The association Zusammenwald e.V. is dedicated to the creation and preservation of natural habitats in forests. We firmly believe that climate-stable forests are not only essential for the ecological balance, but also benefit the long-term well-being of our society. For this reason, we actively acquire forest areas with the aim of transforming them into sustainable protected areas for flora and fauna. One of our main concerns is to support the natural processes in the forest and thus significantly increase biodiversity. We want to designate certain areas of our forests as experimental areas where we can explore the interaction between humans and nature in more detail. We do not strive to make a profit from these forests and therefore withdraw them completely from forestry utilisation.

The forest then belongs to the non-profit organisation and remains so. With the legal status of an association, we want to ensure that once the land has been purchased, it is protected by the association in the long term. Climate protection projects often end after a few years and are then utilised commercially again. We want to take a different approach and protect the forest for as long as possible.

Our Idea

The Zusammenwald e.V. association creates and preserves natural habitats. We are convinced that climate-stable forests serve the long-term well-being of our society and the earth. To this end, we acquire managed forests and convert them into a refuge for nature and people. Our focus is on the natural development and promotion of biodiversity in our forests. A small part of our forests serves as a social experimentation area. Here we can learn with and from nature. As a matter of principle, we refrain from making economic profit in our forests. The forest is completely removed from forestry utilisation.

Biodiversity

In Germany, the development of forests is determined by forestry. Only 5 % of the German forest area is protected from forestry interventions (BMEL 2012, third national forest inventory). However, unmanaged forests are very important for the conservation of biodiversity. They provide space for old and gnarled as well as young and leaning trees. These heterogeneous structures, which are normally influenced or destroyed by humans, are home to a wide variety of animals, plants and fungi. Particular attention must be paid to healthy soil and the organisms living in it. They are responsible for providing the trees with important nutrients and sufficient water in dry periods. Accordingly, we refrain from using any heavy machinery in our forests and promote soil fertility.

Climate Protection

Not harvesting timber allows trees in our forests to die naturally, rot and allow young trees to grow back undisturbed. In contrast to managed forests, this process of primeval forest formation allows up to twice as much wood mass to be built up (Umweltrat, 2016). Carbon is stored in this wood mass, which accumulates over the entire life of a tree. If the tree dies, the deadwood is converted into humus by many small soil organisms. This means that some of the previously stored carbon is stored in the forest soil in the long term.

Development

The social significance of forests is constantly changing. In ancient times, forests helped our Germanic ancestors to achieve a glorious victory at the Battle of Varus. From the Middle Ages to industrialisation, they were important sources of raw materials and, after the Second World War, part of the reparations paid to the victorious powers. We are focussing on this and the future significance of the forests as an area of knowledge, recreation and culture. To this end, our members can design a development area of up to 20 % on topics such as community, health, nutrition and education. The prerequisite is that the concepts do not restrict the natural development of the forests and that biodiversity is preserved.

What does this means for our forest?

Utilisation of the forest:
  • No trees are felled for forestry use.
  • In exceptional cases, trees may be felled to promote open structures for increased biodiversity, to combat invasive species and to fulfil the duty to ensure public safety.
  • The wood and bark of the trees remain in the forest area.
  • The forest floor is not converted, e.g. for infrastructure projects. The dismantling of existing infrastructure is supported.
Use of machinery:
  • No heavy machinery is used on the forest floor (e.g. harvesters, forwarders, tractors, excavators).
  • Smaller machines may be necessary for forest maintenance (e.g. chainsaws, brush cutters, cable winches, hole drills). Only particularly environmentally friendly special fuels or electronic engines are used.
Planting:
  • To increase biodiversity, CO2 storage capacity and climate stability of the forests, additional tree species can be introduced to the areas.
  • New tree species to be planted correspond to the potential natural vegetation of the site or are particularly suitable for the site due to the expected climate changes.
  • The provenances of the new tree species to be planted are taken into account for the expected climate.
  • Trees that do not occur in Central Europe, are not planted.
Experimental space:
  • Provides a counterbalance to the forestry-dominated management of our forests.
  • The promotion and investigation of ecosystem services take centre stage.

Relationship to the Forestry Industry

We do not want to see the project as a confrontation with the forestry industry. We understand the high level of complexity that forest managers have been confronted with in recent years. We believe that wood is an important raw material that will continue to play an important role in the future, for example in the construction of furniture or houses. We would also like to make it clear that forests are suffering from climate change and that those who cause climate change are responsible for the state of our forests. Nevertheless, we believe that the purely economic utilisation of forest areas does not fulfil all the functions of an ecosystem and therefore want to free forest areas from economic constraints with Zusammenwald e.V.. We believe that there can be both: areas that are used commercially and areas that promote unprofitable ecosystem services. In this respect, we see ourselves as a project that exists alongside forestry.

Who we are

Zusammenwald e.V. is a group of people who are interested in the forest and its functions and creatures. We have come together with the aim of making a contribution to the forest. We have different professional and personal backgrounds and try to bring these into the association, we are united by the fact that we are determined to do something about the ongoing climate crisis and its impact on the forest ecosystem. We founded the association in 2022 after we had the initial idea in 2021. At the beginning, we were only concerned with taking an area of forest out of use, but over time we realised that we are in interaction with the forest and that the healthy development of the forest is paramount.

All members of the association bring different expertise to the association through their personal background and professional activities. We would be delighted to welcome further members who would like to join us in making their contribution to the forest. Please write to us at vorstand@zusammenwald.org if you are interested or would like to find out more.

Donations

We are looking for donations to help the forest, please consider donating here: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=EYJJLA3YBNZAW

or here: https://www.betterplace.org/en/projects/137366-converting-economic-forest-areas