HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

08/05/2025

Germany has already achieved a great deal in the field of climate action. In 2019 about 43 per cent of electricity was generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power. Under the Climate Action Programme 2030 and the new Climate Action Act (Klimaschutzgesetz) the German government has made a binding undertaking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2030.

Federal Action Act: https://www.bmuv.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Download_PDF/Gesetze/kang_en_bf.pdf

Over 80% of Germany's land is used for agriculture and forestry. Main agricultural products include: milk, pork, beef, poultry, potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbages, and sugar beets.

Crop Distribution

Fertile regions: Wheat, barley, corn, sugar beets.
Poorer soils: Rye, oats, potatoes, fodder beets.
Sugar beets: More widespread due to fertilizer use.
North German Plain: Fodder corn replaces potatoes.

Livestock & Dairy

Cereal cultivation & permanent pasture dominate.
Dairy farming: Widespread, formerly regional.
Intensive livestock farming: Chickens, pigs, veal calves in large-scale facilities.
Environmental concerns: animal welfare, groundwater pollution.

Conservation & Biodiversity

Protected Areas

First national park (1970): Bavarian Forest – 13,100 hectares.
Second (1978): Near Berchtesgaden – 21,000 hectares.
Third (1985): Schleswig-Holstein – 285,000 hectares.
Fourth (1986): Niedersachsen – 240,000 hectares.
As of 2001: 26.9% of Germany's land is protected.

Endangered Species

8 of 76 animal species
5 of 239 breeding bird species
7 of 71 freshwater fish species
3 plant species
Examples:
- Endangered: Freya's damselfly, Atlantic sturgeon, slender-billed curlew, bald ibis.
- Extinct: Bavarian pine vole, Tobias' caddisfly, false ringlet butterfly.