mere (industrial) pollution control towards a comprehensive understanding of environment as mans natural basis of existence was the call of the hour. This new understanding required also new administrative tools.

Germany did not follow the Anglo-Saxonian approach of banking on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a procedure to comprehensively incorporate environmental considerations into the licensing procedure of projects. Although this was demanded by many NGOs or the academic sector the German environmental administration was rather reluctant. Even since EIA has been introduced quite recently by means a European Directive, it never played a decisive role in Germany as it did in US or Great Britain. This is to be seen in the context of the situation of the late Sixties. In particular in two fields Germany was at that time far more advanced than the Anglo-Saxonian states:
  • At that time Germany availed already an effective, elaborated and quite strict regulatory framework in pollution control that - without naming it environmental protection - nevertheless ensured a rather comprehensive incorporation of environmental considerations into planning and project licensing

  • In addition to that, the German administration availed with their elaborated planning system a tool not only for project individual (like EIA) but also for spatial co-ordination and integration of environmental considerations. To use the spatial planning system for comprehensive environmental management was considered the most promising approach and consequently pursued by the German environmental administration.
Therefore from the beginning the German environmental administration was well aware of the structural unsuitability of EIA within the German system. The shortcomings of EIA such as being an reactive instrument, coming only after the project idea is already very far advanced (and cannot be changed or sited elsewhere) or the lack of co-ordination in all existing EIA systems were only too obvious. Consequently the German environmental administration opted for further developing and using the existing (spatial) planning system as instrument to protect the environment in a comprehensive, holistic manner. As a consequence of this, environmental objectives play a predominant role in spatial planning.

A German Environmental Diary

1200
Protection of forests is effectively implemented in the high mountains (Alps) for protection against floods, avalanches, erosion and landslides. Severe penalties against defaulters.
1700
Forest cover and quality improves substantially primarily governed by feudal rulers in want of undisturbed hunting grounds
1850
Relative late begin of industrialisation in Germany (compared to Great Britain)
1860
Foundation of the first German environmental NGO preventing the destruction of a mountain top of national significance
1890
The last large epidemic disaster (cholera in Hamburg with 10.000 casualties)
1900
Establishment of larger wilderness areas and protection of outstanding landscapes and natural monuments
1900 The first river co-operatives with the task to manage river flow and quality are established
1900
Development of the method of bio-monitoring of water quality for water quality management purposes
1920
Establishment of the first large regional planning association in the Ruhr District (SVR)
1920
Development of the principle treatment technologies in the Ruhr and Emscher River co-operatives
1960
Development of the German Air Quality management system in Northrhine-Westfalia
1970
Formulation of a modern environmental protection policy (widening the scope from pollution control towards comprehensive preventive environmental protection)
1971
First comprehensive spatial environmental resource and status assessment for planning purposes at State level (System Analysis Badenia) establishing for the first time the prominent role of agriculture as major source of pollution and ecological degradation
1972
Development of instruments of ecologically based landscape planning (protecting and development of environmental and ecological functions of open spaces (agricultural and forest areas)
1973
Introduction of a comprehensive spatial environmental planning approach including policy formulation, legal and institutional development and development of appropriate planning instruments at all planning levels (local, regional, State level)
1974
Establishment of the first modern environmental information system at State level including all State authorities down to Taluka level
1975
 Legislation in environmental protection and pollution control practically complete


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