Environmental protection: Germany condemned for not enough nature conservation for meadows

According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Germany has not done enough to protect species-rich meadows. The ECJ found that the Federal Republic should have paid better attention to preserving its poor lowland hay meadows and mountain hay meadows. The judges in Luxembourg partly agreed with the European Commission. The authority had opened proceedings because it saw violations of the so-called Habitats Directive, i.e. EU law.

Protection “general and structural” failed

The Flora-Fauna-Habitats Directive sets out how Member States should manage areas in the Natura 2000 protected area. This is an EU network of areas that play an important role in the conservation of endangered or typical habitats and animal species. However, the ECJ ruled that Germany had neglected the preservation of protected meadows “generally and structurally”. Areas of both types of meadow have shrunk.

Mowing meadows are cultivated meadows that are created through regular cutting – hay is produced there. When agricultural use is not too intensive, these meadows are species-rich and have many flowering plants. That is why they are considered important habitats for protected animal and plant species.

The reasons given by the judges for the meadow losses, which were classified as significant, were that the areas had not been monitored enough. There was no mandatory protection against over-fertilization and mowing too early.

The Commission’s second complaint dismissed

In addition, the EU Commission had also accused the Federal Republic of not regularly updating data on its protected meadows. However, the judges rejected this complaint. The Habitats Directive does not impose any obligation on Member States to do so.

The ruling obliges Germany to improve meadow protection. If the Federal Republic does not comply, a fine can be imposed in a second court case.

Nabu calls for quick action

The Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) welcomed the verdict. Germany must now act quickly, said Nabu President Jörg-Andreas Krüger. “The deficiencies are known, the necessary and legally required measures are clear.” Nabu called for an action plan coordinated by the federal government “with binding and specific goals and measures for all Natura 2000 areas”. Nabu had already filed a complaint with the EU Commission in 2014 because Germany was not meeting its obligations to protect meadows.