East-West border death zone now Germany's biodiversity oasis

A narrow strip of land that once divided East and West Germany is now home to thousands of plant and animal species. Known as the "Green Belt," this nature reserve stretches nearly 1,400 kilometers — about 870 miles — along the old border. Germany's Environment Minister Carsten Schneider recently visited the area to see its wildlife up close. Reporters from DW, a German news organization, joined him on the trip.

For decades, the border between East Germany and West Germany was one of the most dangerous places in the world. East Germany was officially called the German Democratic Republic, or GDR. West Germany was called the Federal Republic of Germany, or FRG. The two countries represented two very different sides of the Cold War — the West was allied with NATO, and the East was part of the Warsaw Pact. All of that changed in 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and the two sides began coming back together.

During the years of division, ordinary citizens were not allowed anywhere near the border zone. Armed guards kept people out, and the strip of land between the two countries was left completely alone. Because no farmers, builders, or developers could enter the area for so many years, nature quietly took over. Plants grew freely, animals moved in, and the land became a hidden wildlife haven without anyone planning it that way.

Andreas Heil, an official from Germany's Environment Ministry, helps manage the Green Belt today. He explained that the strip is between 50 and 200 meters wide and runs through several German states. "It was a death strip that was insurmountable and served as a dividing line," Heil said. "Today, it is exactly the opposite: something that brings people together." Minister Schneider, who grew up in the GDR, added that the closed-off land allowed rare species to thrive in ways that simply weren't possible anywhere else in Germany.

The numbers are impressive. Scientists have recorded about 7,500 species of insects and spiders living in the Green Belt. Of those, 580 are endangered or at risk of dying out. Larger animals like otters, European wildcats, whinchats, and lapwings also make their homes here. Today, 88 percent of the Green Belt is under official protection to help keep these species safe for the future.

One of the most special features of the Green Belt is its moors, or peat bogs. These wet, spongy areas of land have almost completely disappeared from the rest of Germany. Near the town of Salzwedel, visitors can walk along a boardwalk through a large peat bog that covers 400 hectares — about 1.5 square miles. Nathalie Niederdrenk, another Environment Ministry official, explained that most of Germany's moors were drained and turned into farmland during the 19th and 20th centuries. The Green Belt is one of the few places where they survived.

The Green Belt is not just a place for wildlife — it is also a place to learn history. Cycle paths run along the old border route, and signs mark where the former boundary once stood. Information panels explain the plants and animals visitors might see along the way. Germany's Green Belt even connects to similar nature reserves across Europe, including border areas between Finland, Norway, and Russia, as well as regions along the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary.

A major environmental group called BUND — the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation — has been closely involved in protecting the Green Belt. With around 520,000 members in Germany, the group started buying plots of land along the belt in the year 2000 using donations and government funding. Today, its Green Belt project covers 1,000 hectares, making it the group's largest project ever. BUND leader Olaf Bandes said the organization feels a deep connection to this particular stretch of land.

However, BUND has also raised concerns about threats to the Green Belt. Bandes warned that farming has crept too close to parts of the reserve, blocking the paths that animals and plants need to survive. In some places, cyclists and hikers have found themselves suddenly surrounded by cornfields with no clear path forward. To address these problems, the states of Thuringia, Bavaria, and Saxony agreed in early July to permanently protect a 95-kilometer section of the Green Belt by 2028. The German Environment Ministry will pay 75 percent of the cost through a special management plan worth millions of euros. Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder called it a vital project, especially as climate change continues to put pressure on the natural world.