The return of the hoopoe to Berlin: after 30 years, the birds were once again breeding in a nesting box in the bird sanctuary at the airport lake.
Photo: dpa/Nabu Berlin/Frank Sieste
The Senate for the Environment is planning two new nature reserves: The Tegeler Stadtheide at the former airport and the Moorlinse Buch are to be designated as such with increased priority. Two years ago, the Nature Conservation Union (Nabu) started a petition for the designation of the species-rich areas at the former Berlin-Tegel Airport as a nature reserve, which more than 10,000 citizens signed. In February of this year, the Nabu applied for the protection of the Moorlinse Buch, an important breeding area for waterfowl such as the shoveler.
Juliana Schlaberg, nature conservation officer at the capital city of Nabu, is “delighted that our commitment is finally showing success”. Because: “With the previous rate of expulsion, it could have taken decades.” Normally, the designation of a nature reserve takes two to three years. After Nabu has been campaigning for faster procedures for years, two new positions are now being created at the Senate Environmental Administration. So far there has only been one. Five other positions in related areas should also be added and the tenders should be made promptly, says Sara Lühmann, spokeswoman for the environmental administration, on nd request.
This means that the designation of new nature reserves could go faster in the future, since one or two procedures are possible per person per year. Among other things, it takes a lot of time to weigh things up »due to increasing competition for space with other uses«, such as housing, industry or infrastructure, »and the resulting objections to being placed under protection«, explains Lühmann.
From the point of view of Nabu, this means that effective protection of the areas is not possible without the status of a nature reserve. Both the Tegeler Stadtheide and the Moorlinse Buch are threatened by nearby construction projects. The high ecological value of the bird sanctuary at the airport lake was once again demonstrated this summer, as the hoopoe successfully bred there for the first time in 30 years in the federal capital.
But the prioritization of Berlin’s Natura 2000 areas is also partly responsible for the fact that “protection procedures for other areas worthy of protection have had to be postponed in recent years,” explains spokeswoman Sarah Lühmann. Otherwise there would have been a risk of fines being paid as a result of the infringement proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the legal safeguards for the flora and fauna habitat areas have now been completed.
