Activists call for preservation of Josaphat wasteland

About 60 people demonstrated on Wednesday afternoon in front of the Schaerbeek town hall, calling for the preservation of the Josaphat wasteland, an area of diverse natural habitat. According to the Brussels-North police which monitored the gathering, the protest passed peacefully and there were no incidents.

The two-hour-long demonstration was organised by a group of young people in Schaerbeek who want to fight for a better and greener city.

A demonstration in support of the recently evicted "zadists" of Arlon, the environmental activists who had been occupying the wooded Sablière site since October 2019, was also organised on Tuesday evening at the entrance of the Josaphat wasteland, which is also considered a ZAD (Zone to Defend).

More than 14,500 people have signed the petition "Stop Concrete in Brussels: Save the Josaphat wasteland" addressed to the Brussels government. It was launched following the creation of the collective "Save the Wasteland.”

The collective argues that the housing project planned on the 25-hectare site will seriously damage the biodiversity present by leaving only a thin green corridor of only 2.6 hectares. The petition also decries the fact that "the housing would be largely privatised: between 73 and 78% of private housing on 100% public land."