An appeal to the black-green Hessian state government

We, different groups from the climate justice movement, express our solidarity with the activists in the Dannenröder Wald who are working for the preservation of the forest. We call on the responsible decision makers to stop the extension of the A49 motorway in order to save the forest and to comply with their agreements from the coalition agreement for the protection of the forests, the water and the climate.

The Dannenröder Forest in Hesse is not only a showcase for sustainable forestry, it is also a 300-year-old healthy mixed forest and supplies half a million people with clean drinking water. For more than 40 years, there have been plans to build the A49 motorway, which would cut the Dannenröder Forest in half and leave irreparable damage to the ecosystem. Just as long as there have been plans for the A49 motorway, resistance to this construction project, which has now become a planning dinosaur, has grown.

Now the Dannenröder forest is to be cleared in October 2020 under the black-green Hessian state government and will make way for the expansion of the motorway. The “Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau GmbH”, DEGES for short, has already taken over the construction contract for the expansion of the A49 motorway: it is therefore to be expected that the manifold resistance and the clearing of the forest will soon start.

It is particularly disturbing that the Greens, who see themselves as a climate protection party, are also responsible for the construction of the motorway and seemingly accept the destruction of nature for a transport project of the past. As of 1 January 2021, responsibility for the planned A49 motorway will pass to the German government. So it is still in the power of the Hessian state government to stop the construction of the motorway and to fulfill its political responsibility on the basis of its own coalition agreement.

We appeal to the DEGES, to the black-green state government of Hesse, to Tarek Al- Wazir as the responsible Hessian Minister of Transport, and to the federal government:
The Dannenröder Wald and every other forest must be preserved in times of hot summers and years of drought – decide on a moratorium for the expansion of the A49.
Drinking water must be protected and must not be endangered by transport projects – don’t let half a million households fear for their drinking water.
Keep your promises and commit to a socially responsible mobility transition – promote free public transport instead of new motorways.

In view of the climate crisis, don’t play with all our futures!

The social support for the activists in the forest occupation and for the citizens’ initiatives, who peacefully but courageously and resolutely resist the destruction of the Dannenröder forest and the expansion of the A49, continues to grow. For example, the alliance “Wald statt Asphalt” (Forest instead of asphalt) was founded, in which the most diverse groups are represented. More and more people, groups and organizations are also opposing the transport project, thus showing that the black-green state government is taking on the entire climate justice movement if it allows the Dannenröder forest to be cleared.

We will not let our future be wasted!