BMU Brochure: National Strategy on Biological Diversity

Plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms purify the water and air, and ensure fertile soils. The intact ability of the soils and waters to perform self-purification is therefore crucial for the abstraction of drinking water. The natural fertility of the soil ensures a supply of wholesome food. These are not mechanical processes, but instead form part of a complex structure of ecological interactions. Ecosystems have a high absorption capacity and ability to regenerate, but they too have their limitations.

Modern society and the economy are dependent upon the use of nature and the countryside. Agriculture and forestry are the most obvious examples of dependency, but this is also equally true oftransport, tourism, commerce and human habitation. In a modern industrial society, how can the protection and use of biological diversity be structured in such a way as to preserve the diversity ofspecies and natural habitats while at the same time realising our social and economic interest in using this diversity appropriately? Achieving an optimum balance between the two is pivotal to sustainabledevelopment.

The National Strategy on Biological Diversity was adopted by the federal cabinet on 7 November 2007.