Press | Umweltbundesamt

Over the past four decades the volume of nitrogen released into the environment worldwide has tripled-and this trend is set to continue, posing a long-term risk to biological diversity. ”Plants that thrive on nitrogen, e.g. nettles and boysenberries, are crowding out other species. Grassland is growing over entire habitat types adapted to conditions where few nutrients are present (e.g. raised bog... read more

Four and a half percent of all jobs in Germany in 2006 were related to environmental protection, which means almost 1.8 million jobs and a new high.  In 2004 the figure was at 3.8 percent.  Three factors in particular account for this positive development: strong job growth in the renewable energies sector, a rise in exports of German environmental technologies, and additional jobs created in envi... read more

It is now widely acknowledged that the synthetic refrigerants contained in mobile air conditioning systems are doing damage to our climate.  In June, experts at two international congresses in the USA will once again discuss alternatives to the harmful refrigerants now used in air conditioning systems.  In the opinion of the Federal Environment Agency, the most climate-friendly solution is to repl... read more

Our oceans and seas cover about 70 percent of the earth’s surface and, just as do rainforests, play an important role for mankind and the environment. The oceans and seas are a source of food, they regulate Earth’s climate, they harbour phenomenal energy resources, and they are the origin of all life.  Protection of oceans and seas is therefore particularly crucial, and according to the Federal En... read more

As of the 2008 bathing season, Germany’s bathing waters will be monitored according to the new EC Bathing Water Directive.  The new directive requires Member States to rethink any passive forms of monitoring to active management for the sake of better protection of bathers. Thus, a so-called bathing water profile must be established for each body of bathing water which enumerates, among other thin... read more

The reproductive organs of female eelpout (Zoarces viviparus) in the North and Baltic Seas have been damaged, according to tests conducted for the Federal Environmental Specimen Bank (German: UPB) by the Institute for Applied Ecology (IFAE–) on the reproductive organs (gonads) of these seafish.  The UPB has been collecting thousands of environmental and human samples every year since 1985.  The sa... read more

Mankind has glorified nature since the beginning of time but has also stretched the limits of its capacities at the same time. Construction of human settlements, new industrial parks and roads are often more important to us than intact natural habitats.  The „Uno Due Tree” exhibition at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in Dessau-Roßlau picks up on the subject of the discord between civilisati... read more

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).... read more