Development of a German National Strategy on IAS

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Development of a German National Strategy on IAS

• Presentation on the conference
• Invasive Alien Species and the International
  Plant Protection Convention An expert
  consultation of phytosanitary and environmental
  protection agencies
• Braunschweig, Germany, 22-26 September 2003

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Contens

• General overview How to develop a national
  strategy on IAS(Christiane Hubo)
• Elements of the German national
  strategy(Christiane Hubo)
• Focal points of legal problems(Arthur Steinmann)

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Basics for the development of a national strategy
on IASResearch project on behalf of the German
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation

• By
• George August University of GöttingenResearch
  Centre for Nature Conservation Policy
• Instiutions Institute for Forest Policy and
  Nature ConservationCentre for Nature
  Conservation, Department of BiologyInstitute for
  International Law, Department of International
  Economic LawInstitute for Agricultural
  Economics, Dep. of Environm. and Resource
  Economics

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1. How to develop a national strategy on IAS

• The political background
• Situation analysis
• Evaluation of the action need
• Proposals for improvement

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Characteristics of the policy

• The policy on IAS spreads several across
  political sectors
• All political levels are concerned
• Different national actors and non-governmental
  participants are involved
• There are various regulations and instruments,
  which are predominantly not coordinated among
  each-other.

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Policy actors on IAS
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Requirements on the development of a national
strategy

• A coordinated procedure has to be developed in
  order to use existing resources effectively
• The strategy is to be developed in a political
  tuning process
• The strategy will be developed among leadership
  of the Federal Ministry of Environment

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Political goals of the national strategy

• Development of a concept for the ecosystem
  spanned protection against IAS
• Harmonization of the basis conditions for a
  better co-operation of the involved actors and
  the coordination of the measures
• Involvment of the relevant national and
  non-governmental participants
• Implementation of the international and European
  guidelines

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Analysis and evaluation

• of the valid legal, political, ecological and
  economical basic conditions and framework
• The invasion problems in GermanyThe main
  spreading ways to and from Germany
• The national and international legal, economical
  and informational instruments, Examination of
  their effectiveness and coherency
• The national actors and non-governmental
  participants, Competencies and
  cooperations,Interests and goals
  (conflicts/consensus),Enforcement potentials
  (legal positions, expert knowledge, resources)

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Proposals for improvement

• Definition of competencies,
• National and international cooperation
• Optimization and coordination of the measures.

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2. Elements of the German national strategy
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Ecological and economical basis and evaluation

• a) Overview of the invasion problem in Germany
• General overview
• Overview of existing data on invasive alien
  organism species in Germany
• Description and analysis of the main spreading
  ways to Germany
• Description and analysis of the main spreading
  ways from Germany
• Commentated bibliography on ecological damage by
  neobiota in Germany
• Evaluation of completed and current research and
  development projects on IAS
• Need for research
• Commentated list of the research projects and
  research results
• Requirements for monitoring
• Quantification of ecological damage
• Cost-benefits-estimations
• Overview of studies about cost-benefits-estimation
  s to combat IAS and of calculation approaches and
  methods for economical follow-up costs and
  evaluations concerning Central Europe.
• Overview of the combat of species with details
  about the success and the circumstances (who,
  when, where, what).

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Political and legal basis and evaluation

• Definitions of NeobiotaSynopsis and Analysis of
  the definitions
• - used in national and international documents-
  and their effect on the practical application of
  the laws.
• Actors in GermanyOverview of the actors, their
  authorities, competencies, cooperations,Analysis
  of the problems and options for new organisation.
• Legal situation in GermanyOverview of the
  relevant national and international
  regulations,analysis of their effectiveness and
  shortcomings, definition of the fields where
  action is needed.
• Comparison with national strategies of other
  countriesOverview, analysis and evaluation
  concerning their applicability and need for
  action in Germany.

