In the coming weeks the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) will begin, on the island of Rügen in the community of Prora, with the rewetting of its natural heritage sites for the support of wetlands. The space, which is approximately 1,900 hectares in size and is a former military training area, is part of the National Natural Inheritance program. “In order to carry out rewetting on large spaces and over the long term, drainage channels will be closed and the water will be dammed up,” as DBU General Secretary Dr. Heinrich Bottermann stated in explaining the measures. According to Bottermann, local residents will not be affected by the measures. The new creation of small bodies of water and the deepening of already existing hollows encourages biological diversity, in particular moisture-loving animal and plant species.
