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As biodiversity net gain rises on the global agenda, Germany’s 50-year-old no-net-loss policy faces mounting resistance amid pressures to accelerate infrastructure development. We argue that the regulation remains essential for maintaining ecological integrity and that targeted reforms could make it more efficient, effective and transparent, and provide key lessons to inform global efforts.
Recent expanded Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listings for sharks and rays are welcome — yet seizing this opportunity requires that international trade policy is treated not as an end point, but as a catalyst for wider regulatory and market-based reforms.
