Germany’s government has not only taken a wrecking ball to the nation in terms of COVID, but also to its biodiversity in its self-deluded bid to protect the climate.
Clearing of 2000 hectares in one of the last undisturbed forests has begun as State of Hesse issues the construction approval for massive industrial wind park. Image: https://rettet-den-reinhardswald.de/.
“Grimm’s fairy tale forest”
About a year ago we reported on disturbing plans by the government of the German state of Hesse to clear 20 million square meters of 1000-year old “fairy tale” forest in one of Germany’s most idyllic, fairy tale-like forests: the Reinhardswald located in the hilly region west of the city of Göttingen.
The Reinhardswald is known as the “treasure house of European forests” or the “Grimm’s fairy tale forest”.
A total of about 2000 hectares ( 20 million m²) of the thousand-year-old Reinhardswald was designated for destruction by the state in order to clear the way for a massive wind power plant development.
Conservatives, Greens ram project through
Tragically, that battle to stop the destructive project has been dealt a severe blow as the construction of access roads began 2 days ago. The massive resistance of the affected citizens was ignored by the Hesse state government, which ironically is governed by a coalition of the CDU conservatives and environmentalist Greens. Updates posted here.
Press release
What follows is the press release from environmental protection group Aktionsbündnis Märchenland:
The Reinhardswald never had a chance. Not in Hesse. Not in this power structure, in whose ‘care’ the state-owned, widely known Reinhardswald is now to be cleared, chopped up, concreted over, built on – treated like any other industrial area along any motorway. Only a few kilometers away — in North Rhine-Westphalia and in Lower Saxony — the Reinhardswald would have been safe as a historically old, large-scale forest site worthy of protection, particularly significant in terms of biodiversity. But not in Hesse.
Conservation group Aktionsbündnis Märchenland is stunned by the granted approval – but not surprised. From the very beginning, this project in the Reinhardswald forest district was rammed through in a manner of an overlord against all protests from municipalities, groups, initiatives, associations and, in any case, over the heads of the people affected, as a prestige project of the Hessian state government.
For years, the project developers have been able to rely on the political and technical support from Wiesbaden – right up to the approval process. The Regional Council of Kassel, which is bound by directives, only needed to implement them.
The largest wind turbine project in Hesse, with over 14 kilometres of new and upgraded roads capable of carrying heavy loads, is now to be built in the valuable eco-system of the forest, which is also the heart of a demonstrably historically old forest site with a history of over 1000 years going back to Medieval times.
The last of Germany’s undisturbed landscapes
The area is the largest contiguous forest area in Hessen in a virtually uninhabited, undisturbed and therefore in itself an extremely valuable natural area. It’s beauty serves as a recreational area of outstanding importance [1] in the midst of a landscape that is partly classified as cultural-historical and of the highest value. Even according to Hessian Environment Minister Priska Hinz (Greens), it is one of the most scenic regions in Germany [2],
The Reinnhardswald is a landscape that has not yet been industrially influenced and which belongs to those of which the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation describes as: “Landscapes that appear close to nature without technical influences that must be preserved.” [3]
“Shockingly wrong” ruling
The decision to grant construction permission in the Reinhardswald forest, which is known far beyond the state and even federal borders, is considered by the Action Alliance group to be shockingly wrong, exclusively politically motivated and, moreover, highly endangering confidence in the implementation of the transition to green energies.
The Action Alliance declares: “We are already announcing that we will document all events in the Reinhardswald and make them public, as well as all existing expert reports and expert authority statements. In addition, we are already asking all supporters who take photographs and film to contact us so that we can coordinate the work if necessary. The clearing began immediately today as over one hundred-year-old beech trees have already fallen.
In addition, we will use our possibilities to support the already announced lawsuits of environmental associations and possibly municipalities.
Donations can be made via our homepage at: https://rettet-den-reinhardswald.de/spenden-dein-beitag…/.
Links:
[1] http://www.rpkshe.de/lrp2000/bestand/a_7/a7_63/k23a7_63.htm
[2] https://www.forstpraxis.de/he_naturpark_reinhardswald_sl/
[3] https://www.bfn.de/…/BfNErneuerbareEnergienReport2019…
Please spread the word! The Reinhardswald needs your help!
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THE DISPUTE https://bit.ly/rdrinfobeitrag
14+ KM ROAD CONSTRUCTION http://bit.ly/rdr14kmstrasse
50-60 (TOTAL 140) TURBINES http://bit.ly/rdr140
LEVERAGING SPECIES PROTECTION http://bit.ly/rdrartenschutz
PARTICIPATE http://bit.ly/rdrmitmachen
PETITION 1 https://bit.ly/petition1regenwald
PETITION 2 https://bit.ly/petition2changeorg
via NoTricksZone
February 4, 2022
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