Trees felled at Müggelsee in nature reserve - indictment
The Berlin public prosecutor's office has brought charges against landowners who allegedly felled around 50 trees in the Müggelsee nature reserve. It accuses a lawyer and a bricklayer and concrete foreman of jointly endangering areas in need of protection, according to a spokesperson for the authorities on Tuesday. The 71-year-old woman and the 46-year-old are said to have arranged for the trees to be cleared on a plot of land in the Müggelspree-Müggelsee nature reserve between February and March 2019. They are said to have been aware that this would only have been permitted with an official permit.
According to the information provided, the trees were located on a piece of land in an area designated as Natura 2000. This is an EU-wide network of protected areas for the conservation of endangered or typical habitats and species. Nevertheless, the owners are said to have planned to build a house and a jetty there.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the vegetation of the biotope and the habitat for animal and plant species, some of which are highly endangered, were permanently destroyed as a result of the clearing. The case is now to be examined by the Tiergarten district court.
The alleged actions by the lawyer and bricklayer could be viewed as a violation of nature conservation laws, potentially leading to a harsh sentence under environmental justice. Nevertheless, the preservation and protection of the Müggelspree-Müggelsee nature reserve, a vital part of the Natura 2000 network, was gravely threatened by their planned construction projects.
Source: www.dpa.com
