The Situation of the Baltic Green Belt, Its Threats and Its Chances
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The preparation of this paper and the underlying research have been part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) The situation of the Baltic Green Belt, its threats and its chances - National Report Germany - Compiled by BUND Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Friends of the Earth Germany, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state branch) for Coalition Clean Baltic A. Basic data 1. Country a. Overview Germany is one of the largest (357.000 km²) and most populous (ca. 82 mio. inhabitants) countries in Europe and in the Baltic Sea region. The country has a federal structure made up of 16 states (Länder) which have far-reaching legislative rights and a substantial amount of self-governance. The whole country has a temperate climate, distinctly atlantic in the northwest and more continental in the rest of the country. Winters are therefore milder than in the rest of the Baltic Sea region. Germany lies in the catchment area of three European seas: The North Sea, the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. Most big German rivers drain into the first two, with the North Sea catchment area making up by far the largest part of the country. The only larger river flowing into the Baltic Sea is the Oder, the share of its catchment area in Germany being almost negligible though compared to its Polish part. Besides, only smaller rivers like Schwentine, Trave, Warnow or Peene drain into the Baltic. Consequentially, Germany's share of the catchment area of the Baltic Sea is comparatively small and amounts to only 28.790 km². This is the smallest of all Baltic coastal states, only inland nations like Ukraine or the Czech Republic have smaller areas. 16.720 km² of the German Baltic Sea catchment area lie in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), 5.940 km² in Brandenburg, 5.250 km² in Schleswig-Holstein and 880 km² in Sachsen (Saxonia). Only Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein have a Baltic Sea coastline. Schleswig-Holstein was part of former West Germany and comprises the western shoreline. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was formerly part of East Germany and lies on the southern shore of the Baltic. The Baltic Green Belt almost solely covers Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state coastline. Only this area is considered further on in this report. It makes up 75% of Germany's Baltic Sea coastline, and it is even longer than all other coasts of Germany on North and Baltic Sea combined. b. The Baltic Green Belt in Germany During iron curtain times Germany was divided into two separate nations, West Germany (“Federal Republic of Germany”) and East Germany (“German Democratic Republic”), which reunited in 1990 when the division of Europe came to an end due to the peaceful revolutions in East Germany and other countries. Today's Germany therefore has the Green Belt passing right through the midst of country. This 1.393 km part of the Green Belt runs along the border between the western and eastern federal states, exactly marking the former borderline between East and West Germany. It is often called “Grünes Band Deutschland” (Green Belt Germany) and is definitely the part of the Green Belt that is most well known to the public in Germany and most of Europe. Another 1.700 km of Green Belt stretch along the Baltic Sea coast, roughly between Lübeck and the border to Poland, thereby encompassing most of the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state. This is the German part of the Baltic Green Belt. Though Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the least densely populated state in Germany, the coastal region (and thus the Green Belt) shows marked concentrations of settlements, with built up areas still constantly growing. Almost the whole state (including most of the Baltic Green Belt area) has seen a steady and ongoing population decline since the fall of the iron curtain though. Major cities along the Baltic Green Belt are Lübeck (pop. 209.000) and Rostock (pop. 201.000), both lying (at least with their city centers) alongside somewhat secluded estuaries or bights. Along with several other coastal towns (esp. Wismar and Stralsund) they were prominent players in the Hanseatic League, still boasting a wealth of cultural heritage from that age today. The whole coast is a major tourism area with bathing and beach tourism dominating, but nature tourism and urban tourism (hanseatic heritage and conferences) also holding important shares. Darß-Zingst peninsula and Rügen and Usedom Islands are major tourism centers, and many municipalities in these regions show an almost monostructural economy largely dependent on tourism. Much of the coast was partly or totally closed to the public up to 1989. In general, access to a 5 kilometer strip along the coast was only possible by permission. Additionally, a high concrete wall completely