Sigmar Gabriel: Continued Funding for Major Nature Conservation Project "Kyffhaeuser"

The Federal Environment Ministry has decided to fund the major nature conservation project "Kyffhaeuser" for another two years and make an additional 307,000 euro available for this purpose. The Federal Government is thus providing a total of more than 4.7 million euro for the project. Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said: "This species-rich landscape should be given long-term protection. First results have proven that the path we have taken is a successful one. This project constitutes a contribution of the Federal Government to reaching the global goal of significantly reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010."

The gypsum karst landscape of the "Kyffhaeuser" represents an old cultural landscape which is characterised by traditionally extensive agricultural and forestry use. It is one of the largest gypsum karst regions in Central Europe and by far the most species-rich area of Thuringia. The central zones of the project comprise an area of more than 3,000 hectares which is shaped by dry, semi-arid and steppic grasslands, calcareous and siliceous rocks, karst and dry forests, meadow orchards and calcareous fields. Specific plant species such as autumn gentian, small pasque flower and various kinds of feather grass are endemic to the region, as well as 15 bat species, 78 butterfly and 172 ground beetle species, wild cats, hoopoes and great grey shrikes.

Before the project was initiated in 1997, the presence of these very rare plant and animal species was endangered by bushes, forest growth, agricultural abandonment and land use changes. With the help of the Federal Government, a management and development plan was drawn up, 630 hectares of land were acquired, management measures were carried out in an area of 300 hectares, new meadow orchards were planted and tenurial arrangements were restructured in consultation with the land managers. The project is overseen by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. The activities for the protection of biological diversity that have been launched will be continued until the end of 2008. Financing for the total cost of almost 6.3 million euro is provided by the Federal Government (75 per cent), the Land of Thuringia (15 per cent) and the Kyffhaeuser district (10 per cent).