In Passau, urban forests are no longer allowed to be cleared for construction projects. The people of Passau voted for this in a referendum on Sunday. The decided ban on clearing is the first in Bavaria that is not only directed against a specific project, but also generally prohibits the city from clearing forest for construction projects. The Passau ÖDP politician Urban Mangold describes this as a “sensational success”. He once again emphasizes that forests are important for groundwater and heat protection. “The political majorities ignore that the forest is our most important ally in the fight against climate overheating and the biodiversity crisis.” The ÖDP now wants to offer all forest protection initiatives in Bavaria help to implement referendums based on the Passau model. “We want to start a movement from below by advising local initiatives throughout Bavaria,” says Mangold.
The Bavarian Municipal Association sees this signaling effect of the Passau referendum as limited. “It always depends on the individual case or the specific situation on site,” said the SZ when asked. It must be taken into account how much forest a community has, how high the settlement pressure is and what alternatives there are to forest clearing. So far, the municipal council is not aware of any other municipalities in which citizens want to enforce such a ban.
The citizens’ initiative “Save the Passau Forests” received around 78 percent approval in the referendum. With the 8,799 yes votes, the necessary quorum of 6,261 votes was exceeded. An alliance of numerous organizations and parties – including the Federation for Nature Conservation, the Greens, the ÖDP and several foresters – launched the citizens’ initiative. The reason was a planned commercial area in the Patriching district. For this purpose, the so-called hunter’s wood should be cleared.
In addition to the citizens’ initiative, the city council decided on a “council initiative for sustainable urban development”. The city wanted to ensure that it could continue to use forest areas for construction projects in the future if reforestation was carried out in other places. Replacement areas had already been planned for the Jägerholz in Schalding on the left of the Danube. Only just under 34 percent voted for the council’s request. Overall, voter turnout was 28 percent of eligible voters.
“From the beginning it was undisputed that the citizenry as sovereign should make the decision on the two competing issues and thereby express their clear will,” said Passau’s mayor Jürgen Dupper after the vote. This will be taken into account in further steps. The city has now been bound to the clearing ban for a year. The land-use planning process around the Jägerholz industrial area will be completely discontinued, according to a request from the SZ. This also has an economic impact, as there have already been specific interested parties for the planned commercial area. There was no comment on further effects on Passau’s urban development.