An aerial view of the Hambach opencast lignite mine, near the German town of Kerpen-Buir, west of Cologne, which protesting activists say threatens the Hambach forest, home to a number of endangered species. Cries of protest erupted in the Cologne Administrative Court earlier this month after the judge ruled that development plans for the opencast mine did not breach environmental legislation and could go ahead as planned. The conservation organisation that filed the lawsuit vowed to appeal the decision.