Protection of Biodiversity in the Agricultural Act of the Federal Republic of Germany

This article focuses on the Agricultural Act of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the discussion the existing and relevant regulations that serve to protect biodiversity are examined. Firstly, the main issues and challenges of the Agricultural Act are identified. The core question here is how ecological common goods such as soil, water, air and climate and the effective protection of biodiversity, can be success-fully protected, despite the land being used for agriculture. Article 20a of the Basic Law of Germany could provide an answer as it states, that a ‘State goal’ is to protect the ‘natural foundations of life’. Thus, the national legislature may be obliged to regulate the activities of the predominantly private operators in agriculture, as they have a direct impact on the ecological common goods listed above. The current gaps in the Agricultural Act are then specified and, in this context, the principle of ‘Good Professional Practice’ is discussed. This example shows that mere principles, as they exist today in the German legal system, are too vague and ineffec-tive. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to formulate the requirements for agricultural land use as directly applicable obligations and the term ‘Good Professional Practice’ must be expanded on with concrete and binding content. Finally, suggestions are made as to how the Agriculture Act can achieve the protection of biodiversity more effectively. For example, the Fertilizer Act could be transferred to the Agriculture Act as well as the regulations concerning the use of plant protection products on agricultural land.