North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is set to designate approximately 5,000 hectares of wilderness areas by mid-2026, a move intended to bolster native forests and biodiversity. The announcement, detailed in a report to the state parliament’s environmental committee and reported by “Neue Westfälische” comes from the NRW Ministry of Environment and the NRW Ministry of Agriculture.
These designated areas will be removed from active forestry management, allowing for natural development and ecological processes to take precedence. Currently, NRW maintains around 100 wilderness development areas covering roughly 7,800 hectares.
The newly designated wilderness areas will exclusively involve land owned by the state government. The initiative will see a gradual expansion of the existing network of forest protection areas, allowing for more natural development across diverse regions.
The state’s initial focus will be on utilizing state-owned land in the Rhein-Sieg district and the districts of Coesfeld and Unna. This will facilitate better connectivity between existing wilderness development areas and natural forest zones. A further area north of the Eifel National Park is also slated for inclusion. The move follows the unsuccessful consideration of plans for a second national park within NRW last year.