“We are witnessing a double turning point in history: security policy and ecology,” explains Malte Siegert regarding the unusual cooperation that aims to think environmental protection and defense together in the future. The Hamburg head of Nabu has, together with his Nabu colleagues in Schleswig-Holstein and the Hamburg-based Bundeswehr think tank German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (GIDS), published a paper of ideas under the title “Dare More Wilderness – Gain More Security.” Because: Nature conservation is “not a luxury, but the foundation of our common security.”
A closer exchange between Nabu and the Bundeswehr should, in the future, provide approaches for an integrated security strategy. “Whoever thinks of security today must think of nature as well,” emphasizes Siegert. Anything else would be too short-sighted. The idea of bringing climate protection, sustainability, and defense together is not new. As early as November 2023, the Ministry of Defence had already presented such a strategy.
Nabu and GIDS have now formulated it a bit further. Environmental protection increases the defensive capability of states and nations, the experts say. This works, for example, in protecting forests. For these can function as natural defensive positions — especially when they are old.
The rule applies: the larger the trunk girth of the trees, the greater the hindering effect. For modern vehicles, forests are hardly an obstacle anymore, but troop movements could indeed be slowed down. Forest warfare is for the military almost as complex as urban combat.
Mires as Natural Defensive Structures
At the focus of Nabu and GIDS is also the renaturation of wetlands. Especially mires could become important in wartime — as in the Middle Ages a moat. They would slow military movements and at the same time increase the resilience of landscapes. Potential attacks would thus lose the element of surprise.
“Mires are threefold valuable. They protect the climate, biodiversity, and in the event of need also our security in Germany and Europe,” says Alexander Schwarzlose, the state chairman of Nabu Schleswig-Holstein. In the Ukraine war, mires are already used as natural barriers; Finland, Poland and the Baltic states are renaturing wetlands specifically as natural defensive structures. This also benefits climate protection.
Another point: The Bundeswehr must reduce its fossil dependencies to become more resilient. “An army that depends on fossil supply chains is vulnerable,” says Stefan Bayer, head of research at GIDS. The move away from fossil fuels would not only improve the army’s operational capability.
Renewables Have Also Reached the Military
Economies could increase their energy sovereignty — making them less dependent on imports and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “More renewable energy means more independence, more resilience and more security,” says Bayer. This, too, reduces Germany’s susceptibility to geopolitical coercion.
Hydrogen-powered engines, electric motors, hybrid drives, or E-fuels could in the future replace diesel in tanks, for example. That would not only protect the climate but would also offer strategic advantages. Vehicles with electric or hybrid propulsion, for instance, are harder to locate — even for drones, the authors say. Hydrogen is currently not an option for military vehicles as a replacement for fossil fuels. It could however be used elsewhere, for example to operate field camps.
More closeness to nature is also desired for barracks. These should become multifunctional sites with their own energy production and space for nature. For example, solar installations could be mounted on the roofs. “Every kilowatt-hour from the barracks’ roof makes us more independent; every green space contributes to species protection,” says GIDS scientist Bayer.
The coming billions in investments in military infrastructure are not expected to automatically mean more land consumption, emphasizes Nabu chief Siegert. Therefore, a dialogue with the Bundeswehr is needed to develop nature-friendly planning and alternatives.
