In the fourth quarter of 2023 the Barricade theme was forest occupations. We raised some substantial money that we will donate to support forest occupations all over Europe and had events like the screening of a forest occupation documentary, with a discussion afterwards featuring an activist from the occupation in the documentary and a spokesperson from Ameliesweerd Niet Geasfalteerd. Underneath you can find a little text by the forest occupation mobilisation group who trains people in the Netherlands and helps mobilise for threatened forests all over Europe. Up with trees, down with capitalism!
Love and Rage,
the Barricade
What’s up?
Our forests are under attack! This is probably not news to you but maybe it is good to remind ourselves though, that deforestation is rampant. Annually in the Netherlands, 18.5 km² of forest is being cut down. Looking to our neighbours; the German government’s infrastructural development plan still includes 840 km of new highway, many of those planned in places where there are now forests. In France, the building of a new highway through old-growth forest is already well under way. But it does not stop there. Forests are also under attack for factories, like the woods around Grünheide in Germany, pseudo-highways, like in the German Leinemasch, or infrastructural developments, like in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Our forests are under attack and their cries for help aren’t heard. It’s up to us to amplify their voice.
What’s the problem?
A forest is an ecosystem centuries in the making, which cannot easily be replaced. The replanting of trees is by far not enough to compensate for the dramatic loss of our forests. Not only do reforested trees compensate for much less CO² than older trees, but also industrially planted forests have a lower biodiversity than older forests.
In the Netherlands there is a long tradition of trying to save forests and occupying them, including the decades-long struggle for Amelisweerd, the struggle against the Schinveld NATO base or the 2022 Sterrebos occupation. Over the last decades we had the time to develop a lot of skills and expertise in protecting forests, ranging from fighting and winning court cases, to public demonstrations and organising forest occupations. Currently there is no active forest occupations in the Netherlands and many forests are not directly threatened with clearing this winter. In other countries however, there are more trees to protect than climbing harnesses available. Often there is a lack of resources, and most importantly people.
What can I do?
The most straightforward thing you can do is to go and support an occupation. Occupations are cold, often uncomfortable places to live and often they do not go hand in hand with studying or working full time. If you have the capacity to go to an occupation, build a tree-house, go dumpster diving, do some dishes or do a night watch so the police cannot enter the occupation without anyone noticing – go and do it! Most occupations are very welcome to newcomers and it is a great chance to join a community of people that care for the forest and each other. See also the info-group on Telegram for a list of active occupations.
If you cannot go, there is also a lot to do from home. You can collect some warm clothes and dry socks to send over with the next people going, organise info events to spread the call for help or simply post your support on social media to reach more people. Even better, organise and/or particpate in soli demos – a simple banner hanging will already do a lot!
Finally, if you do not have time, but instead some money to spare, you can donate it to an occupation. There is always a need for money to buy food, building materials, SIM cards, or pay legal fines for occupying a forest. Every euro helps and in the words of a German occupier: “Twenty euros in building materials and some creativity can make a nice platform, a barricade, or some warm pairs of socks.”
To keep you up to date, we have an info group on Telegram, where we can share information about events, trainings and organise people and material going to occupations. Here you can find out how you can help the forests that are currently threatened. Sometimes you can sign a petition, contact a particular government representative or blast call the helpdesk of the company that supplies machines for clearing the forest.
No single forest paved over! Are you with us?
Telegram info channel for info active forest occupations: https://t.me/+2dxIJTAPRdIzY2Nk
A sneakpeek into past forest occupations: