today at 12:58
,Germany
The Hambach Forest looks back on an eventful history – and now forward to a shared future. Eight years after the sometimes dramatic disputes surrounding lignite mining, former opponents have reached a remarkable agreement: RWE, nature conservation associations, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and surrounding municipalities have signed a joint declaration to permanently secure the Hambach Forest as wilderness. Economic use of the forest thus belongs to the past.
The key points of the agreement are clearly defined: by 2035 at the latest, the Hambach Forest is to be transferred to public ownership. The state of NRW plans to designate it as a wilderness development area, placing it under permanent nature protection. RWE commits to forgoing any forestry use even before the formal transfer of ownership. The agreement is to be enshrined in a binding public-law contract by the end of 2026.
Environment Minister Oliver Krischer praised the agreement in clear terms.
„This is a historic day that opens a new chapter for the Hambach Forest." — Oliver Krischer, Environment Minister NRW
In 2018, the Hambach Forest became a symbol of resistance against the Hambach open-cast mine. Since the early 2010s, climate activists had built treehouses, some as high as 20 meters. In autumn 2018, the North Rhine-Westphalian state government ordered the forest to be cleared – officially citing a lack of fire safety standards in the treehouse settlements. The operation was massive: around 31,000 police officers were deployed in shifts, totaling nearly 380,000 duty hours – one of the largest police operations in the state’s history.
The legal aftermath followed swiftly. In 2021, the Cologne Administrative Court ruled that the eviction had been unlawful – a finding that retrospectively placed a heavy burden on the state government’s decision at the time.
The future design of the area extends beyond the forest itself. Two wide ecological corridors are to connect the Hambach Forest with the Steinheide and the Merzenich Erbwald, enabling animals and plants to spread into the surrounding area. The Merzenich Erbwald is also to be designated as an independent nature reserve.
For visitors, the so-called “Hambach LOOP” is planned – a cycle and footpath to run along the former A4 motorway route through the forest. The Hambach open-cast mine itself is unaffected by the agreement and will continue operations, including recultivation work and the planned Hambach Lake.
What began in 2018 as an irreconcilable conflict thus ends in an outcome that few of those involved at the time would have thought possible: a jointly supported vision for a forest long regarded as a battlefield.
