In April 2019 in Lublin, a city of 340,000 inhabitants in eastern Poland, a local referendum was held, ordered by the City Council, concerning a change of development for a c. 105 ha green area, Górki Czechowskie, which has diverse wildlife and provides important ecosystem services. Until the 1990s the area was a military training site. The referendum concerned a proposal to use one-third of the area for new residences. The plan threatens the largest urban population of the European hamster Cricetus cricetus in Lublin, where a density of 1.57 burrows per ha has been recorded (R. Lopucki & A. Szelag, 2013, In Studies of Animal Biology Ecology and Conservation in European Cities, pp. 525–532, eds P. Indykiewicz et al., University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland).

Although categorized as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, the European hamster is protected in many European countries, and listed in Appendix II of the Bern Convention and in Appendices II and IV of the EU Habitats Directive. The species is also threatened in Poland: its range has decreased by 90% since 1970 (Ziomek et al., 2018, Conservation Program for the European Hamster Cricetus cricetus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Poland, Salamandra, Poznan, Poland). Sixty-eight per cent of residents voting in the referendum did not support development on the disputed area but the problem remains unresolved because only 12.9% of residents participated (the result can only be binding if at least 30% of eligible voters participate). The decision regarding Górki Czechowskie now lies with the city authorities, and this urban population of the hamster thus remains at risk.

The referendum demonstrates that democratic procedures are not necessarily a guarantee of nature conservation, and raises the question of whether a referendum is an appropriate democratic tool for resolving conflicts between urban development and nature conservation. Rather, it may be more appropriate that central government should participate in resolving such issues. This would fulfil the obligation of national responsibility (sensu Schmeller et al., 2018, Conservation Biology, 22, 593–601) for the protection of the hamster.