Greens "going it alone": Ministry withdraws from Africa agreement - FDP rages about "moral arrogance"
Created: 2022-11-30Updated: 2022-11-30 8:34 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
The International Council for the Conservation of Game and Game regulates, among other things, the protection of lions.
The Greens have now withdrawn from the agreement.
© IMAGO/Panthermedia / dpa/Bernd Weißbrod (Montage)
Germany resigns from the International Hunting Council.
The FDP sees the Greens going it alone and criticizes the “neo-colonial policies of German bureaucrats”.
Berlin - Germany is withdrawing from an agreement on the sustainable use of wildlife resources at the turn of the year.
As of December 31, the Federal Republic is no longer a member of the “International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation” (CIC).
This emerges from a letter from the Greens-led Ministry of Agriculture, which is available to the
Munich Merkur
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
The step was apparently not coordinated within the coalition.
Exclusive: Federal government withdraws from hunting agreement
The agreement regulates wild animal hunting, especially in southern Africa.
Regulating hunting is intended to protect animals such as elephants, lions and hippos.
At the same time, the CIC regulates legal hunting programs.
The indigenous population, for example, who needs wild animals as a source of income and food, is dependent on these.
The FDP development politician Christoph Hoffmann clearly criticizes the exit by the ministry led by Cem Özdemir.
"I would like to clearly distance myself from this step," says the Vice-Chair of the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development to
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
The process contradicts the consensus that the traffic light agreed in the negotiations on the coalition agreement.
"With good reason, the withdrawal from the International Hunting Council is not in the coalition agreement and, as far as I know, has not been coordinated in the cabinet and with the traffic light groups."
Christoph Hoffmann has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2017.
© IMAGO/Felix Zahn
Members of the politically independent body are not only organizations or private individuals but also states.
As a rule, the relevant ministries direct the national work of the programme.
In Germany, the Ministry of Agriculture around Green Minister Cem Özdemir is responsible.
In a letter to the President of the Council, the Ministry justifies the resignation with the “basic priority of project-related, targeted funding over institutional funding.” These should “only have a secondary impact”.
What funding is specifically meant by this remains unclear.
However, the CIC can continue to apply to the ministry for "funding within the framework of relevant funding programs".
The Ministry of Agriculture initially left an inquiry about this unanswered.
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Greens "going it alone" enrages FDP politicians: "moral superiority"
The Ministry of Agriculture's "go it alone" is "a slap across the bow for animal and nature conservation in many African regions," says Hoffmann.
He is chairman of the Central Africa Parliamentary Group.
Namibia, for example, is affected, where it is currently about the preservation of the rhino population.
Or Kenya and Tanzania.
"These countries want and should decide for themselves on their land use, biodiversity conservation, protection of agriculture and hunting tourism."
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The FDP politician then attacks the coalition partner directly: "We encourage a kind of neo-colonial policy when German bureaucrats tell African countries how to deal with their natural resources." That is a "moral arrogance".
Germany's exit is a signal to the affected people in Africa "that Germany does not accept the path chosen by the local communities to protect and deal with their natural resources," says Hoffmann.
As recently as November 9, the government survey by Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) stated that the federal government had not yet decided on the future of the agreement.
At the request of IPPEN.MEDIA, the Ministry of the Environment refers to the Ministry of Agriculture.
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