Nature conservation; plants; authorisation for the commercial taking, working or processing of wild plants
Performance specification
Anyone wishing to collect wild plants or parts thereof for trade or commercial purposes (e.g. wild flowers, blueberries, moss, ferns, lichens, etc.) requires the permission of the owner as well as authorisation from the lower nature conservation authority. This is to prevent the over-utilisation of such wild plants. The authorisation can be linked to conditions, e.g. to protect the wild plants from a reduction or eradication that would endanger the species. If the conditions are not sufficient for protection, the removal must be prohibited.
The authorisation specifies which plant species, which parts, which quantities and where they may be collected.
The collector must carry the authorisation with them when collecting and hand it over to the police or regulatory authorities for inspection on request.
- Plants within the meaning of the Federal Nature Conservation Act also include:
- wild plants, plants obtained by artificial propagation and dead plants of wild species,
- Seeds, fruits or other developmental forms of plants of wild species,
- readily recognisable parts of plants of wild species, and
- readily recognisable products derived from plants of wild species.
For the purposes of this Act, plants also include lichens and fungi.
Which documents are required?
The written application shall specify which plant species, which parts or products, which quantities and at which locations (useful: map extracts) they are to be collected. Permission shall be granted if the population of the species concerned at the place of collection is not endangered and the natural balance is not significantly impaired. When deciding on collections for the purpose of regional seed production, the favourable effects on the objectives of nature conservation and landscape management shall be taken into account. The nature conservation authority checks the completeness of the documents (see under Deadlines).
What are the fees?
Official acts under nature conservation law are usually subject to a fee. The current administrative cost regulations do not provide for a separate cost rate; enquiries with the nature conservation authorities are recommended.
What deadlines do I have to observe?
The nature conservation authority shall examine the application documents and inform 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.
If a decision is not made on an application for authorisation within a period of one month, it shall be deemed to have been granted if the application is sufficiently specific. The period begins with the receipt of the complete documents. It may be reasonably extended once if this is justified due to the difficulty of the matter. The extension of the deadline must be justified and communicated in good time. Upon request, the person who should have been notified of the administrative act must be given written confirmation of the fictitious authorisation.Legal basis
- § Section 39 (4) of the Nature Conservation and Landscape Management Act (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz - BNatSchG )
- § 7 para. 2 no. 2 Federal Nature Conservation Act
- § 2 para. 1 Hessian Implementation Act to the Federal Nature Conservation Act (HAGBNatSchG)
- § 3 para. 2 sentences 1 and 2 HAGBNatSchG
- § 42a Hessian Administrative Procedure Act
What else should I know?
The rights of the owners and other authorised users remain unaffected. This also includes measures within the scope of proper agricultural or forestry land use that do not require authorisation under nature conservation law (e.g. logging, marketing of decorative brushwood and Christmas trees, etc.).
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.- Nature conservation
(Regional Council Giessen)
- Nature conservation
Comments
The lower nature conservation authorities as well as the police authorities, district regulatory authorities and local regulatory authorities shall be authorised to carry out inspections and investigations into compliance with the provisions of species protection law. The veterinary authorities, the hunting authorities and the authorities of the agricultural and forestry administration shall inform the competent nature conservation authority of any infringements which they discover in the course of their duties.
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Who do I need to contact?
In principle, the application must be submitted to the lower nature conservation authority. In a few exceptional cases, responsibility lies with the respective regional council.
In Hesse, the lower nature conservation authority is the municipal administration for towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants, otherwise it is the district administration.
| Location | Contact |
|---|---|
| Allendrof | Peter Käufler |
| Bad Arolsen | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Bad Wildungen | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Battenberg (Eder) | Peter Käufler |
| Bromskirchen | Ulrich Kessler |
| Burgwald | Peter Käufler |
| Diemelsee | Ilka Deutschendorf |
| Diemelstadt | Jessika Sachse |
| Edertal | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Frankenau | Peter Käufler |
| Frankenberg (Eder) | Peter Käufler |
| Gemünden (Wohra) | Peter Käufler |
| Haina (monastery) | Peter Käufler |
| Hatzfeld (Eder) | Peter Käufler |
| Korbach | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Lichtenfels | Ilka Deutschendorf |
| Rosethal | Peter Käufler |
| Twistetal | Jessika Sachse |
| Vöhl | Ilka Deutschendorf |
| Volkmarsen | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Waldeck | Thea Schmidtmann |
| Willingen (Upland) | Ulrich Kessler |