Autonomous Forest
A living work of art and a new techno-legal entity that reimagines ecological regeneration through collective, blockchain-based ownership.
On the occasion of Berlin Science Week, LAS Art Foundation presents terra0: Autonomous Forest, a multifaceted artwork that rethinks land ownership through blockchain-based governance. A woodland 60 kilometres outside of Berlin is cared for by a newly created techno-legal entity, which combines a non-profit organisation (Verein) and a community council, composed of token holders. Autonomous Forest marks the first time a German forest is managed by a DAO (blockchain-based organisation), linking art, law and technology in a living experiment of shared responsibility.
Opening the project is a series of in-person discussions as part of Berlin Science Week, taking place 6, 7 and 8 November. These are followed by an NFT sale, which enables holders of cryptocurrency worldwide to acquire both an artwork and a place in the DAO that stewards the forest together with the non-profit organisation, or Verein.
Autonomous Forest Launch Event
CANK, Berlin
Thursday, 6 November, 19:00 – 21:00
The Launch event, which features Paul Seidler and Paul Kolling in conversation with Barbara Cueto, explores the implications of the evolving project and introduces participants to ways they can become directly involved in shaping this novel model of ecological stewardship.
Berlin Science Week Workshop
Holzmarkt, Berlin Science Week
Friday, 7 November, 12:00 – 14:00
Can forests hold legal power? terra0 invites you to rethink nature, law and ownership.
How do law, anthropomorphism and historical ideas shape our relation to nature? In this workshop led by the artistic collective terra0, we will playfully explore the relationship between nature and society to ask ourselves: Should nature be recognised as a legal entity? What does it mean to “own” nature in the 21st century, and what political and social challenges does this entail?
Berlin Science Week Panel
Holzmarkt, Berlin Science Week
Saturday, 08 November, 18:00 – 19:00
Can DAOs help us reimagine ownership and belonging? This panel with Paul Seidler, Paul Kolling (terra0), Tara Merk and moderated by Barbara Cueto
explores Web3 as socio-technical tools for autonomy, collective care, and environmental justice.
NFT Launch
Thursday, 13 November
The project is inspired by the question, “What would it mean for a forest to own and manage itself?” This led the Berlin-based collective terra0 to outline the idea that ecosystems could hold autonomy rights, similar to those of humans, in their 2016 white paper. LAS commissioned Autonomous Forest to support turning this vision into practice as a proof-of-concept. Through this form of ownership, terra0 aims to promote a new type of environmental autonomy: the forest is allowed to regenerate naturally, while the web3 infrastructure creates a new form of collective ownership recognised in German law.
Autonomous Forest consists of two newly acquired forest plots in Reesdorf. The bigger plot is a certified biotope, and both are home to a variety of plant species, primarily birch and alder. They are governed by a legal structure that combines a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) with a German Verein, setting a precedent for how community-led, Web3-based ownership could operate within civil law.
DAOs are organisations that distribute decision-making power and ownership to their community using blockchain technology. The hybrid design of Autonomous Forest gives the DAO legal standing under civil law, while also ensuring transparency, permanence and collective decision-making through the blockchain infrastructure. This model introduces a new form of environmental protection, outside traditional state regulations. It envisions a regenerative, communal life for both human and non-human actors. As both a land art project and a legal prototype, it is designed to challenge years of monocultural and profit-driven forestry in Germany.
Participants are invited to purchase an NFT, which acts as both artwork and key to unlock membership. The NFT purchase provides funds to the Verein and grants members decision-making power. Through the DAO, members of the Verein and token holders can vote on administrative tasks and even on potentially expanding the forest, making this a continuous effort. In this case, blockchain isn’t used speculatively but as a connective tool, bringing participants together in a shared experiment of caretaking, and critique, while openly challenging the logic of capitalist forest exploitation.
