“Luxembourg City has committed to protect the forest, to strengthen it and to prepare it for the future!”, announced Maurice Bauer, the council alderman responsible for the environment, on Wednesday during the presentation of a so-called “Roadmap”. The capital’s priorities and projects for the upcoming years were presented In the midst of Bambësch, on the site of the forest services.
Luxembourg City counts 1,100 hectares of forest and 22,000 trees in the public realm, notably along the streets or in parks. However, the council knows that the forests and trees are not doing well. Luxembourg City has set five priorities to address the issues:
“First of all, the impact of climate change needs to be limited, secondly a more natural forest management should be encouraged, as well as an adaptation to climate change, new paths should be discovered and the future should be prepared by planting trees. A fourth priority is to use local wood better, the fifth priority consists of encouraging a modern and attractive ‘City forest’.“
Out of these priorities eight concrete projects have been passed. For instance there will be information panels at the entrance of each forest providing a QR code which leads the phone user to a new website. On that website the walker can see an interactive map which shows when there are works being done and a pathway is closed for example. Another project utilises workhorses which could help workers in the forest with removing trees. In terms of climate change one should be proactive, Maurice Bauer claimed. Thus, a forest greenhouse will be built at Eecherfeld.
“Those trees that we want to plant ourselves should be brought up and nurtured there.”
A new forest with over 2,500 trees will be planted at a one-acre space at Eecherfeld. In Hamm at a so-called “future forest”, new kinds of trees will be tested out.
Another project under consideration is the expansion of the forest services site with a view to turning it into a visitors’ centre, where all citizens are welcomed and brought closer to the forest.
