2.2 Activist Nolo on Mining and the Future of Hambach Forest near Jülich, Germany

Capitalism has become so productive that it’s inefficient. 

Nolo

The interview was edited by Felix Radke and Anna S. Hüncke

Last updated: 2025/10/07

 Fig. 2.2: Treehouse, Hambach Forest, Germany

The interdisciplinary research team of “Ethical Mining” met the activist Nolo at a treehouse in Hambach Forest in autumn 2024. Nolo stayed there for several days. The forest borders directly on the Hambach open-pit mine, the largest lignite mining site in Europe, located near Jülich, Germany. A few months later, Nolo shared their experiences of occupying Hambach Forest and their perspectives on nature, society, the economy, and mining in an interview.

Q: Have you followed recent developments in Hambach Forest? What’s your position on them?

Nolo: I don’t live there anymore. Life in the forest was very exhausting—earlier it was easier because there were more people. Most recently, a forest east of Hambach near Marheim was occupied. RWE claims they need the overburden for the slopes, but that’s nonsense. They could mine Sophienhöhe and backfill it. Instead, they say the area has been rehabilitated and want to clear another forest. This time, the protest prevented logging during the season, but surrounding areas were cleared, and there was a lot of violence from security.

Q: But you were active in other places too?

Nolo: Yes, in Dietenbach Forest near Freiburg. I skipped the last eviction there because it was extremely violent. The police acted very strategically, with the clear intention of using violence until people came down from the trees. On the first day, they came with lifts and removed ladders. People were stuck up there, without harnesses, without an escape route.

Q: Aren’t there ways to resolve this without violence?

Nolo: Hard. Two very hard positions clash. Many who occupy forests come from the autonomous scene and live out their vision of social change there. Treehouses are one step—a small free space that’s fought for until a logging or eviction permit comes. For the state, that’s a problem, because it prefers to be asked so it can say no.

Q: That sounds like more than environmental protection—almost like social critique.

Nolo: Yes. We act destructively because we no longer see the value of nature and put profit above everything. Sustainability has become a topic, but it still takes second place to profit. Take lithium mining, for example: extremely water-intensive, pollutes groundwater, destroys the livelihoods of local communities. That’s not a vision of the future—it’s destructive.

Q: Should everyone live like the activists—in treehouses?

Nolo: No. That would be coercion. Living in the forest is like a journey into the past: no running water, hardly any electricity. It’s very limited, but you learn how privileged we are in our apartments. Still, it cannot be the solution to demand that everyone live like that.

Q: What kinds of people get involved in forest occupations?

Nolo: Very diverse. People from poorer backgrounds who’ve experienced a lot of systemic violence. Many students. But also people with psychological issues who otherwise don’t have a place. Overall, it’s a mix—sometimes just travelers passing through or people coming from Fridays for Future. There are some older people, but few—it’s too physically demanding.

Q: Under what circumstances would resource extraction be justified?

Nolo: We generally need to mine less. The problem is overproduction. Products are thrown away because new ones keep coming. Construction is similar: high-rises are demolished after just a few years simply because it’s more profitable to build new ones. Capitalism has become so productive that it’s inefficient.

Q: Would it be different under socialism?

Nolo: Not necessarily. In the GDR, environmental protection was in the constitution, but the economy was still extremely harmful. There are contaminated sites to this day. One difference: products were more durable. Glasses that are practically indestructible, or cars you could easily repair. We can learn from that. Today, products are deliberately short-lived—that’s the opposite of sustainable.

Q: When is a forest occupation successful?

Nolo: When a forest is preserved, obviously. But also when people are politicized and start questioning their own engagement. Even if the logging isn’t prevented, it’s valuable. For me, it was a very educational experience.

Q: What do you say about compensation areas and reforestation?

Nolo: That destroys an intact ecosystem. Planting trees isn’t enough. Animals like the hazel dormouse disappear, their habitat is lost. The best approach is to leave nature to itself. It knows how regeneration works—often faster and more sustainably than we think.

Q: And the geopolitical dimension? Resources and security, Ukraine, energy autonomy?

Nolo: Difficult. The utopia is a world without states and wars, but that’s not realistic. What’s clear: wars are almost always linked to resources and driven by profit interests. People often say war is inevitable, but the question should be: aren’t there other solutions?

Q: May I ask: where does your knowledge come from?

Nolo: A lot from conversations, articles, friends. For example, lithium or iron mining in Sweden or Portugal. In Portugal, there’s a community with commons—shared goods. This way of life is threatened because a lithium mine is planned. Entire communities can be destroyed this way.

Q: How do you bring your ideas into society?

Nolo: By showing how valuable nature is and counteracting alienation. But many people isolate themselves, especially through digitalization. We need real communities again—meetings, exchange. Otherwise, parallel realities emerge on the internet.

Q: Are there limits for you in dialogue?

Nolo: Yes. Radical freedom of speech sounds nice, but it leads to the tolerance paradox: if you tolerate everything, intolerant positions ultimately destroy tolerance. Positions like historical trivialization or AfD rhetoric are unacceptable to me.

Q: Are there theorists you refer to?

Nolo: Varies. Personally, I’m reading Erich Mühsam right now, a Jewish anarchist who was involved in the Bavarian Soviet Republic.

Q: Thank you for your insights and time, Nolo.