Gert Schoppa brought a large graphic with numbers in different colors to the press conference – numbers that are arguments for his demands. In 1990 there were still 83,833 allotment gardens in Berlin, in 2017 the number shrank to 71,473. In 1990 the plots had an area of 3550 hectares, now the allotment gardens occupy just 2932 hectares.
For Schoppa, the president of the Berlin regional association of “Gartenfreunde eV”, the numbers are an urgent signal that environmental protection and nature conservation must be given more importance in Berlin. That’s why he not only demands that all parcels that are shown in the land use plan be protected in a binding manner: a replacement area should also have to be offered for each canceled parcel.
The demands are made by several nature conservation organizations
One of several urgent demands that not only Schoppa’s association puts forward, but also the Nature Conservation Union (Nabu), the Union for Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation (BUND), the Berlin Friends of Nature, the Green League Berlin and those Garden Friends. They all presented their joint demands on Tuesday, appropriate to the upcoming elections in Berlin.
By sealing the new city districts, we are exacerbating the climate crisis.”
Juliana Schlaberg, nature conservation officer at the Nabu regional association in Berlin
The resealing of the soil is an important point for the environmentalists. “The goal of net zero in the resealing of soil must be achieved in the city center by 2025, and in Berlin by 2030 at the latest,” write the environmentalists.
The sealing of the soil exacerbates the climate crisis
“By sealing the numerous new urban districts, we are exacerbating the climate crisis,” said Juliana Schlaberg, nature conservation officer at the Nabu regional association in Berlin. “We simply can’t afford that anymore.” The limited area must be used more sensibly, “already sealed areas for apartment buildings, alternatively unsealed areas for species-rich urban green spaces and valuable open spaces for climate adaptation.”
In addition, the conservationists are demanding a significant increase in staff in the green space offices of the districts and in senate administrations that have to do with environmental protection. This is the only way to ensure biodiversity. This is endangered if, due to a lack of staff, only green areas are created that have to be maintained with as little staff as possible – such as those with short-cut lawns, for example.
Incorrect or inadequate care can have fatal consequences
Lena Assmann from the Green League Berlin said: “We must not lose any more habitats through insufficient, wrong or too intensive maintenance. A sufficient budget must be made available for the appropriate, biodiversity-promoting care and maintenance of urban green spaces.”
Tilmann Heuser, Managing Director of the BUND regional association Berlin, seconded: “Berlin finally needs a land use plan that defines the limits of the growth of settlement and traffic areas and develops a new control effect – away from the designation of further building areas towards securing the city green and protection of the urban climate.”
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