Where once there was war, there shall now be nature.
The German government has announced plans to turn 62 defunct military bases west of the Iron Curtain into nature reserves for wildlife, including eagles, bats, woodpeckers, and beetles.
The bases total 31,000 hectares — which is the equivalent of 40,000 football pitches. This additional land increases Germany's total area of protected wildlife by a quarter.
At first, the government considered selling the land as real estate, but fortunately decided to do the environment a favor instead. Now this land will be added to what has become known as the European Green Belt.
Birds such as the middle spotted woodpecker and the lesser spotted eagle will call the sanctuaries home.
As part of the European Green Belt, the bases have joined a chain of habitats that stretches from Norway to Turkey.
The sites will serve as bioreserves, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation said.
Many of the sites will be open to the public and will increase the amount of federally protected wilderness to 156,000 hectares.
Germany is updating its military and turning it into a 21st century institution that can counter new threats, and in so doing, is creating a smaller "footprint" of bases in favor of a more efficient organization.
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