blocked access to the sea in the Lübeck Bight area. Numerous areas along the coast were closed military sites, e.g. in the Rostocker Heide woodland complex, on Zingst peninsula or the northwestern part of Usedom Island. These alone were of a considerable extent, but additional sites were closed for other purposes, e.g. as “national hunting ground” (Staatsjagdgebiet) for high political officials, which was the case for much of Darß peninsula. Overall use in these areas was low, which helped nature to survive and regenerate. The intensive construction activity on the Baltic seashore that was typical for West Germany and spoiled much of the coastal nature and landscape there did not take place in East Germany. The result of this historical situation is a diverse and extensive natural heritage in the Baltic Green Belt in Germany, scattered all along the coast (fig. 1). Fig. 1: The Baltic Green Belt on the German coast and a selection of major natural areas (1 – 15) (Schmiedel 2007) 2. Length and type of coast line Almost the whole Baltic Green Belt coast in Germany is made up of glacial sediments or alluvial deposits. The coasts are therefore largely consist of soft material, which may well incorporate rocks or boulders of various sizes though, usually well rounded by ice age long-distance transportation. Sea currents have eroded material especially at exposed parts of the coast and re-deposited it a few kilometers away, thereby creating a more or less linear graded shoreline along much of the coast (fig. 2). On the rugged Western Pomeranian coast several large lagoons have been largely cut off from the open sea by these processes. These are the Darß-Zingst chain of lagoons, Greifswald Lagoon and several waters around Rügen and Usedom islands. Their extent and diversity is quite exceptional and of European importance. A special feature is their varying salinity, depending on the degree of separation from the open Baltic Sea (Niedermayer et al. 2011, Reinicke 2008). Fig. 2: The main morphological coast types in the Green Belt on the German coast: violet = Large bight coast (Großbuchtenküste); orange = Graded shoreline (Ausgleichsküste); green = Graded shoreline with lagoons (Boddenausgleichsküste) (Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2009). Fig. 3: Coastline typification in the Green Belt (Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2009, modified). Cliff coasts occur predominantly on the outer coast and exchange frequently with stretches of low coasts (fig. 3). Most of the former are made up of glacial sediments (loam or clay), but there are also some sand cliffs that cut through old dune ridges. The Jasmund area of Rügen Island drops to the sea with a short but impressive chalk cliff. The low coasts are often associated with periodically flooded brackish marshes. Many of them have been diked off and meliorated in the past decades, especially during the 1960s - 1980s, but thanks to the special border situation a lot have also survived. While some of these marshlands are under agricultural use as grazed meadows, others retain their natural state as brackish reed beds. In a few diked off areas revitalization projects have been begun to reinstall flooding regimes, which means that a complete or partial removal of the dikes is undertaken. Table 1: Coastline statistics of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, all figures in km Coast type Outer coast Inner coast Total Complete coastline 377 1.568 1.945 Low coast 237 1.357 1.594 Cliff coast 140 211 351 Mainland coast 167 628 795 Island coasts 210 940 1.150 B. Degree of exploitation of the coastline 1. Description of exploitation of the coastal zone According to HELCOM statistics, 72% of the German Baltic Sea catchment area is farmland (a higher value than in any other Baltic Sea country) and only 15% is woodland (the lowest value of all Baltic Sea countries) (Knuuttila et al. 2011). The figures underline that Germany has a highly used and modified landscape with only few natural or semi-natural areas left. Although the situation is not quite as drastic in the Green Belt, it is still a heavily used landscape with significant human impact. The German Baltic Sea coast has been used and also partly modified by man for many centuries. Drastic changes, however, have been limited to the past decades. Large scale agricultural melioration activities have led to a widespread destruction of marsh and bog areas and induced a huge nutrient inflow into the Baltic Sea and the coastal lagoons. Although the melioration took place for the most part between the 1960s and the 1980s, the effects are still existent today. Coastal protection for populated and agricultural areas has deprived huge areas from regular flooding. Settlements have seen a huge spread after the fall of the iron curtain, with attractive seaside building lots being highly sought after. Despite many natural assets being left, the Baltic Green Belt sees a high pressure of various land uses and faces continuous exploitation of natural values.