Federal Agency for Nature Conservation

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN ) is a German authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety ( BMU ), headquartered in Bonn.

The Federal Office advises the Minister on all issues of national and international nature protection and landscape conservation, promotes conservation projects, supervised research projects and has approval authority for the import and export of protected animal and plant species. There are at greater time intervals out the Red List of endangered animal and plant species. It also performs duties in the enforcement of international species protection, marine conservation, the Antarctic Treaty and the Genetic Engineering Act.

The Federal Office was created in 1993 from the Federal Research Institute for Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology and conservation authorities from the Federal Office for Food and Forestry. In addition, conservation tasks assigned to it in from the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control. Its first president was Martin Uppenbrink ( 1934-2008 ).

Workspaces BfN

Advice

The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation provides the Federal Environment Ministry scientific basis for decision making and advise it on all technical issues of national and international nature conservation. Apart from its political expertise, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation seeks to be a close partner of the specialist authorities. It 's also about the BfN developed concepts and methods - eg for landscape planning, species or territorial protection - uniform and thus comparable manner. Another object fulfills the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in the context of international agreements. These include:

  • The "Convention on Biological Diversity "
  • The Washington Convention " CITES "
  • The European system of protected areas "Natura 2000"
  • The Committee "Man and the Biosphere" ( a UNESCO program for the sustainable use of the biosphere )

Promotion

The Office designed, promotes and manages large-scale conservation projects, awards on behalf of the BMU research projects and pilot projects. As part of the Environmental Research Plan ( UFOPLAN ) research and development projects ( R & D) projects will be awarded in the fields of nature conservation and ecology. With foundations for decisions for conservation and environmental policies of the federal government are to be obtained. The testing and development projects (E D) projects, however, have to accomplish the goal, promising conservation ideas and implement important research results into practice. With the aid of associations, the promotion of individual conservation projects can be supported by private, non-profit associations in the field of nature conservation.

The federal program Biological Diversity promotes the implementation of the objectives of the National Biodiversity Strategy. Funding projects which play a total state representative significance in the context of the National Strategy on Biological Diversity or implement this strategy in a particularly exemplary and standard-setting way. The promotion covers four priorities

  • Species has a special responsibility Germany
  • Hotspots of biodiversity in Germany
  • Securing ecosystem services and
  • Other measures of particular importance for the strategy of representative

In the federal budget Biological Diversity from 2011 funds in the amount of 15 million euros are set annually for the federal program.

Implementation

As a law enforcement agency for the international CITES BfN giving permission for the import and export of protected species. In the exclusive economic zone ( EEZ) of the North and Baltic Seas - 12 to 200 nautical miles beyond the coastline - about BfN selection and management of Natura 2000 sites (Fauna - Flora-Habitat and bird sanctuaries ) and is involved in approvals of projects with. The project will be advertised under the Wortbildmarke Habitat Mare. In the field of genetic engineering in agriculture BfN is involved in the approval of applications for release and marketing of genetically modified plants, animals and microorganisms

Information

BfN informs the public about natural protection and the art general information, scientific data and publications on species and nature protection and biodiversity available.

The Federal Office is working on three different locations. The headquarters is located in the city of Bonn, branch offices in Leipzig and on the island of Rügen in Vilm. The field office Vilm is also affiliated with the International Academy for Nature Conservation ( INA).

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