The Environment Chronicle

The German Emissions Trading Office has been established at the Federal Environment Agency in Germany. The emissions trading system provides economic means reducing the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. By this system each ton of CO2 obtains a commercial value which is ruled by the market. Consequently a reduction of emission will be implemented as cost-effective as possible. Emission trading stimulates investments in CO2-saving technology and a new market for traders of emission certificates, professional experts, and other service providers.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has followed the request of Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden to designate the Baltic Sea as a "Particularly Sensitive Sea Area" (PSSA). Because of its low salinity and water exchange the Baltic Sea has hardly any self-healing power in case of pollution by oil or other dangerous substances.

The Wadden Sea has been designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). A PSSA is an area that needs special protection through action by the IMO because of its significance for recognized ecological, socio-economic or scientific reasons, and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities. The PSSA concept offers the opportunity to enable the development of common jurisdictional and enforcement regimes for environmentally significant marine areas. The value of designating a PSSA is an opportunity for coastal states to utilize more effectively their existing powers to regulate the passage of ships through the territorial sea

Sponsored by the European Commission, European Mobility Week takes place annually from 16 to 22 September, culminating in the "In town without my car!" day (car-free day). The aim is to promote sustainable transport and heighten public awareness of the negative impact present-day mobility habits are having on our environment and quality of life.

The Sixth Environment Action Programme of the European Community entitled "Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice" proposes five main avenues for strategic action: improving the implementation of existing legislation, integrating environmental concerns into other policies, working in partnership with business, empowering citizens and changing their behaviour, and taking account of the environment in land-use planning and management. Specific actions are proposed for each of these avenues.

New campaigns for safe meat, environmental tax reform, and against wasting electricity with appliances in "Standby mode".

In 1993 and 1995, the rivers Rhine and Meuse flooded their banks twice within a thirteen-month period. Because the catchment areas of these two rivers are located in more than one country, flood control inevitably became a matter of co-operation between the relevant authorities. Flanders, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Wallonia submitted a joint flood control programme to the European Commission within the framework of its INTERREG II-C initiative. This programme was approved on 18 December 1997 and was given the name IRMA, which stands for INTERREG Rhine-Meuse Activities. Besides the EU Member States mentioned, Switzerland was also participating in this programme on a project basis.

The Renewable Energy Day is a German-wide initiative launched on the occasion of the anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor disaster and aimed at presenting the different utilisation possibilities offered by sustainable energy management. This event was initiated by the city of Oederan (Saxony) on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1996. On 20 April 1996, 27 house owners in the federal state of Saxony presented their wood heating systems as well as their solar, wind and water energy systems to the public. In the following years, activities within the scope of the day of renewable energy sources spread throughout Germany.

After serving as President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) for 14 years, Prof. Dr. Andreas Troge was retired at his own request on 28 July 2009. During a symposium held at the UBA offices in Dessau-Roßlau Federal Minister for Environment Gabriel handed Prof. Dr. Troge his document of discharge. Until a successor is appointed, UBA Vice President, Dr.Thomas Holzmann, will perform the duties of president at the Agency.

The International Whaling Commission erects a whale sanctuary covering the entire offshore waters of the Antarctic.

The agency was established by an EU directive in 1990. It has 18 member states (including the 15 EU states). It collects, processes and provides information and statistics on the environment and nature conservation for the public and policy makers, and develops new instruments for implementing policy. In Germany, the agency's offices are at the Federal Environmental Agency.

Within the portfolio of the Environmental Minister, an independent Federal Nature Protection Agency shall be set up.

In 1993 BfS and UBA established SR monitoring with 4 stations. In the following years the network has been extended on a national level in cooperation with DWD and further institutions.

Since 1993 NABU has been awarding the ‘Dinosaur of the Year’ award, a copy of a dinosaur cast from tin and weighing 2.6 kilograms, to people in the public eye whose outstanding individual achievements have been shown to be particularly outdated.

The commission was set up under a decision at the 1992 UN Conference on the Environment and Development. It has 53 members, including Germany, and its goals are to implement Agenda 21 and support the Convention on Biodiversity. Agenda 21 agrees and defines long-term strategic goals for sustainable development.

NABU starts a campaign to introduce environmental protection as a goal of the state in the German constitution.

The WBGU was set up by the German Federal Government as an independent advisory council. It reports directly to the government and is directed alternately by the ministries for education and for the environment. An interministerial committee from 13 other ministries and the Chancellor's Office also follow the work of the council. The council's core task is to analyse all forms of information on global change and produce recommendations for political action. It reports on global environment and development issues, evaluates national and international research on global change, indicates imminent problems and research gaps, stimulates interdisciplinary and applied research. Finally, it observes domestic and international policy on sustainable development, to create and disseminate recommendations for political and public action or research.

Hosted and organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the World Water Week in Stockholm has been the annual focal point for the planet’s water issues since 1991. The Week provides a unique forum for the exchange of views and experiences between the scientific, business, policy and civic communities.

