Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany

Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit
Agency overview
Formed	6 June 1986
Jurisdiction	Government of Germany
Headquarters	Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Employees	814
Minister responsible	Barbara Hendricks, Bundesminister für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit
Website	www.bmu.de/

Ministry HQ, Bonn

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany (BMU) is a ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its first headquarters is in Bonn. It has a second base in Berlin.

Headquarters in Bonn.

Structure

The Federal Ministry of the Environment (German: Bundesumweltministerium) is in charge of the ecological policy of the federal government. It is also in charge of environmental protection. Being in charge of nuclear reactor safety helps the BMU protect the environment. The Federal minister appoints two junior ministers (German: Parlamentarischen Staatssekretäre) to help him. These two help the minister in the Bundestag and in making policy, they have no power to make rules or change the way the department works.

814 people work for the ministry, in one of six departments:

• Department ZG: Central division, environmental protection
• Department AI: Climate protection, renewable energies and international cooperation
• Department WA: Water-supply, waste management, soil conservation and residual wastes
• Department IG: Pollution protection and health consequences, environment and traffic, plants and chemical safety
• Department N: Nature and protection of species, genetic engineering, countryside and forestry *Department RS: Radiation protection,

In addition,

• The Federal Office of Conservation Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN),
• the Federal Office of Radiation Protection Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (BfS) and
• the Federal Environment Agency Umweltbundesamt

are controlled by the BMU.

If extra help is needed the BMU can get expert help from

• Rat von Sachverständigen für Umweltfragen (SRU), the Committee of Experts on Environmental Questions *Wissenschaftlichen Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU), The Scientific Advisory Board on Global Environment Changes
• the Reaktorsicherheitskommission (RSK), the Reactor Safety Commission
• the Strahlenschutzkommission (SSK),the Radiation Protection Commission
• the Störfall-Kommission (SFK), the "Disruptive Incident" Commission
• the Technischen Ausschuss für Anlagensicherheit (TAA) the Technical Committee on Systems Safety and
• the Umweltgutachterausschuss (UGA) Environmental Experts Committee.

In 2005 the BMU's budget was 769 million euros. This is about ten percent of the total amount spent on the environment by the federal government. This is because several other ministries also have money to spent on environmental tasks.

History

The ministry was set up on 6 June 1986, about five weeks after the serious reactor disaster at Chernobyl. The Federal Government wanted to bring all responsibility for preventing a disaster in Germany, or clearing up if a disaster happened, under one ministry.

The first minister stayed for less than a year, because he became Minister President of Hesse. His successor became director of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP. The time when Angela Merkel was in charge was not very good for the BMU. Economic problems became more important than environmental protection .

The red-green coalition of 1998 saw Jürgen Trittin of (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) become minister. The idea of an environmental tax and ending nuclear power became important.

Ministers