Environment

Germany Makes a National Commitment to Rescue Its Forests

“Every missing tree is a missing comrade-in-arms against climate change,” agriculture minister Julia Klöckner says.
The German army is being enlisted in the effort to clear diseased woods and make way for new growth.Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Germany has a massive plan to rescue its forests.

At Berlin’s “national forest summit” on Wednesday, Germany’s federal and regional governments promised €800 million ($878 million) to replant and renew Germany’s woodlands. The program represents a national commitment—the government has even enlisted the army’s help—to clearing dead wood and replanting over 440,000 acres of trees.