Nature conservation: Impact authorisation, compensation and replacement measures

  • Service description

    The aim of nature conservation is to preserve nature and the landscape on the basis of their intrinsic value and as the basis of human life. As serious impairment or even destruction of nature and the landscape can have serious negative consequences for people, the aim is not only to protect the landscape, but also to preserve, restore where necessary and ensure the long-term and sustainable utilisation of the natural balance.

    Anyone wishing to carry out a project that changes the use or shape of the surrounding area and that may significantly affect the ecosystem or the landscape - in particular through construction measures - generally requires an impact authorisation. The associated adverse effects on the ecosystem and the landscape must be minimised. Depending on the situation, unavoidable impairments must either be offset by nature conservation and landscape management measures of the same kind or compensated for by equivalent measures. Special, more relaxed regulations apply to development plans and unplanned inner areas.

    In addition to the impact permit, many other nature conservation authorisations may be required today (e.g. species protection, biotope protection, Habitats Directive or Birds Directive, protected area regulations). Projects in Natura 2000 areas that do not require further authorisation may be subject to notification

  • Which documents are required?

    According to the Compensation Ordinance, an impact compensation plan must be submitted with the application. Information can also be found on the website of the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the Nature Conservation / Forestry section

  • What fees are incurred?

    Official acts under nature conservation law are generally subject to a fee. The amount of the impact licence depends on the construction volume. In the case of projects requiring planning permission, the impact permit may already be included in the planning permission.

  • What deadlines do I have to observe?

    If no decision is made on an applied for authorisation to intervene within a period of 3 months, it is deemed to have been granted. Otherwise, Section 42a of the Hessian Administrative Procedure Act in the version dated 15 January 2010 (GVBl. I p. 18) applies. The nature conservation authority examines the application documents and informs the applicant within one month of receipt of the application whether the documents are complete or what further information it requires to fully assess the facts of the case. (Section 3 para. 2 HAGBNatSchG)

  • Legal basis

  • Applications / Forms

  • What else should I know?

    Further information and advice can be found on the website of the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the nature conservation section and on the websites of the regional councils of Kassel, Darmstadt and Giessen. Many districts and towns with their own lower nature conservation authority have their own website, from which you can find direct contact details.

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Who should I contact?

The authorisation of interventions in nature and the landscape is the responsibility of the authorities that decide on the approval of projects in accordance with the relevant legislation (e.g. building inspectorate, immission control or water authority). In these cases, the nature conservation authorities are involved within the authorities. The nature conservation authorities only decide on the authorisation of the intervention in a separate nature conservation procedure if no other authority is responsible or if the nature conservation authority has to make a decision anyway for other important reasons. The first point of contact for citizens is the lower nature conservation authorities responsible for the area on which the intervention is to take place. The lower nature conservation authorities are the district administration in rural districts and the municipal administration in towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

Responsible departments