German conservationists guard Iron Curtain legacy

DW (English)

Conservationists have been protecting the former inner German border zone for over three decades. A biodiversity survey in 2025 showed a wide variety of insects in the German Green Belt.

Transcript

00:00What happens when nature is left undisturbed by us humans?

00:11In Germany, you can still find out in some places.

00:15Such as along the former border that once divided the country.

00:21This unique green belt is home to a wide variety of insects,

00:26such as the sickle-bearing bush cricket and the endangered wart biter.

00:35During the Cold War, a heavily fortified border stretched almost 1,400 kilometres across Germany.

00:42Known as the Death Strip, the landscape was mostly free of human presence,

00:46beyond the guards, for over 40 years.

00:51This border, also called the Iron Curtain, ran thousands of kilometres across Europe,

00:56from the Black Sea up to the Arctic Circle.

00:59After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, conservationists quickly moved to protect the border zone.

01:07That was the moment that kick-started the green belt project.

01:12Ecologists and conservationists from East and West met up after the wall fell,

01:16and they were already aware that there was a very high concentration of endangered species here.

01:25For more than three decades, Friends of the Earth Germany has been working hard to protect the green belt.

01:30In 2025, they conducted a wide survey to systematically record its biodiversity, with a focus on insects.

01:39More than 100 traps were checked often over a period of months, and the genetic data analysed.

01:48Such biodiversity surveys are also valuable in African countries.

01:52Here, in a nature park near Cape Town, South Africa, school children and adults are taking part in a competition

01:59to log the most species of insects and plants.

02:02By making people aware of the biodiversity in their surroundings,

02:07environmentalists hope to better preserve the ecosystems that we humans rely on.

02:12Back in Germany, the green belt movement also hopes the insect data collected

02:20will help them to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status.

02:26Once the genetic analysis is done, we'll be able to show that we have a huge range of species here,

02:32a large amount of which is endangered.

02:35I can confidently predict that from what I've seen in my field research so far.

02:41Strong scientific evidence is the best basis for conservation efforts in the former death strip.

02:51And how about you?

02:53If you're also doing your bit, tell us about it.

02:56Visit our website or send us a tweet.

03:01Hashtag DoingYourBit

03:05We share your stories.

03:11You can follow the website or send us a tweet.

03:13Hashtag doing your bit with the higher power of the upper Guinea.

03:15In the past, you'll be able to share your stories.

03:19Do you have any questions?

03:30It's time for me for your people.

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