Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) is a German non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving nature and protecting the environment. The name means "German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation". Its subtitle Friends of the Earth Germany indicates that BUND is a member of the international network Friends of the Earth.
BUND is one of 56 qualified consumer associations in Germany that are authorised to bring Musterfeststellungsklagen (model declaratory actions) or Abhilfeklagen (redress actions).
General facts
With about 674,000 members and supporters the BUND is one of the biggest environmental organizations in Germany. It is also formally accredited by the Federal Republic of Germany and therefore has to be officially included if an encroachment into nature is being planned. In 2020, the organization gathered €41.1million, mainly from member fees (71%).
History The BUND was founded on 20 July 1975, as a federation of already existing regional groups. The BUND's co-founders were wildlife filmmaker Horst Stern, Frankfurt Zoological Society leader Bernhard Grzimek, politician Herbert Gruhl (CDU, ödp), conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg, forest conservationist Hubert Weinzierl and 16 others including Bodo Manstein and Gerhard Thielcke.
The original name "Bund für Natur- und Umweltschutz Deutschland" (BNUD) was changed in 1977 for better readability.
In 1989 the BUND became a member of Friends of the Earth International.
In 1990 five Associations were founded in East Germany.
BUND was founding member of the Berlin Energy Table which successfully pushed for a Referendum on the recommunalization of energy supply in Berlin in 2013. The referendum however failed to obtain a sufficient number of yes votes despite a strong majority amongst those that did vote.
Organisation
The federal organization has its office located in Berlin and is represented by its president Hubert Weiger. There are 2,200 local groups and, like Germany itself, the BUND is divided into 16 state organisations. There are up to 20 working parties specialised such as in law, water, waste, health, forest, energy, and gene technology; everyone can participate. The working parties often include renowned scientist and participate in official parliament hearings, comment on new laws and develop ecologic concepts. Moreover, the expert knowledge is widely spread through workshops and brochures.
All members of the BUND under the age of 27 are automatically members of the youth organisation BUNDjugend.
The BUND logo symbolises the earth as a green ball held by two protecting hands.
The oldest state association in the federal association is the Bund Naturschutz in Bayern, which was founded in Munich in 1913. The second oldest state association is the Landesverband Bremen, which emerged from the Bremer Naturschutzgesellschaft, which in turn had developed from a bird protection association founded in Bremen in 1914.
The federal and state associations are each independent, while the regional and local groups are legally part of their state association. A member of BUND is therefore always a member of both the federal and the corresponding state association. In addition to 'full members', BUND also has 'supporting members' who make regular donations but do not participate in the association's democracy.
The BUND is a placement centre for participants in the FÖJ (voluntary ecological year) and the BFD (federal voluntary service); there are positions available at the federal association, the state associations and the BUNDjugend.
Chairpersons The chairpersons were:
July–November 1975: Bodo Manstein
1975–1977: Herbert Gruhl
1977–1983: Gerhard Thielcke
1983–1998: Hubert Weinzierl
1998–2007: Angelika Zahrnt
2007–2019: Hubert Weiger
since 2019: Olaf Bandt
Memberships and cooperation's BUND is a member of numerous associations and organisations, including:
Friends of the Earth Europe and International, since 1989 as the German section of the European Environmental Network
Deutscher Naturschutzring, the umbrella organisation of German environmental and nature conservation associations
Attac, a network critical of globalisation
Grüner Strom Label, an association that certifies green electricity offers
natureplus, an association that awards an environmental quality label for building materials
Board of Trustees of Baum des Jahres
Atomausstieg selber machen, an alliance that provides information about green electricity and aims to motivate people to switch electricity providers
NEULAND, an association for the marketing of products from animal-friendly and environmentally friendly livestock farming
EUROPARC Deutschland, the umbrella organisation for national parks, biosphere reserves and nature parks
BUND cooperates or has cooperated with
the Bundesverband Bürgerinitiativen Umweltschutz
the Bischöfliches Hilfswerk Misereor (for the study Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland (1996), which had a strong influence on the discourse on sustainability) Brot für die Welt and the Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst (EED) (for the follow-up study Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland in einer globalisierten Welt (2008)) the Stiftung Europäisches Naturerbe (Euronatur), which BUND helped to initiate the Bodensee-Stiftung, an international foundation for nature and culture based in Radolfzell McPlanet.com, a globalisation-critical environmental congress
Finances In 2019, the total icome amounted to 35.9 million euros. Donations - the associationis recognised as a charitable organisation - and membership fees account for more than two-thirds of total income.
