Consultation on environmental matters

Species Protection Assessment (SPA)

The Species Protection Assessment (SPA) tests the species protection requirements for endangered or protected species (such as certain species of birds, owls, bats, amphibians and reptiles) in accordance with Section 44 of the German Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG) and checks on the infringement of prohibitory provisions when carrying out a project. It would, for example, be forbidden to injure or kill protected species, to damage or destroy their breeding or resting grounds, to significantly disrupt some species at certain times and to harm protected plant species.

Should this not be ruled out when carrying out your project, a screening of the impact on the ecological functionality of the affected breeding or resting grounds - possibly involving early compensatory measures - will be triggered with regard to whether the habitat still provides a continuous ecological functionality. Early compensatory measures (CEF measures e.g. as the hanging of nesting boxes) may be the solution here taking various functional, local and temporal requirements into consideration. If this is not possible in an individual case, an exemption is required according to Section 45 Article 7 of the German Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG).

On request, we also carry out examinations of species contained in the Red List of Endangered Species and create faunistic surveys.

If these species occur within FFH (under the Habitat Directive) or bird sanctuaries, a FFH (preliminary) examination or is furthermore required which may integrate the needs of specific species protection. An SPA can also be created as part of an environmental impact assessment.

environmental impact and compensation management

Construction and industrial projects may pose an intervention in nature and landscape. This refers amongst others to any changes affecting the shape or use of areas (soil sealing), or changes in the groundwater level associated with the active soil layer. According to Section 15 of the German Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG), the intervening party shall be obligated to compensate for any unavoidable adverseeffects (compensation measures) or to substitute them in some other way (substitutionmeasures).

Whether compensation measures are required and to what extent, or if a monetary substitution is possible or an eco-account can be used, will be determined in an intervention-offset balance and a respective report will be created.

Please note: In general, the long-term suitability of the measures must be evidenced (monitoring).

The German Federal Compensation Ordinance - BKompV and appropriate local guidelines (e.g. compensation regulations in Hesse, the guidelines for the implementation of impact regulations in Brandenburg, the guidelines for environmental impact assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia etc.) shall be adhered to when assessing the environmental impact and determining the scope of compensation measures.

Should you have any queries or should you be in need of an assessment under above regulations, please feel free to contact us.