A group of German Environment Ministry officials and journalists recently visited the 'Green Belt,' a unique nature reserve along the former border between East and West Germany. This area once served as a 'death strip' to prevent East German citizens from fleeing to the West.
Andreas Heil from the Environment Ministry explained: 'It was an insurmountable death strip that served as a dividing line. Today, it is exactly the opposite: something that brings people together.' The reserve stretches nearly 1,400 kilometers and is between 50 and 200 meters wide.
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider, who is from Erfurt in former East Germany, emphasized the importance of the former military border strip for nature. 'Because the military road was closed off and no one was allowed in here, species that aren't found anywhere else were able to establish themselves in this area,' he said.
According to the ministry, about 7,500 species of insects and spiders have been registered in the Green Belt, 580 of which are endangered or threatened. Otters, European wildcats, whinchats, and lapwings also inhabit the area, 88% of which is now under protection.
A large peat bog covering 400 hectares near Salzwedel has also survived. Nathalie Niederdrenk from the Environment Ministry noted: 'Many areas were drained before the fall of the Wall and converted for agricultural use.'
Cycle paths and signs indicating the former border and local fauna and flora are present throughout the Green Belt. Other former border areas in Europe, such as those between Finland, Norway, and Russia, have also been turned into nature reserves.
Olaf Bandes, head of the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), said the organization began purchasing the first plots along the Green Belt in 2000. 'It has become our largest project, covering 1,000 hectares,' he stated.
BUND has warned about the need to protect the area from industrial encroachment. Six years ago, the Bavarian branch complained that the road along the Green Belt was 'dominated' by agriculture, cutting off animals and plants.
In early July, the states of Thuringia, Bavaria, and Saxony decided to permanently preserve a roughly 95-kilometer-long section of the Green Belt by 2028, with a special million-euro management plan, 75% of which will be covered by the German Environment Ministry. Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder called it an important environmental project in the face of drastic climate change.
Source: www.dw.com