1,000 hectares of Dauban forest to become wilderness

An area of 1,000 hectares in the Dauban Forest is to be left to nature. This was agreed by Saxony's Environment Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) and the Secretary General of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), Alexander Bonde, in the presence of Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (also Greens), as announced by the Ministry of Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture.

"Here in the Dauban Forest, successful natural climate protection can be seen: natural forest development, the rewetting of moors or the designation of wilderness areas are important goals," Steffi Lemke was quoted as saying.

An area of around 3,300 hectares of the Dauban Forest is part of the National Natural Heritage, which is managed by the DBU. Since being taken over by the DBU in 2008, the former NVA military training area has been dedicated to nature conservation.

Habitat for rare and endangered animal species

According to the Saxon Ministry of Climate Protection, the land in the area is to receive more water, the vegetation is to change and plenty of space and habitat for rare and endangered animal species is to be created. "However, we still have a long way to go before we leave near-natural forest sections to their own devices," DBU Secretary-General Bonde was quoted as saying.

Environment Minister Günther explained the plans: "We need large areas of forest that can develop undisturbed in the long term in order to preserve biodiversity and keep water in the landscape." The pine forests of Upper Lusatia are often species-poor and suffer from drought. This is why it is so important to gradually create wilderness areas. "This also includes keeping the water in the area and helping to prevent forest fires," Günther was further quoted as saying.