BGV extends bloom pact with Ministry of the Environment
The Blühpakt between the Bavarian Golf Association and the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection is entering its second round. The cooperation is to be extended in June. This was announced by the president of BGV, Arno Malte Uhlig, at a press conference in Munich. The Blühpakt Bayern is an alliance that works to improve biodiversity. The Bavarian Golf Association was the first partner to join this alliance in 2020. There are now 53 golf courses participating in the Blühpakt, 26 of which have already received awards from the ministry for their commitment.
In Uhlig’s view, the Blühpakt is also a successful model because it illustrates the efforts golf courses are making to enable more biodiversity on their courses. In this context, the new research project GolfBiodivers, in which the TU Munich with Prof. Dr. Johannes Kollmann from the Institute of Renaturation Ecology plays a leading role. Fortunately, Uhlig said, this research project’s endowment of 2.6 million euros also makes it possible to provide financial support for the projects of participating clubs.
In the sign of climate change and the energy crisis, golf courses are facing major challenges in the view of the BGV president: “Some of the golf clubs are facing considerable conversions here, for example on the subject of water, which are associated with major financial burdens. That’s where we all need help,” Uhlig noted. “That’s another reason why we as BGV have very clear ideas about how we want to approach the state. It’s a complex issue, but we’re staying on it.”
Heat control and CO2 calculator
The pioneering role that the BGV has assumed alongside the Baden-Württemberg Golf Association in promoting biodiversity is now also being demonstrated by the association in the areas of heat and CO₂ emissions. As the first golf association in Germany, they have set up heat regulations for 2023, which are intended to protect seniors and children in particular from being overworked on extremely hot days. “We have a duty to protect male and female players,” BGV executive director Heidrun Klump said, explaining the concept. “But it was also important for us to raise awareness and set an example.”
The same applies to the CO₂ calculator, which the Bavarian Golf Association had already presented at a workshop in the fall. “Our goal was to bring a unified calculator to market,” Klump explained. In view of the fact that more and more commercial suppliers of CO₂ calculators are also entering the golf market, the Golf Association wants to provide its clubs with guidance here, he says. For this reason, a pilot project is now also being started with some golf courses, in which they will determine data and facts on the CO₂ footprint in a uniform manner.
