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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.
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.