A property developer in Australia may not have realized that his actions were illegal — but either way, by the end of it, 20 trees that were next to a koala habitat were dead.
What happened?
The man, Adam Pennisi, purchased the property to develop an apartment complex. At the time of purchase, the property contained "significant native vegetation," according to The Courier Mail.
Pennisi filed for a permit to build a shed on the property, which he was granted. However, when he began felling trees to build it, concerned community members filed a complaint with the city, who immediately ordered Pennisi's crew to stop.
He was charged with 20 charges of interfering with, or causing or permitting interference to, protected trees — one charge for each tree they chopped.
Magistrate Jacqui Payne, who oversaw his case, said, "[Mr. Pennisi] wrongly assumed that the shed would allow these trees for removal," the Courier reported. "… That assumption was wrong and that did not allow him to remove those trees."
Why is it important to hold developers accountable?
This is hardly the first instance of property owners damaging the environment in the name of personal gain, like the owner of an MLB team who bulldozed a public beach to use the sand on his own property.
When this happens, plants and animals are the ones who pay the price. In the case of one man, who destroyed a mile-long stretch of river near his property, the judge for his case said that he committed "ecological vandalism on an industrial scale" by creating "a canal devoid of life," according to The Independent. He was sentenced to a year in jail.
And while Ms. Payne told Mr Pennisi she had "no doubt" he would not have felled the trees had he known they were protected, other individuals would be hard-pressed to claim the same.
Connecticut's governor recently cleared 180 native trees adjacent to his property in order to gain better views.
One resident, at a hearing with Connecticut's wetland commission, said, "The people involved knew they would never be allowed to do this, if they had applied for a permit, so they did it anyway," the Associated Press reported.
What's being done to address this?
For Mr. Pennisi, the price of reparations is steep — at least, it would be for anyone who's not a multi-millionaire.
According to the Courier, he agreed to plant 415 trees at a cost of $36,283 in addition to the $7,000 fine. (He negotiated this down from an initial number of 648 trees.)
And while the individuals and groups who destroy nature for their own benefit are usually reprimanded and charged, an ideal world would include less destruction in the first place.
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