Blockades at the entrance to Hambach Forest, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Protesters living in the forest maintained makeshift barricades at each entrance to the forest to impede police action to evict them.

The Hambach Forest is a hugely rich ecosystem, home to a multitude of species that should be protected. But when permission to fell the forest for mining was given in the 1970s, it wasn’t necessary to carry out an environmental impact assessment - and no assessment has been done to date. Under Germany’s coal exit law, ‘Hambi’ has now been saved - a victory for campaigners - but only 10% of the original forest remains.