25 years ago, the German Arctic Station in Svalbard was officially opened by the former directors of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Prof. Gotthilf Hempel and Dr Rainer Paulenz, as well as the BMBF State Secretary, Mr. Bernd Neumann. The Koldewey Station originated from a joint cooperation with the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Norwegian operating company Kingsbay along with sponsorship from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It was the first non-Norwegian station in Ny Ålesund operating all year round. In 2003, the stations "Koldewey" and "Rabot" were merged into a modern German-French Community Station AWIPEV. In 1988, the AWI started its first seasonal research work in Ny Ålesund, Svalbard. The scientific motivation was the exploration of the arctic ozone layer, especially in winter and spring, which required staying there throughout the winter. The establishment of the station and the good working conditions locally allowed for the quick expansion of the scientific spectrum of tasks to include atmosphere-chemical, biological and geo-physical topics. To this day, the topic of climate change and its impact on life in the Arctic is of central importance for the observatories and project work conducted at AWIPEV station.

The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU is one of Europe's largest foundations and promotes innovative and exemplary environmental projects. Since 1991, almost 5500 projects have received financial backing totalling about ? 1 billion. The promotional activities concentrate on environmental technology and research, nature conservation, environmental communication and cultural assets.

The Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS) is the German Federal Authority for Radiation Protection. The BfS was established on 1 November 1989. The site of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection is Salzgitter. The Bfs is supervised by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). BfS works for the safety and protection of man and the environment against damages due to ionising and non-ionising radiation.

Within the portfolio of the Home Affairs Minister, an independent federal authority is set up, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. The act was last amended on 6.4.1998.

BUND presents its first BUNDruf, a professional information and advertising campaign to find sponsors and attract donations. This campaign has the topic tropical rain forests.

The Waste Oil Ordinance (Altölverordnung) prescribes conditions for reprocessing, lays down provisions for monitoring and specifies requirements for the return of used combustion engine and gear oils. For the first time, a product group is subject to provisions stipulating that manufacturers remain responsible for their product after it has become waste.

BUND initiates and coordinates an international initiative on butterflies.

Greenpeace sets up its own station in the Antarctic, to research environmental damage from geological exploration and economic use.

After the reactor disaster at Chernobyl and other considerations, Germany creates an independent Federal Ministry for the Environment.

The idea of creating an archive for environmental specimens was first proposed by German and American scientists in the early 1970s. Experts in various scientific disciplines got together for informal discussions, leading to the first international conferences held in 1977 and 1978 to define a concept for environmental specimen banking and to agree on the choice of bioindicators. The feasibility of setting up an environmental specimen bank was finally demonstrated by a pilot project launched in 1979. This was followed by the creation of the human specimen archive at the University of Münster in late 1980. Trial operations of the environmental specimen bank started in May 1981 at the Research Centre Jülich. The pilot project was so successful that the BMI decided to set up a national environmental specimen bank as a permanent national institution, to be co-ordinated by the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), with effect from January 1985. In 1986, overall responsibility was transferred to the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).The Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) is responsible for the administration and co-ordination, the central data maintenance and the assessment. Currently six external institutions support the UBA in different tasks.

BUND's youth section, BUNDjugend, is founded in Bad Ems.

In 1982 a dozen environmentalists, inspired by the legend of Robin Hood, formed ROBIN WOOD, "the avengers of the defoliated", dedicated to non-violent direct action to protect the forests. The society now has c. 2,300 members and is supported primarily by volunteers. Its core issues are acid rain, destruction of the rain forests, energy waste, waste management and traffic policy.

The DBV founds a separate youth group, "DBV-Jugend", in 1987, the group is renamed Naturschutzjugend im DBV".

Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant is located 2 kilometres to the south of Grafenrheinfeld in the rural district of Schweinfurt, which forms part of the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria. The nuclear power plant was shut down permanently on 27 June 2015. It's the first reactor to close since Germany passed its 13th Act for the Amendment of the Nuclear Power Act in July 2011 which requires the closure of all commercial nuclear reactors by the end of 2022. Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant is located 2 kilometres to the south of Grafenrheinfeld in the rural district of Schweinfurt, which forms part of the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria.

David McTaggart combines the many competing Greenpeace offices under an umbrella organisation registered as "Stichting Greenpeace Council" in Holland. This is the birth of Greenpeace International. The central office is in Washington DC at first, subsequently moves to Amsterdam.

BUND presents the first solar-powered boat on the Bodensee.

At its third solar energy exhibition, BUND presents Germany's first solar-powered vehicle.

Technical Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) has been banned in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1977. In the German Democratic Republic, however, it was still produced and applied until 1990. The main production site was the industrial area around Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt. Technical HCH was banned in the EU in 1991.

The Association for Nature and Environment Protection Germany (BUND), subsequently Association for Environment and Nature Protection Germany (BUND) is founded by Horst Stern, Bernhard Grzimek, Herbert Gruhl and 19 other founding members.

The World Food Council is set up on the recommendation of the Rome World Food Conference. It is the highest committee directing and coordinating various UN organisations in solving world hunger.

Within the portfolio of the Home Affairs Minister, an independent federal authority is set up, the Federal Environmental Agency. After the Chernobyl reactor disaster, the FEA is transferred to the Environment Ministry.

81 environmental and conservation organisations make up the European Environmental Bureau, which aims to leverage the influence of these groups in improving EU environmental and conservation policy, especially with regard to UNCED decisions.