Germany's fiercest environmental battlefield

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http://www.dw.com/en/rwe-environment-coal-deforestation-activism-hambach-forest/a-18645204

In Germany, a major energy company is clearing an ancient forest to expand the country's largest coal mine. Activists are fighting back by living in the trees and chaining themselves to coal excavators.

Germany's fiercest environmental battlefield
Ruth Krause
13.08.2015

The fight over the Hambach Forest in western Germany resembles a David and Goliath story. On one side, barefoot young activists, living in caravans with no money and surviving on food donations, are fighting to save the forest, and on the other Germany's second largest electricity producer, RWE, is trying to clear it.

RWE operates the country's largest open-pit lignite mine at Hambach, providing nearby power stations with its coal. But that coal sits under the ancient "Hambacher Forst" and to get to it, the trees have to go. Eighty percent of the area has been deforested since the 1970s when it officially became RWE property. Now almost all of the remaining forest faces the chop.

This has turned Hambach Forest into a battlefield. In a bid to stop the mining, around three dozen activists have set up camp there to watch over the trees. Some are willing to act illegally - by chaining themselves to the coal excavators or trees - despite the threat of prison. RWE says these activities cause noticeable financial losses for the company.

Two of the activists challenging RWE are Mori, 25, and Mila, 19. They love the forest but have a particular fondness for Mona. Mona is the 250 year-old tree they illegally occupy. The activists live in a tree-house 16 meters up that is only accessible by a thin, dangling rope. They hope their presence will stop the heavy machines from doing their work.