Planting crisis in Western Pomerania-Rügen: Where are our avenue trees?

Planting crisis in Western Pomerania-Rügen: Where are our avenue trees?

The debate about the preservation of avenues in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is becoming increasingly important. The regional association of the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) has expressed clear demands regarding the protection and replanting of avenue trees. In particular, statistics show that nationwide the lack of planting on county and municipal roads has increased to an alarming 7,500 trees. The situation continues to worsen; In 2023, there were 259 fellings compared to a decrease in new plantings. With the exception of the Rostock district, all other districts recorded negative numbers, which underlines the urgency of the situation.

In addition to the calculated figures from the Vorpommern-Rügen district, where 1,022 trees have been felled and only 185 planted in the last five years, the BUND is demanding that the responsible authorities ensure that new plants are planted as part of compensatory and replacement measures. This is particularly important because avenues not only shape the landscape, but also play an important role in the climate and biodiversity.

The role of avenues for the environment and society

Avenues are of inestimable value as cultural assets. A new parliamentary group called “Kulturgut Alleen” was founded in the Bundestag, in which 15 MPs from the CDU, Greens and Left are working together to give this issue more weight. BUND has been actively involved in this area since 2008 and chooses the “Allee of the Year” in Germany every year. The first award went to the picturesque district road between Silenz and Neuenkirchen on Rügen, lined with around 1,000 old ash, linden and maple trees.

Particularly worth mentioning is an avenue on Rügen that includes around 500 Krimlinden trees along the Alte Bäderstrasse between Garz and Kasnevitz. Such avenues are not only important for preserving biodiversity, but also provide a recreational space for citizens. This makes it all the more urgent that reforestation measures come into greater focus.

The balance on the federal and state roads shows good news: there are 3,792 new plantings compared to 2,489 fellings. Nevertheless, the situation on district and municipal roads remains worrying. The BUND advocates extending the “Ordinance on the Restoration of Nature” to include avenues in order to ensure a holistic view of environmental protection measures.

In summary, one thing is certain: the avenues are not only a beautiful sight, but also an essential part of our cultural landscape. Political decision-makers are called upon to face this challenge and take the importance of green spaces seriously.

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