“We stand here for something that is quiet, but shapes all of our lives: a forest that has grown over generations, in which birds breed and bats hunt at night,” a warmly wrapped speaker calls into the microphone. Around 20 people waited in front of the House of Representatives here on Thursday morning. Their goal: to intercept parliamentarians on the way to work. When they see one, they shout: “We are here, it is cold, don’t steal Emmaus Forest from us”.
Activists have been fighting for years to preserve the small forest area north of the A 100 tunnel in Neukölln. Against the plans of the Vonovia subsidiary Buwog, here To build hundreds of apartments – many of them freehold –they tirelessly list the same arguments: Hardly any affordable housing is being created; Forest areas provided urgently needed cooling during the climate crisis; and it was democratically questionable that the Senate withdrew jurisdiction from the district after it had spoken out against deforestation.
But neither moral appeals nor political arguments have so far been able to change the minds of the Senate or the company. That’s why the activists, together with the Green faction, are now fielding a new ally: the residents of the forest themselves. In a motion submitted to parliament on Thursday, the Greens are once again calling on the Senate to stop the construction plans – and refer to bat species on the Red List that live here. Because they are not unlike the residents of the district who have been hit by gentrification: they no longer have anywhere to go in the city center.
This creates a new level of difficulty for the Senate and Buwog
Daniel Wesener, Green Party
“This creates a new level of difficulty for the Senate and Buwog,” said Neukölln Green MP Daniel Wesener at the rally on Thursday. He points to the European Flora-Fauna Habitats Directive, which stipulates that bat habitats must be maintained in a favorable condition.
Alliance of humans and animals
But as with humans, the Senate also argues that a little repression isn’t too bad for animals. Martin Pallgen, spokesman for the Administration for Urban Development, tells the taz that there is “no evidence” that species protection is standing in the way of the project. The bats could ultimately also hunt in the neighboring cemetery – or later in the construction area itself, where “compensation measures” are planned.
But what could now save at least half of the forest is – of all things – the motorway next door. During the planning process, the Senate noticed that the Federal Highway Act prohibits development within 40 meters of a motorway. The southern side of the forest will therefore not be cut down for the time being. But that doesn’t change the plans much. They now simply want to build “higher buildings on less space,” says Pallgen to the taz.
In the end, everyone should apparently come together here: people and animals, living spaces and forests. The fact that such condensation leads to the defenseless having to disappear, has been observed in Berlin for decades. The question remains whether the residents of this area can come together – regardless of whether they walk on two legs or glide silently through the trees at night.