The 12,000-year-old Hambach Forest in western Germany is under threat. The country’s biggest power company, RWE, has been clearing the ancient natural resource to make room for coal mining. Currently, there is only 10% left of the forest’s original 13,500 acres.

Hoping to halt the decimation, environmental activists have been squatting in the forest since 2012.

“No one is coming to save us, so we have to save ourselves,” says an activist who goes by Tricky, the forest name he uses to protect his identity.

“People on the front lines in more oppressive societies [are] met with violence and death if they speak out,” he says. “It’s a duty to use my privilege to take action.”

Photographer Néha Hirve first heard about the community of people living in the forest when she was in India working on another project. Then, in November 2017, news of Hambach’s destruction started making headlines, and Hirve felt compelled to bear witness.

“Soon, there might not be a forest anymore,” she told herself. Hirve left for Germany a week later and decided to do a photo story on the community fighting Hambach’s destruction.

Activists Occupy An Ancient Forest In Germany To Save It

Photos: Néha Hirve