In the dispute over the inclusion of meadow landscapes near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Munich Administrative Court dismissed a lawsuit by property owners on Tuesday.
The owners had filed a lawsuit against the application submitted in January because they feared that the inclusion would limit the usability of their property. Prior to the decision, plaintiffs’ attorneys announced that they would appeal against the dismissal of the case.
The owners fear stricter requirements
The application for World Heritage status was submitted by the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the Bavarian Ministry of Science for signature at the beginning of the year and then submitted by the Foreign Office to Unesco in Paris. The aim is to have certain Alpine and pre-Alpine meadows, pastures and moor landscapes in the Werdenfelser Land, Staffelsee area and Ammergau designated as World Heritage.
However, some owners of these areas fear that the award will result in stricter requirements and obligations, especially for agricultural use. The decision to apply was made over the heads of the landowners, said farmer Georg Porer, one of the seven plaintiffs, on Tuesday. “People weren’t even asked.” Behind the seven plaintiffs listed are other property owners from the region, said the plaintiff’s lawyer.
Is World Heritage the right vehicle?
The Garmisch district chairman of the Bund Naturschutz in Bayern (BN), Axel Doering, called the application for World Heritage an “ambivalent matter”. “It is right and good if you try to get this meadow landscape,” said Doering on Tuesday. “The meadow landscapes that you want to preserve are unique. But the question is whether world heritage is the right vehicle.”
At first the area was smaller and in particular included the already protected humpback meadows. But then more areas were added “where you have to ask yourself whether that’s necessary,” said Doering. “The project, which is good in itself, has been inflated.”
Right from the start, the question of the admissibility of the lawsuit was at the center of the negotiation. For example, the presiding judge questioned the landowners’ standing to sue. This only exists for their own meadows, but not for the entire area covered by the application. The defendants – the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Free State of Bavaria – had moved to dismiss the lawsuit. The administrative court ultimately followed this application, but at the same time also approved an application by the plaintiff for admission of an appeal.
