Green Belt
Around 106 km of the former 1,400 km long inner-German border is located in the north of the UNESCO Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve. Due to the border location, nature in this area was able to survive and develop relatively undisturbed by human intervention for over 40 years.
The result is a continuous "green belt" of valuable biotopes. This semi-open, partly extensively used landscape connects different habitats. More than 1,200 animal and plant species on the German Red List can be found here. Many of them need the open and little-used habitats that have developed over the decades of the border situation.
The current "Green Belt" is regarded as a model system for the biotope network by nature conservation associations and the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) alike. It runs through all of Germany's typical natural habitat complexes and large landscapes - with the exception of alpine habitats.
In Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg, the "Green Belt" has been designated a National Natural Monument. The aim is to preserve the "Green Belt" as a biotope network and as a historical memorial and to carefully develop it for tourism.