"This is the largest reforestation in Bonn's urban area for decades! It is rare to find areas for ecological enhancement on this scale in an urban environment," says a delighted David Baier, Head of the City of Bonn's Office for the Environment and Urban Greenery. At 6.4 hectares, the former farmland is the size of nine soccer pitches.
The area on Schleifenfelsweg in Oberkassel is located in the Siebengebirge FFH (Flora-Fauna-Habitat) and nature conservation area and is already surrounded by forest on three sides. The afforestation will ecologically enhance previously intensively used arable land, connect forest habitats and strengthen biodiversity and the biotope network. The measure contributes to the conservation and development goals of European and regional nature and species conservation. The resulting mixed deciduous forest and the resulting build-up of humus in the soil contribute to natural CO2 sequestration and thus to climate protection and climate adaptation. The project is therefore also part of Bonn's 2035 climate plan.
Bernd Sommerhäuser and his team from the Rhine-Sieg-Erft Regional Forestry Office started the planting work in spring 2023. The aim is to develop a mixed oak forest consisting of sessile oak, hornbeam, small-leaved lime, bird cherry and spirea. A birch coppice will be planted on a partial area to promote light-requiring species. The planting work is now almost complete. In spring 2026, a species-rich meadow will be sown with regional seed.
The majority of the land belongs to the state. At the start of planning, some areas were still privately owned. These have since been purchased or exchanged by the City of Bonn so that the area as a whole can be upgraded and the gap in the forest can be completely closed.
City supports reforestation and acquires eco-points
Because reforestation is an ecological enhancement measure without any legal obligation, it is recognized by the Lower Nature Conservation Authority as an eco-account measure. An eco-account offers the opportunity to realize and store the compensation requirements for interventions in nature and the landscape that arise for planning and approval procedures in advance. The areas are available for later projects requiring compensation.
Bettina Molly, Head of the Lower Nature Conservation Authority, explains: "The eco-account has the advantage that effective nature conservation measures are bundled on specific areas. The creation and long-term maintenance of enhancement measures on contiguous areas makes sense for nature conservation, is easier to implement and more cost-effective. Eco-accounts speed up the planning process, as it is not necessary to first look for compensation areas and plan and implement measures. They enable the long-term development of nature, which does not have to start at the time of the intervention and replacement measures."
290,000 eco-points will be generated by the reforestation on Schleifenfelsweg, according to the biotope type assessment by the NRW State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV). Once the measure has been approved by the Lower Nature Conservation Authority, the city of Bonn will acquire the eco-points generated and enter them into the city's eco-account. The city will invest a total of 1.1 million euros over a period of five years. The costs include the creation, development care and permanent maintenance of the forest areas by the Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz.
The city can use the eco-points to compensate for its own planning or construction projects, for necessary infrastructure measures or measures for the energy and mobility transition. They can also be sold on to other project sponsors for compensation purposes. In accordance with the council resolution, preference is given to project sponsors who build subsidized or long-term price-linked housing. The income generated from this flows back into the climate plan.
In principle, the city of Bonn always tries to implement compensation measures in the planning area or in close proximity to the intervention, but this is usually very difficult. However, the reforestation on Schleifenfelsweg cannot be used for replacement planting of trees protected by the statutes. Replacement tree planting must take place within the scope of the tree protection statutes, i.e. in the inner planning area.
Reforestation as a natural CO2 sink is part of Bonn's climate plan
The reforestation on Schleifenfelsweg is part of Bonn's climate plan, specifically in the compensation field of action: even if Bonn aims to be climate-neutral by 2035, a residual amount of unavoidable greenhouse gases will be produced in the city area - for example by traffic or industry. Natural CO2 sinks such as forests and soils bind climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere and store it permanently. Further information on this can be found at www.bonn.de/klimaplan. (opens in a new tab)