Funding within the framework of the Natural Climate Protection Action Program (ANK)

The Natural Climate Protection Action Program (ANK) is a federal initiative aimed at comprehensively improving the condition of natural ecosystems while simultaneously protecting the climate. With a bundle of 69 measures across ten fields of action, the program promotes the preservation and restoration of peatlands, forests, floodplains, marine, and urban green spaces. It addresses various stakeholders from municipalities, public institutions, private individuals, companies, as well as associations and clubs. Through financial grants amounting to over four billion euros available until 2026, projects are supported that transform degraded areas back into robust carbon sinks and diverse habitats. The program links climate protection with nature conservation by not only strengthening the carbon storage effect of intact ecosystems but also sustainably promoting biodiversity and water protection.

Within the framework of the ANK, existing structures and funding programs are holistically further developed and regionally adapted. The Competence Center for Natural Climate Protection (KNK) plays a central role here, serving as the first point of contact for advice and networking. It offers interested stakeholders comprehensive initial information on the various funding opportunities, explains the specific funding requirements of individual measures, and coordinates cooperation at local, regional, and national levels. Through target group-specific events and advisory services, the exchange of experience between experts and practitioners is intensified, creating a common foundation for the development of nature-based infrastructures.

In the long term, the program represents a paradigm shift in the management of our resources by being proactively and sustainably oriented toward protecting both nature and climate equally. Important measures include, for example, the rewetting of drained peat soils, the gentle renaturation of urban green spaces, or the transition to climate-compatible management practices in forestry and agriculture. In doing so, the ANK makes a significant contribution to greenhouse gas reduction and to increasing the resilience of habitats—factors of enormous importance in the context of the current climate crisis. The funding not only strengthens natural systems but also provides a forward-looking foundation for sustainable regional development and the protection of our ecological livelihoods.