Have an eco-account measure credited

In the case of projects and plans that result in damage to nature and the countryside – such as road construction projects – the party responsible is obliged to implement compensatory and remedial measures or to make compensation payments.

The ‘eco-account’ scheme forms part of the Nature Conservation Act of the State of Saxony-Anhalt.

The principle behind the eco-account scheme is that

• Compensatory and remedial measures may be taken in anticipation of investments, even without a specific cause, and subsequently recognised as compensation,
• Investors who do not themselves undertake any offsetting or compensatory measures, who cover the costs of measures recorded in the eco-account, and
• Compensatory and remedial measures do not need to be spatially and functionally linked to the intervention, unless specific provisions relating to the protection of species, the protection of habitats or the safeguarding of coherence (where areas protected under EU law are affected) must be observed.

The lower-level nature conservation authorities within the districts and independent cities manage the eco-account. They review, approve and register measures relating to the eco-account and maintain a register recording the areas designated for compensation and replacement measures, as well as the areas on which measures for an eco-account have been carried out.

No measures will be recognised retrospectively.

Providers of measures can register with the Eco-account. They are matched with so-called ‘demand-side participants’ – that is, investors who do not implement their own offsetting and replacement measures.

The specialist authority for nature conservation, the State Office for Environmental Protection, maintains a comprehensive register of these areas for the state of Saxony-Anhalt.