Kulturlandschaftswandel seit 1900: Ausmass, Wahrnehmung in der Öffentlichkeit und ethische Dimension : Beispiel: Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Bad Säckingen

The dissertation shows the extent of the landscape change in the administration alliance Bad Säckingen (municipalities Bad Säckingen, Murg, Rickenbach and Herrischried). The analysis of municipality statistics, the comparison of documents (maps, aerial photographs, postcards) and the attribution to a scale of change (from 0 = no change to 4 = extreme change) demonstrate, that the change of landscape over the past 100 years was moderate (level 2). The main changes in the research area are:
(1) Between 1911 and 2007 decrease of farmland including forest from 92% to 80%,
(2) Between 1911 and 2007 increase of forest of about 10%,
(3) The intense (heavy) decrease of agriculture of about 30% in the year 1911 to 5% in the year 2007,
(4) Between 1911 and 2007 the percentage of meadows and pasture remained constant (about 22%), but its allocation (dispension, spreading) has changed: In 1911 the municipalities Bad Säckingen and Murg had the highest percentage of meadows and pastures, today the municipalities Rickenbach and Herrischried,
(5) An increase of settlement area and leisure area (areas for leisure activities),
(6) The disappearance of mining areas like stone and sand pits,
(7) The increase of the size of the parcels of farmland,
(8) The increase of the tree population in the settlement areas,
(9) The modification of the architecture in the research area.
In accordance with the scale of change the research area in all has the level 2. The definition of level 2 is: “Original use existing, well visible (obviously) changed, partially enlarged, expanded, modernized; less than 20% are used for completely new purposes.
Public Perception:
The chain of cause and effect which resulted from the interviews of residents illustrates that the causes of the landscape change are based primarily on the economic development of the region. Inferior aspects are sociological and technical reasons. The comparison of branches brings out the economic development between 1925 and 2009. The amount of branches has quadrupled; an obvious increase in the sectors health, tourism and building has taken place. Formerly, only Bad Säckingen and Murg had been centers of the area, meanwhile Rickenbach and Herrischried joined.
The analysis shows obviously, that the change is a result of human activities. All reasons for the change as shown in the interviews of the residents are – without exception – a result of human activities in the area.
The „Expert-surveys„ and the „Population-surveys‟ demonstrated, that there are huge differences in the statements of each group, but a tendency of similar statements within the two groups. The main difference is, that the population feels comfortable in their environment and that 69% of the inhabitants classify the change as positive. In contrast the „Expert-survey‟ illustrates, that the complex of problems combined to the landscape change is not recognized sufficiently from either the population, the public authorities and the politicians. It is remarkable, that the population judges the change depending on the improvement of their personal living conditions. The statements of the experts are a result of a „professional distance‟ and demonstrate a more holistic perspective.
The analysis brings out that not values itself are missing, but the consciousness for them which is necessary for the realization of an effective planning. It was clearly stated, that landscape planning should consider the psychological effects that landscape evidently has on people.
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Ethical Dimension:
Ethical theories are used in the discussion about landscape change primarily as a baseline for the argumentation. They also make possible that nature is granted a moral consideration. All mentioned theories – even if they are not developed for use in the field of landscape change or in general for nature – contribute to the ethical discussion something positive considering the mentioned advantages (Tab. 5.4.2-5). The development of perfect duties by applying the first formulation of the categorical imperative of I. KANT (“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”) (Wikipedia 2011) and the subsequent resulting rights – which consider nature – is outstanding. In addition also the fact, that the coherentism demands an intact nature by the principal of the reflective equilibrium founded by J. Rawls.
The argument of the „limited stable four-dimensional balance‟ (FB-Argument) contributes to the ethical discussion about the change of landscape. It covers arguments which are not or not enough touched by the theories which are specified in the dissertation.
What is the FB-Argument?
In my research about the ethical dimension of landscape change I was looking for an argument, which is anthropocentric, but gives nature a moral status which is under certain circumstances absolute and cannot be overmatched in the process of balancing goods. I developed the “Four-Dimensional Balance” Argument. Acronym: FB-Argument.
The FB-Argument is based on 22 assumptions which have a darwinistic, philosophical or epistemic background. From these assumptions three deductions are concluded:
 A change of the chemical balance on earth is possible.
 Between living beings itself and between living beings and their non-living environment exists an existential dependence.
 The reason for the existence of the existential dependences in the ecosystem is the four-dimensionality.
The combination of the three deductions and the normative premise “Mankind should live” conclude in the normative demand: Mankind has to preserve the recent chemical circle (=ecosystem) on earth. A naturalistic fallacy is therefore excluded.
People deal in different ways with nature: They preserve, they use sustainable, they trouble nature or they even destroy functional ecosystems.
In case of destroying functional ecosystems: Because of the FB-Argument it is no longer possible to justify this action by the process of balancing goods even it is an anthropocentric argument. The short-term exploration of nature has to give way to a sustainable long-term use.
The FB-Argument has also an impact on the concept of responsibility and also on the concept of global justice. It is based on reason and demands the preservation of our ecosystem. Natural science is needed to find out more about the border between nature-disruption and nature-destruction.
The main aspects of the FB-Argument are the following:
 The premise „mankind should live‟,
 The four-dimensional embedding of the genetic material and
 The high significance of the functioning of an ecosystem. In addition
 The relation to the responsibility and
 The rationality of humans.
 Unique is the rejection of balancing goods in the field of the destruction of ecosystems and
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 The belonging to the „risk-research‟, as long as the functioning of ecosystems is not fully understood.
Suggestions for future research projects are given. More research about the relevance and the role of sufficiency (principal of sustainability) in relation to the change of landscape are needed. The expansion of the planning perspective of up to 50 years (today the perspective is about 10 to 20 years) has to be involved in the process of planning and therefore empiric results can be gained. The rejection of balancing goods in the field of the destruction of ecosystems will heavy influence the praxis and therefore interdisciplinary exchange between praxis and science is necessary. More results from ecosystem science are therefore desirable. In addition a basis for a mathematical function (relation) (f) of landscape change is developed; a project could be built on this idea. Last but not least there are relations of the FB-Argument to social sciences; this might give a basis for involving the FB-Argument into the development of social theory.