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.

Innenstadt

The former border that once divided Germany, known as the Iron Curtain, has become a haven for biodiversity due to decades of minimal human interference. Conservationists, particularly Friends of the Earth Germany, have been actively working to protect this area, now called the Green Belt, which is home to a high concentration of endangered species such as the sickle-bearing bush cricket and the wart-biter.

Recent efforts include a comprehensive biodiversity survey focusing on insect populations, with the aim of providing strong scientific evidence to support conservation initiatives and a bid for UNESCO World Heritage status. Similar biodiversity awareness campaigns are also taking place internationally, highlighting the global importance of preserving ecosystems.

German conservationists guard Iron Curtain legacy

What happens when nature is left undisturbed by us humans? In Germany you can still find out in some places. Such as along the former border that once divided the country. This unique green belt is home to a wide variety of insects such as the sickle-bearing bush cricket and the endangered wart-biter. During the Cold War a heavily fortified border stretched almost 1,400 kilometres across Germany. Known as the Death Strip, the landscape was mostly free of human presence beyond the guards for over 40 years. This border, also called the Iron Curtain, ran thousands of kilometres across Europe from the Black Sea up to the Arctic Circle. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, conservationists quickly moved to protect the border zone. That was the moment that kick-started the Green Belt project. Ecologists and conservationists from East and West met up after the wall fell and they were already aware that there was a very high concentration of endangered species here. For more than three decades, Friends of the Earth Germany has been working hard to protect the Green Belt. In 2025 they conducted a wide survey to systematically record its biodiversity. With a focus on insects, more than 100 traps were checked often over a period of months and the genetic data analysed. Such biodiversity surveys are also valuable in African countries. Here in a nature park near Cape Town, South Africa, school children and adults are taking part in a competition to log the most species of insects and plants. By making people aware of the biodiversity in their surroundings, environmentalists hope to better preserve the ecosystems that we humans rely on. Back in Germany, the Green Belt movement also hopes the insect data collected will help them to obtain UNESCO World Heritage status. Once the genetic analysis is done, we'll be able to show that we have a huge range of species here, a large amount of which is endangered. I can confidently predict that from what I've seen in my field research so far. Strong scientific evidence is the best basis for conservation efforts in the former death strip. And how about you? If you're also doing your bit, tell us about it. Visit our website or send us a tweet. Hashtag DoingYourBit. We share your stories.

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Beijing

Global Tariffs

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Washington

Ukraine Invasion

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

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Balochistan

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

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Chicago

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Caracas

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Paris

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Chaman

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Breakdown