When conservationism and construction clash in Germany

A German court has temporarily halted the clearing of thousands of trees to make room for Elon Musk's electric car factory near Berlin. Environmental activists moved the court just days after the cutting of trees began, citing threat to wildlife and water supplies in the area. Tesla wants to start production at the "Gigafactory" in Grünheide in Brandenburg as early as the middle of next year.

In Munich, conservationists are currently trying to prevent further expansion of the airport by petitioning the state parliament. In times of climate change, the airport is planning a "gigantic expansion" with "unlimited land consumption," the critics say. The petition, which has already been signed by 12,000 people, is due to be submitted in early 2020.

The hermit beetle is small and you rarely get to see it. But it was spotted in six trees near Stuttgart's main train station, that is to say in reality only its droppings were spotted. Those trees would have been cut down for the Stuttgart 21 railway project — but they weren't immediately as the beetle is a protected species.

The EU decided the trees could only be felled under one condition as German rail operator Deutsche Bahn explained on October 30. In a nearby park, some trees will have to become the new home of the hermit beetles which will be relocated there, meaning that Stuttgart 21 will become even more expensive and face more delays.

Ospreys and cranes got in the way of construction work at the yet unfinished Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER). When agreeing on routes, stress levels for these animals had not been considered properly, campaigners argued. Hence the European Commission lodged a formal complaint against Germany.

The European hamster has a long record as a force that's slowed down construction projects. In 2004, they were found near Grevenbroich in Germany, exactly where utility RWE intended to build a power station. Construction only started in 2006. The hamster also caused delays in the construction of an industrial park and an exhibition center elsewhere in the country.

A bridge across the Elbe river was almost not built in Dresden, Germany, as it would have crossed the flight route of protected horseshoe bats there. A special guiding system using bushes and trees was installed for the bats to fly under the bridge in order not to collide with any vehicles or the bridge itself.

An important Elbe dredging project has been stalled for 12 years, with excavators not having been given the go-ahead. Container ships need the water in the river to become deeper again, but the Elbe is also used by northern shovelers, a rare Asian dragonfly and a rare red knot shorebird species — and these must not be harmed!

After German reunification, plans emerged to build a highway linking the towns of Eisenach and Kassel. The upshot of it all was that lawyers and judges had to deal with Italian crested newts and yellow-bellied toads. Among other things, a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) tunnel has been built to protect the habitat of a total of 5,000 newts there.