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Berlin (dpa) - The new National Monitoring Center for observing biological diversity officially started its work on Friday.
The new facility in Leipzig is intended to provide reliable, long-term data on the state of species in Germany.
"With the monitoring center we are now creating a solid foundation in order to bring together and make accessible all knowledge about the state of species and habitats in Germany in the future," said Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) on Friday.
So far, there has been no “nationwide and representative program” for collecting such data.
The new center is located at the Leipzig site of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and is managed across departments with the participation of the respective federal ministries for the environment, agriculture and research.
In the future, it will also provide important insights into the causes of species loss, said Schulze.
It is alarming that "a third of the 195 examined species" are currently in poor condition.
In order to take more targeted measures against it, networking between different authorities - from science to federal authorities - is important.
That too will now be possible with the new center.
In the two-year development phase of the monitoring center, among other things, a digital information and networking platform is to be created.
Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) also praised the start of the center as an important basis for fact-based measures.
National monitoring will in future provide “reliable information” on biological diversity and help refute “statements made out of thin air”, emphasized Klöckner.
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