Fireworks in landscape protection: Danger for Leipzig birds?

Fireworks in landscape protection: Danger for Leipzig birds?

Thekla, Deutschland - On May 21, 2025, a council meeting took place in Leipzig, which raised the topic of fireworks in connection with the bird extinction. The Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen faction made an inquiry to the dangers that could assume planned fireworks on the Thekla excavator. In this context, the Office for Environmental Protection referred to the German Sprenance Act, but did not give a clear statement on the nature conservation regulations. Environmental Mayor Heiko Rosenthal was not present due to illness, which led to the criticism of CDU City Councilor Michael Weickert.

SPD city councilor Andreas Geisler expressed that the topic was already dealt with in the previous year without taking appropriate measures. Dr. Tobias Peter, group leader of the Greens, pointed out that there is a general ban on burning for fireworks in landscape protection areas during the breeding season. Despite these concerns, the city of Leipzig plans two fireworks as part of the water festival, one of which was officially requested. Each fireworks are funded with 5,000 euros from the cultural office and the city district budget northeast.

environmental protection and nature conservation concerns

The lower nature conservation authority asked the NABU Leipzig to find a professional assessment after a tax college that took place on February 13. A decision should originally be made on May 23. The citizens' association Leipzig Nordost, on the other hand, plans fireworks despite the nature conservation concerns and rejects a waiver. Anne Vollerthun, who criticizes the citizens' association, accuses him of ignoring nature conservation and operating Greenwashing by portraying itself as nature conservation -friendly. In addition, there is the use of diesel generators in the landscape protection area during the festival.

Vollerthun asks the citizens' association to cancel the fireworks and to plan alternative events. A survey shows that a large part of the population is against fireworks in the breeding season.

background for bird death

The topic of bird death, which was addressed in the council meeting, is not new. Studies show that around 56 % of field birds have disappeared in the EU since 1980, and in Germany the decline is around 40 %. Species such as the skylarks, the lapwing and the vineyard are particularly affected, the stocks of which have dropped by 55 %, 93 % and 91 %. The main cause of this dramatic bird death is the intensification of agriculture, which affects both the food base and the habitat of the birds.

According to the NABU, bird death cannot be explained primarily by increased death figures for adult birds, but by insufficient rearing young birds. Intensive agriculture not only promotes insect death, but also reduces important structural elements such as hedges and fallow brings that serve as a habitat. This problem is increased by the joint use of pesticides and fertilizers, which further exacerbates the situation of the bird species concerned. Christian Hof from the Technical University of Munich emphasizes the importance of these landscape structures and indicates that climate change also influences the migratory birds, which have increasingly problems when returning from their winter quarters.

The topic of fireworks on the Thekla excavator thus has many challenges for environmental protection in the context of bird death and must be addressed urgently in the sense of nature conservation.