Citizens' initiative celebrates success: planebeans on the dike saved from pruning!

Citizens' initiative celebrates success: planebeans on the dike saved from pruning!

Neustadt, Deutschland - In Bremen, the pruning of the plane trees on the Neustädter Osterdeich continues to ensure discussion material. The environmental company Bremen (UBB) recently stopped work on the dike, which is celebrated as a great success of the “Platanen am Deich” citizens' initiative, which vehemently protested against the measures. According to Weser-Kurier was severely affected by the pruning, the work, the work partly took place during the breeding season. This was heavily criticized by the initiative, since plane trees are considered to be climate -protecting and offer numerous habitats for birds, bats and insects.

The spokesman for the initiative, Gunnar Christiansen, explains that the subsequent intervention is a sign of the positive effects of the commitment of the residents. The citizens' initiative demands that the health senator seriously check the health consequences of the pruning measures. Studies show that the temperatures under the mutilated plane trees are up to 8 degrees higher than in healthy trees, which significantly affects the microclimate. In addition, the initiative emphasizes that similar pruning work took place in 2013, 2016 and 2017/18 and a constant problem.

background of the protests

The BI sees the pruning measures not only as improper, but also as a danger to the dike, since the overturning of a tree could endanger stability. UBB, however, rejected the connection between the protests and the immediate stop of the work and emphasized that the pruning was carried out in the context of a planned tree maintenance and taking into account species protection regulations. This once again shows the tensions between environmental protection and the necessary infrastructural measures.

In addition, the BI indicates the possible alternative flood protection that could be implemented while maintaining the plane trees, supported by examples from other cities. In order to promote citizen participation, the initiative even plans a festival for saving the plane trees and calls for support. A sale of planned calendars for 2025 is also on the agenda to collect financial resources for a sustainable planning concept.

The role of environmental protection

In the context of this argument, the questions about urban environmental protection tighten. According to Environmental Federal Agency, an increased link between urban development and environmental protection will be necessary in the future, the challenges of climate protection, air protection and to counter resource protection. These research results could also be important for the current discussion about the plane trees on the dike by showing that synergies often remain unused between ecological and urban matters.