Questão jurídica principal
Whether terrain alterations destroying a hedge or other ecologically valuable biotopes may be stopped without prior individual protection designation.
Decisão extraída
Yes. Sections 17 and 20 NHV protect such objects by law; a prior protection zone or individual protection order is not required.
Fundamentação extraída
The court held that the NHV’s general protection rules aim at the direct legal protection of specific biotope types. The prohibition therefore applies independently of a prior designation decision.