They were once military bases at the centre of a 50-year war between the world’s two superpowers. They will soon become a haven for rare birds and other animals.
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\nThe German government has announced plans to convert 62 disused military bases just west of the Iron Curtain into nature reserves for eagles, woodpeckers, bats, and beetles.<\/p>\n
Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said: “We are seizing a historic opportunity with this conversion \u2014 many areas that were once no-go zones are no longer needed for military purposes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fortunate that we can now give these places back to nature.”<\/p>\n
Together the bases are 31,000 hectares \u2014 that’s equivalent to 40,000 football pitches. The conversion will see Germany’s total area of protected wildlife increase by a quarter.<\/p>\n
After toying with the idea of selling the land off as real estate, the government opted instead to make a grand environmental gesture. It will become another addition to what is now known as the European Green Belt.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson from The European Green Belt told The Independent: “In the remoteness of the inhuman border fortifications of the Iron Curtain nature was able to develop nearly undisturbed.<\/p>\n
“Today the European Green Belt is an ecological network and memorial landscape running from the Barents to the Black Sea.”<\/p>\n