Landschaftspflegeverband Ostrügen

Title: Establishment and Protection of Endangered Natural Areas and Representative Landscapes - Programme Shoreline: Bodden Landscapes of East Rügen

Project:  Bodden Landscapes of East Rügen

This federal programme was launched in 1979. Although nature conservation is primarily the responsibility of the individual federal states in Germany, national funding is available for areas of special significance with regard to landscape, intact nature and conservation status.

Our project fulfilled the criteria and focussed parts of the Island of Rügen that are of exceptional importance to nature conservation, in particular with regard to species and habitat preservation. It was our goal to secure, develop and protect these areas from threats such as:
• intensive farming using chemicals
• property development including urban sprawl, construction and the accompanied habitat destruction
• destruction of bogs and marshes by amelioration programs
• destruction of shorelines, including reed beds due to water sports and residential developments along the coast
• loss of staging areas and disturbance-free zones required by migratory birds such as geese and cranes

Landschaftspflegeverband Ostrügen was founded in 1994 in order to spearhead the Bodden Landscapes of East Rügen project. The association includes nine municipalities within the area affected by the program, the District of Rügen and INSULA RUGIA e.V.

On the basis of a detailed development plan, the following measures were enacted:

• compensation for farmers in return for the guarantee to switch to extensive agricultural practices in the core areas for up to 30 years
• land acquisition in order to secure valuable habitats
• restoration of degraded habitats such as wetlands, dry grasslands, salt marshes, areas formerly used by the military, as well as obsolete tourist facilities and signs
• forest regeneration

 

Many projects have been successfully completed, including restoration of Klein Zicker’s military base, reforestation of the Feuersteinfelder, renaturation of the polder south-west of Neusinen, sediment removal in Saiser Creek as well as restoration of the Semper Forest Park. Technical assistance for these projects was provided by BfN (Federal Ministry for Nature), LUNG (State Office for Environment, Nature Conservation and Geology), StAUN, the Rügen Office for the Environment, and the Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve.

In addition, the Landschaftspflegeverband has many partnerships in the region: Rügen Department of Forestry , BImA, WBV-Rügen, sponsors such as Sparkasse Rügen, Lübz Brauerei, and the Kurt-Lange -Stiftung to name a few.

 

Project Facts : 
Start: 1995 
Finish: 2008 
Total cost: approx. 12 million €
Funding: 73.7% federal
16.7% regional
9.9% Landschaftspflegeverband Ostrügen
Total project area: 248 km2

Core area: 111 km2

 

Mrs. Sabine Bath of Landschaftspflegeverband Ostrügen kindly provided the above information.