Promoting the ecological network in the European Green Belt
During the last century and over decades Central Europe was divided by an insuperable border called the Iron Curtain. Especially the eastern side of the former border was extremely sparsely populated and the border zone itself was left completely unsettled. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in the late 1980s and the reunion of Eastern and Western Europe this former border area now runs like a Green Belt of valuable landscapes and ecosystems throughout Europe, comprising of protected and non-protected areas, covering  over more than 12500 km and bordering seven Central Europe Member States. Therefore this Green Belt area offers the opportunity to create and conserve not only a unique ecological refuge but also to develop these peripheral rural areas in the heart of Europe in a sustainable and integrated way.

Greennet will contribute to this goal, not only by the protection of endangered species in certain areas but mainly by the promotion of an interconnected and barrier free ecological corridor, especially in the areas of outmost ecological importance (National Parks etc.). The project  aims however not to neglect the large intermediate areas which don’t have any particular protection status as these areas of non- or low protection status also need to be included in the network ensuring their important function as stepping stones between valuable habitats. The project has envisioned not only to connect nature but also to bring people together by connecting cultural heritage with natural one at the same time. 