Thematic Dossier: Open Space Protection and Ecosystem Conservation
"Thinking, Planning, and Acting from the Perspective of Open Space!"
The protection and development of open spaces is a key future topic in sustainable spatial planning and development. Open spaces are valuable, in demand, and a fundamental subject of planning action—their social, economic, and ecological functions are as diverse as the conflicts that arise over their use or exploitation.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) already emphasize this need: Goal 15 calls for the protection, sustainable use, restoration, and promotion of terrestrial ecosystems. The (successful) implementation of numerous other SDGs (e.g., 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13) is also closely linked to the safeguarding and development of open spaces. Likewise, the National Biodiversity Strategy highlights this connection, our central planning frameworks consistently stress the careful “use” of land, and public awareness of this issue is growing. People are increasingly conscious of protecting the qualities and functions of open spaces and do not want them destroyed for purposes such as coal mining or highway construction that conflict with global sustainability goals.
Current debates also focus on preserving natural greenhouse gas sinks and protecting biodiversity, as well as exploring approaches such as community-supported agriculture, urban farming, and other collective models of land-efficient practices. Not least, the recent pandemic has demonstrated the particular importance of open spaces for local recreation, especially in densely populated areas.
Key studies, such as “Natural Capital Germany – TEEB DE,” which examine the potentials and benefits of nature, explicitly underscore the urgency of open space protection in Germany. Against the backdrop of climate change, species and biodiversity loss, and the increasing use and pressure on soils and generally undeveloped or uninhabited land, it is a central goal of sustainable spatial development to give much greater weight to open space protection and development throughout all levels of spatial planning than has been the case so far. The fact that this topic is often debated controversially demonstrates that a “business as usual” approach at the expense of natural resources is no longer viable.
We observe that the effective implementation of objectives for sustainable spatial development—particularly the protection of open spaces—remains insufficient under current political, legal, and planning conditions. We advocate for “thinking from open space” in planning—that is, placing it at the center of spatial development as both a limiting and a key factor.
Open Space Protection in Spatial Development, and Particularly in Spatial Planning
What does this mean for planning at the federal, state, regional, and local levels? How can broad objectives for open space protection be translated into concrete planning goals, and who must—or can—take action?
Among others, a working group of the LAG S/SA/TH examined open space protection in spatial planning and highlighted how it has evolved from a largely conservative form of nature conservation toward a multifunctional resource management approach.
Despite a differentiated set of instruments in state and regional planning, challenges remain—for example, due to the scarcity of landscape resources—which raises questions regarding future integrated strategies for open space protection and development.
Stellungnahme „Lebensgrundlagen schützen – Flächenfraß endlich beenden!“
Spatial planning must therefore address a wide variety of open spaces at all planning levels—whether green spaces in densely populated cities or alpine open spaces, which are increasingly scarce and fragmented due to urban sprawl and the construction of technical infrastructure. The ARL has repeatedly engaged with this topic, analyzing and critically assessing the different approaches to managing alpine open spaces, particularly in spatial planning and regional planning. In addition, future opportunities for cross-border, harmonized planning procedures are explored.
Analyse, Bewertung und Sicherung alpiner Freiräume durch Raumordnung und räumliche Planung
The working group “Open Space Protection and Development in Spatial Planning” (2020–2024) focused on specific approaches to spatial planning and development, explicitly addressing land-saving objectives at regional and municipal levels. An ARL research report from this working group is scheduled for publication in 2025.
The ARL’s transdisciplinary approach is particularly evident in the multidimensional topic of open space protection and development. The discussions cover regional and municipal strategies for land-efficient settlement development, integrated planning approaches, multifunctional and interconnected spaces, and large-scale open space networks. Key questions include: What mandates should planning receive, and which innovative open space strategies will need to play a stronger role in the future? An important stimulus in this context is the 2020 WBGU report, “Land Transition in the Anthropocene: From Competition to Integration.”
In January 2025, the position paper “FREIRAUMWENDE – Thinking, Planning, and Acting from the Perspective of Open Space” was published.
The working group “Net Zero Land Take Perspective” of the LAG NRW focused on key topics such as inner-city development, deconstruction, and urban design enhancement as elements of a circular land-use economy. The joint position paper was published in 2024: Net Zero Land Take Perspective | ARL-Net.
