Description
Description
The goal of nature conservation is to preserve nature and the landscape for their own sake and as the basis of human life. As it is becoming increasingly clear that the overexploitation and destruction of nature and the landscape can have serious negative consequences for humans, efforts are focused on the restoration, conservation, and long-term, sustainable use of the natural environment.
The provisions on interventions in the Lower Saxony Nature Conservation Act contain rules for dealing with nature and the landscape that are not subject to special protection .
According to the Lower Saxony Nature Conservation Act, an intervention occurs when the form or use of land is altered and this alteration can significantly impair the functioning of the natural ecosystem or the landscape. An intervention may only be permitted if it addresses all of its consequences in accordance with the obligations of the intervention regulations. The legal consequences of the intervention regulations may include—in this order:
- Avoidance of Adverse Effects: In the case of a project that constitutes an intervention, care must be taken to ensure that its implementation does not adversely affect the functioning of the ecosystem and the landscape any more than is absolutely necessary for the realization of the project. An adverse impact is avoidable if the project can be carried out in a modified manner (e.g., relocated or scaled down) so that it causes fewer or no adverse impacts.
- Compensatory Measures: Unavoidable impacts on the functioning of the ecosystem and the landscape must be compensated for. This is achieved when all significant impacts can be reduced to an insignificant level through nature conservation and landscape management measures (compensatory measures). Significant adverse impacts may be considered compensable if the destroyed or significantly impaired functions and values can be restored in the medium term, i.e., within a period of no more than 25 years. The compensatory measures do not necessarily have to be carried out at the exact site of the intervention, but they must be implemented within the area affected by the intervention. This is almost always a significantly larger area than the built-up or directly altered land area.
- Prohibition: If, as a result of an intervention, significant impairments to the functioning of the natural ecosystem or the landscape are to be expected that cannot be avoided or compensated for, the intervention is impermissible to the extent that, in the subsequent balancing of interests, nature conservation and landscape preservation take precedence. The balancing decision can only be made by considering all requirements pertaining to nature and the landscape as a whole. No single consideration is given priority from the outset.
- Compensatory Measures: If interventions are permitted despite significant adverse effects that cannot be offset, the party responsible for the intervention must restore the functions and values of the natural ecosystem and landscape—which are destroyed or significantly impaired as a result of the intervention—in the area affected by the intervention in a manner as similar as possible.
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Compensation payments
may be used in lieu of compensatory measures if such measures are not feasible, if the land required for their implementation cannot be acquired or can only be acquired at disproportionately high cost, or if the measures are incompatible with landscape planning guidelines. The amount of the compensation payment is determined by the duration and severity of the intervention. It shall not exceed 7 percent of the costs for planning and executing the intervention project, including land acquisition. In all other cases, it covers the costs of planning and implementing the measures that were not carried out. The compensation payment is payable to the competent authority and must be used to improve the condition of nature and the landscape.