In the case of projects and planning that lead to impairments of nature and the landscape - such as road construction projects - the polluter is obligated to provide compensation and replacement measures or to make replacement payments.

The "eco-account" regulations are part of the nature conservation law of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The principle of the eco-account scheme is that

• Compensatory and replacement measures are carried out in advance of investments, even without a specific reason, and are later recognized as compensation,
• investors who do not themselves undertake compensatory and replacement measures take over the financing of measures that are booked to the eco-account, and
• Compensation and replacement measures do not have to be spatially functionally related to the intervention, unless special regulations on species protection, biotope protection or coherence assurance (if areas protected under EU law are affected) have to be observed.

The lower nature conservation authorities at the districts and independent cities manage the eco-account. They check, confirm and register measures for the eco-account and keep a register in which the areas designated for compensation and replacement measures as well as the areas on which measures for an eco-account have been carried out are recorded.

No measures are recognized retroactively.

Providers of measures can register in the eco-account. They are brought together with so-called demanders - i.e. investors who do not carry out their own compensation and replacement measures.

The specialized authority for nature conservation, the State Office for Environmental Protection, maintains an overall register of these areas for the state of Saxony-Anhalt.