Environmental group Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) has escalated its legal challenge against the current state of nature protection legislation, arguing that the escalating biodiversity loss directly undermines fundamental human rights. The organization submitted a new supporting brief to the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) on Tuesday, intensifying pressure on the Bundestag to enact more robust and comprehensive protective measures.
Myriam Rapior, a member of BUND’s federal executive board and lead complainant, emphasized the inextricable link between biodiversity loss and core human rights like life, health and food security. She asserted the expectation that the Constitutional Court will follow a similar precedent to its landmark 2021 climate ruling, prioritizing the rights of future generations in this new legal action.
BUND’s legal strategy highlights the potentially catastrophic economic costs associated with inaction. Rapior stated that the ongoing extinction crisis is “economically fatal” suggesting that preventing biodiversity loss is significantly cheaper than mitigating the consequences of its decline. The lawsuit aims to compel the Bundestag to develop a comprehensive legal framework, echoing the successful model established in the climate litigation, designed to halt biodiversity loss and initiate coordinated efforts toward ecological restoration.
The legal argument builds on the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent opinion on climate change, which underscored the potential for states to face billions in damages for environmental negligence. BUND contends that the current political approach actively weakens existing nature conservation laws, exacerbating a situation they see as increasingly perilous. They warn that the long-term viability of human existence depends on intact ecosystems, soil formation, pollination and functional freshwater cycles – all of which are critically threatened by current inaction. The lawsuit represents a significant escalation in environmental legal action, directly challenging the government’s responsibility to safeguard the natural foundations of human well-being and demanding stricter adherence to international legal benchmarks.