How can we use land efficiently in the context of the transformation toward sustainable spatial development? Which actors are central, and which strategies can be most effective? These were the key questions addressed by the working group “Sustainable Spatial Development for the Great Transformation” (2016–2020). A central thesis emerging from their work was: “thinking from open space”—instead of viewing settlement development as the core and starting point of planning action.
ARL Position Paper on the “Great Transformation”
ARL Research Report on the “Great Transformation”
A joint working group of the LAG Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg is addressing the challenges of implementing the Great Transformation at the local level: the “Practice Transformation” working group. In May 2024, it published a joint position paper outlining concrete courses of action and potential approaches for how transformation can actually be realized on the ground. The working group will hold a transfer conference on 7–8 November 2024 in Radolfzell, exploring how transformation can be implemented in planning practice.
Transfer Conference: Spatial Development for a Good Future – Shaping the Great Transformation Now
Protection and Development of Ecosystem Services
The protection and development of biodiversity and, more broadly, ecosystem services (ES) is another current topic, with direct relevance to spatial development and planning. How can goals—such as the SDGs, findings from TEEB, or national and international biodiversity strategies—be translated into concrete regional or municipal planning measures? Who are the spatially influential actors for ecosystem protection, and how can they be engaged and empowered to think more in terms of ecosystem services?
The working group “Ecosystem Services in Spatial Planning” (2019–2022) discussed how the step from theory to practice can be successfully made and published a Special Issue in the journal Raumforschung und Raumordnung / Spatial Research and Planning (RuR):
Editorial: Ökosystemleistungen in der räumlichen Planung
Beitrag RuR - Das Ökosystemleistungskonzept in der räumlichen Planung – zehn Thesen
Beitrag RuR - Ansätze zur Integration von Ökosystemleistungen in die formelle räumliche Planung
Beitrag RuR - Das Konzept der Ökosystemleistungen in der Umweltbildung
Beitrag RuR - Ökosystemleistungen in Instrumenten der Stadt- und Regionalplanung
Beitrag RuR - Transformation der räumlichen Planung durch Ökosystemleistungen?
A position paper summarizing the key findings of the working group was published in November 2022: Applying Ecosystem Services in Spatial Planning.
Where do ecosystem services play a role, and where can we find examples in the landscape? The following two infographics illustrate this: one presents 10 theses on ecosystem services and spatial planning, while the other shows specific services across different landscape elements. Both graphics were developed within the working group “Ecosystem Services.”
One occasion and starting point for engaging with ecosystem services is the study “Natural Capital Germany – TEEB DE.” The successor to the international TEEB study (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) seeks to make the potentials and benefits of nature more tangible from an economic perspective—in order to better integrate them into decision-making processes. One volume focuses specifically on urban areas and decision-making processes in city development:
TEEB Deutschland - Ökosystemleistungen in der Stadt. Band für Entscheidungsträger
Further Collaborations on the Topic…
The joint project “Faktencheck Artenvielfalt” served as an accompanying project to the BMBF research initiative FeDa, compiling the current state of knowledge on the most important questions regarding biodiversity conservation. Contributors from the former ARL working group “Ecosystem Services” and the ARL office were involved, for example, as authors of the chapter “Transformation Potentials for Biodiversity Conservation.”
Website FeDa_Begleitprojekt Faktencheck
The ARL is a member of the Leibniz Biodiversity Research Network, where 18 Leibniz institutions discuss this broad topic from their respective disciplinary perspectives and jointly develop project ideas and interdisciplinary research questions. In March 2022, the research network published the “10 Must-Knows from Biodiversity Research.” These are based on an assessment of the state of nature as the foundation of human life and were prepared by 45 scientists from the Leibniz Biodiversity Research Network and their colleagues.
Ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, the report invited dialogue and issued concrete policy recommendations. The 10 Must-Knows were presented to the public in March 2022 at a Parliamentary Evening hosted by the Network Forum for Biodiversity Research Germany (NeFo) and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), attended by Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. A new edition was released in 2024.
Read more:
ARL-Aktuell zu den 10 MustKnows
Zur Veranstaltung mit Steffi Lemke (Aufzeichnung vom 15.03.2022)
10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science 2024 (leibniz-biodiversitaet.de)
