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Temporary success for environmental organizations: Tesla is still unable to clear forested areas on parts of its construction site in Grünheide, near Berlin. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg (OVG) partially accepted a complaint from the Nabu and Green League associations. The conservationists had appealed to the OVG against a decision of the administrative court of Frankfurt (Oder), which had previously approved the felling of the trees.
The associations are against the advance approval of the clearing of nearly 83 hectares of forest on the site where the Tesla factory is being built. Their main concern is the protection of species of sand lizards. They doubt that the animals have been relocated from the forest area as planned. In their urgent request, they mainly argued that there had been violations of an access ban in the species protection law for strictly protected sand lizards and smooth snakes.
The OVG prohibited clearing measures “in the border areas of areas destined for deforestation.” There is habitat for winter lizards, which are unlikely to survive clearing measures, according to the decision. Tesla had the reptiles collected and moved, but this was done at a time “when at least the adult males of the sand lizards were already in their winter quarters.” Resettlement “is not adequate to exclude a significant increase in the risk of killing and, therefore, a violation of the ban on killing by federal and European law.”
Free space allowed in other areas
Therefore, cleaning was prohibited in this area and in a strip along the highway. Compensation is allowed in the remaining sections. For them, according to the OVG, nature associations “could not demonstrate that these are also reptile habitats.”
After the administrative court of Frankfurt (Oder) rejected an urgent request from the environmental associations Nabu and the Green League for a temporary suspension of the clearing, the conservationists took action before the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg (OVG) and presented a complaint against the decision of the administrative court. The OVG now decided in favor of nature conservationists.
Tesla wants to start operating the plant in Grünheide, near Berlin, from the summer of next year. Initially, around 500,000 electric cars will roll off the production lines. Until now, the company has been building through individual interim approvals because full environmental approval from the state of Brandenburg is still pending. Conservationists and residents fear negative consequences for the environment.
