Hamburg citizens petition to prevent Elbwald forest clearing

The association ‘Elbwald retten’ has submitted a popular petition containing 15,520 signatures to the President of the Hamburg Bürgerschaft, Carola Veit. The petition aims to prevent the planned clearing of approximately 400 trees in the Elbwald forest located near the Bubendey shore in Övelgönne.

Opponents of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) expansion argue that the project lacks economic necessity. They claim that container volume forecasts from 2012 were unrealistic; while 25.3 million TEUs were projected, the actual 2025 figure reached only 8.3 million units. With existing capacities near 14 million TEU, the group argues that the €1.1 billion expansion is unjustified.

While the group opposes new container terminals, they suggest that expanding the turning basin for larger ships would be beneficial. They propose that the lost trees could be compensated for by reforesting 25 hectares of wasteland located behind the Elbwald.