Nature Conservation Law and Agri-Environmental Law
The research within this field focuses on German and European nature conservation law and on the environmental and sectoral laws related to agriculture. Because they are so closely related, issues of water protection and soil protection as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation are also important topics of investigation.
The department keeps up with the current amendment and implementation processes in nature conservation law, which have been necessitated mainly by the European directives on the protection
of habitats and species. Furthermore, the department analyses and develops recommendations for improving the law on nature conservation in view of climate change and the ongoing loss of biodiversity. In addition to the establishment of the European network of protected areas, Natura 2000, the department also explores the legal options for improving the establishment of habitat networks and protection from invasive species.
Closely related to this, but going beyond nature conservation, is the quest for regulatory models that promote environmentally sustainable land use in agriculture and forestry in order to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services for future generations. In cooperation with other scientific disciplines, we investigate how legal instruments help to defuse land-use conflicts and promote and maintain synergies between ecosystems and anthropogenic uses.
Selected projects
Governing transformations towards sustainable agrifood systems (platform project − PP 6.1)
Development and simulation of a pesticide tax for Germany
European nature conservation law and its implementation in Germany
Development of an "Action Programme for the Implementation of the Integrated Nitrogen Strategy"
Comparison of ammonia regulation in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark – legal framework
Fitness Check of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
Integrated UFZ project: Management of land use conflicts − between land sharing to land sparing
⇒ Climate-adapted and environmentally sound agricultural landscapes in Germany