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Setting limits for asphalt and cement
Nearly 113 hectares of land are consumed daily for new developments in Germany-whether for homes, commercial space, rest and recreation, or transport. That is equivalent to almost 160 football pitches per day-despite the fact that the population in Germany continues to decline and there are developed areas no longer in use whose size is as large as the area of Lake Constance (ca.180,000 hectares). According to statistics, every German citizen lays claim to 564 square metres of space, and that figure is on the rise. ”In Europe urban sprawl is one of the main causes of loss of species. The high level of land consumption and intensive land use rob the habitats of animals and plants”, said Dr. Thomas Holzmann, Vice President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), at a podium discussion held as part of the 9th UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn. ”Whilst we spread ourselves out nature is being slowly edged out”, said Holzmann. A new UBA flyer with concise information for municipalities, businesses and citizens shows how to curb land consumption. read more
