Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - According to estimates by the Federal Agency for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND), around 6,000 species of animals, plants and fungi are threatened or already extinct in North Rhine-Westphalia. Above all, toxic gases from coal-fired power plants and pesticides used in agriculture are the reasons for the decline in biodiversity, said BUND state chairman Holger Sticht on the occasion of the 50th day of species protection on Friday. "As far as nitrogen overload and the destruction of protected areas are concerned, we are among the leading federal states," Sticht warned in an interview with the German Press Agency.
In total there are around 43,000 known species in NRW. According to Sticht, only a good quarter of them have even been included in the Red List, which records extinct or threatened species. There is still no information about many species - so the number of endangered species could be even higher.
The BUND demands from the state government new areas for renewable energies, a secured proportion of protected areas and a binding target for the reduction of land consumption in order to counteract the extinction of species.