Activities and projects
Activities
The association is consulted on interventions in nature – from ploughing a protected orchid meadow to designating new construction areas to planning approval for an airport – and is therefore required to write expert statements. This work is mainly carried out by volunteer members with the relevant expertise, and in some cases by the association's employees. Many members are appointed (on a voluntary basis) to the Nature Conservation Advisory Council at the district, state or federal level. Local groups maintain local biotopes, pass on their knowledge through guided tours and lead children's groups. BUND provides information material in the form of brochures, arguments, background reports and studies. The BUND is a member of the Grüner Strom Label e. V., which awards the seal of approval of the same name for green electricity. The BUND is co-organiser of the demonstrations under the slogan Wir haben es satt! (We've had enough!). The BUND is heavily involved in the debate on final storage and has a member on the Commission on the Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste.
Project examples
1978: Save the Birds campaign; presentation of the first German solar-powered car. 1981: First public reference to forest dieback. 1988: Garden without Poison campaign. 1989: The Green Belt Germany project protects biotopes along the former German-German border. 1994: Publication of the first environmental computer list. 1995: Publication of the study Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland with Misereor. 2001: BUND, Deutsche Bahn, Naturschutzbund Deutschland, the World Wildlife Fund and Verkehrsclub Deutschland launched the Destination Nature campaign in April. 2003: The magazine GEO and BUND jointly organised the fifth GEO Day of Biodiversity in the Green Belt of Germany. In 24 hours, 500 experts mapped more than 5,200 different animal and plant species, including some that were previously considered extinct. 2004: BUND presented its largest species conservation programme to date, the Wildcat Rescue Network. According to the 'Wildcat Trail Plan' presented, existing forests with wildcat populations throughout Germany are to be connected by a 20,000-kilometre network of bush and tree corridors. 2005: BUND launched the Butterfly Adventure campaign together with ZDF and the UFZ–Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle (UFZ–Environmental Research Centre Leipzig-Halle). (since 2006: Abenteuer Faltertage). 2005: The BUNDstiftung (BUND Foundation) was established. 2006: The action alliance Future instead of lignite was founded with citizens' initiatives and other environmental associations. 2007: BUND protested with the newspaper Kohle-Express against the construction of more than 20 new coal-fired power plants in Germany and the expansion of lignite mining. 2007: The Adbusting competition denounced car manufacturers BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen for advertising fuel-guzzling cars, contrary to their promises. 2008: Together with consumers and supported by Sarah Wiener, BUND launched its campaign For the love of nature. Without genetic engineering calling on Edeka to label relevant products with the label Without genetic engineering. 2010: BUND Hamburg co-initiated a popular initiative aimed at re-municipalising the energy networks and establishing 'genuine' municipal utilities in Hamburg. The initiative, which comprised 24 organisations, succeeded in bringing about a referendum in 2013. 2010: The campaign Future without toxins aims to ensure that children grow up without exposure to harmful chemicals. Daycare centres can have dust samples from their facilities tested for plasticisers free of charge by BUND. Certain chemical pollutants have a hormonal effect and are suspected of causing infertility, diabetes and cancer. 2011: Launch of the Wildkatzensprung (Wild cat jump) project (funded by the Federal Biological Diversity Programme) with activities to protect wildcats in ten federal states. In the largest single project in the history of BUND, so-called 'green corridors' are being planted in Hesse (Rothaargebirge-Knüll), Lower Saxony (Harz-Solling), Baden-Württemberg (Herrenberg region), Rhineland-Palatinate (Westerwald/Taunus-Rothaargebirge) and Thuringia (Greiz region). In addition, a nationwide genetic database on wildcats is being developed in cooperation with the Senckenberg Research Institute to document populations and migration patterns and optimise conservation measures for wildcats. With over 1,200 volunteers, the project is also one of the largest 'citizen science' projects in Europe and was successfully completed in 2017. 2012: The Urban Nature Campaign provided information about plants and animals in the city and encouraged people to experience and create natural spaces themselves, e.g. through urban gardening and a photo competition. 2012: With Stellen Sie die Giftfrage (Ask the poison question), BUND called on consumers to ask product suppliers about hazardous ingredients (see REACH Regulation). In cooperation with the Federal Environment Agency, a request generator makes it easier to formulate questions. 2013: With the launch of the app ToxFox, BUND enables consumers to scan the barcode of cosmetics to see whether the product contains hormone-disrupting chemicals. Since 2019, nanoparticles have also been displayed. Alternatively, the EAN number can simply be entered online for the cosmetics check, and protest emails can be sent directly to the manufacturers. The analysis of the chemicals from the INCI list of ingredients for around 60,000 care and cosmetic products was carried out in collaboration with the community database Codecheck.info. The study was criticised by the German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association, which claimed that the quantities of potentially harmful ingredients were too low. On the other hand, natural cosmetics were largely free of hormone-active substances. 2013: The Wild bees action informed the public about the importance of and threats to the more than 550 species of wild bees in Germany and provided tips on how to help wild bees.