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Solution approaches

• f) Approaches and options for action
• Analysis of the IAS principles of the CBD and of
  the European strategy of the Bern Convention
  regarding the legal and political implementation
  in Germany
• Proposals for measures on prevention and
  management (control, combat)
• Criteria for the harming and danger effect as
  basis of the nature conservation evaluation
• Regulation of authorities and competencies,
  possibilities of the coordination
• g) Not-native origins of domestic species
• Evaluation of the problem and solution proposals
• j) Cooperation and information exchange with
  neighboring states
• Options for control and coordination of the
  spreading from Germany
• Suggestions for information exchange on
  international level, maybe a central German data
  collection on IAS
• k) Education and public relation
• Concept for target group-differentiated public
  work and education

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l) Draft of a national strategy on IAS

• Problem analysis
• Results of the analysis fields politics, law,
  ecology and economics
• Action need
• Harmonization of the legal and political basic
  conditions
• Implementation of international and European
  guidelines
• Competencies
• Authorities, competencies, participation of
  national and non-governmental actors
• Priorities with time goals
• Proposals for the necessary steps in detail

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3. Focal points of legal problems
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Legal basis, juridical and political evaluation

• Definitions of NeobiotaSynopsis and Analysis of
  the definitions
• - used in national and international documents-
  and their effect on the practical application of
  the laws.
• Legal situation in GermanyOverview of the
  relevant national and international
  regulations,analysis of their effectiveness and
  shortcomings, definition of the fields where
  action is needed.
• Comparison with national strategies of other
  countriesOverview, analysis and evaluation
  concerning their applicability and need for
  action in Germany.

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Legal evaluation definitions in German law

• Central law on the issue
• 41 and 10 of the German Law on Nature
  Conservation (BNatSchG)
• newly drafted, in force since April 2003
• defines native and non-native species
• non-native species a species that has not
  occurred in the relevant region during the last
  100 years
• Problematic in cases of re-introduction of
  species that are held to be native to German
  regions, but that have been extinct for the last
  100 years.
• Present work with the Federal Agency for Nature
  Conservation (BfN) on a new proposal for the
  definition of native species, excluding the
  100-year time-frame.

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Legal evaluation - status-quo in Germany (d)

• Legal situation in Germany on IAS is fragmented
  
• The central law governing IAS is the BNatSchG, as
  well as the coresponding nature conservation laws
  of the Länder.
• Apart from that there are many federal, as well
  as Länder-laws that are relevant for the issue,
  such as the laws on
• Forestry
• Hunting, Fisheries
• Animal and plant protection,
• Waste Management, ...

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Legal evaluation - status-quo in Germany (d)

• Legal instruments used in German law
• Prohibition
• Prohibition with possibility of grant upon
  application
• 41 BNatSchG
• prohibition with possibility of grant
• requirement for state (Länder) laws to include a
  general prohibition on the intentional
  introduction of IAS with possibility of grant
  upon application
• However, exceptions from the applicability of the
  instrument for species for
• Agricultural use, and
• Native species that fall under hunting or
  fisheries legislation

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Legal evaluation - status-quo in Germany (d)

• Problems
• a) Conflict between different legal regimes
• (e.g. hunting ?? NatSchG), more than one grant
  necessary for introduction of species
• b) Conflict between different federal / länder
  authorities
• Authoritiy to frant introduction by which agency
  ?
• Transparency?
• Different actors? ? actor analysis
• c) Different authorities for different usesin
  different territories?
• Agricultural use
• Private use

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Legal evaluation status-quo in Germany (d)

• Analysis of German international legal
  obligations
• Apart for German law, influence of European and
  International legal documents must be analyzed.
• IAS is referred to in multiple conventions, such
  as
• CBD, UNCLOS, Bern, RAMSAR, IPPC, CITES,...
• ? No specific obligation to impose a certain
  régime.

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Legal evaluation comparison with other national
strategies (e)

• Analysis of different national strategies, such
  as
• - USA
• - New Zealand
• - Canada ?
• However, applicability of these strategies might
  be limited, as the specifics of each environment
  differs.

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Legal evaluation the definition issue (b)

• Compilation of relevant international, European
  and national legal documents
• ?No clear definition of alien or invasive
  species
• As for alien species
• often referred to in international documents,
  also referred to as foreign or new species
• definitions are seldomly given, or are very broad
• ? CBD wide definition, including all species and
  lower taxons that are
• introduced outside their past or present
  distribution
• As for invasive species
• even greater lack of clarity, no definitions
  given in most international docs
• ? CBD guiding principles species whose
  introduction threaten biodiversity