Dare to experience more nature together: Evaluating one of Germany’s flagship rewilding initiatives

Located along the Baltic coast between Rügen and the Oder Delta, the Hotspot 30 region is one of Germany’s biodiversity hotspots — areas with exceptional concentrations of native species and habitats. The initiative is part of the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity (ANK), which aims to strengthen, restore, and preserve ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and coastal zones. Each biodiversity project funded requires evaluation through both ecological and socio-economic lenses.

Working with the German partners — the NGO Rewilding Oder Delta e.V. and a group of environmental foundations and tourism organisations (Tourismusverband Vorpommern e.V., the Michael Succow Foundation, and Naturschutzstiftung Deutsche Ostsee) — NIRAS and Syspons designed and are now conducting the evaluation of the project.

Using a pathway-oriented logic and international standards, the evaluation positions the Lebenslandschaft Vorpommern as a model for adaptive, nature-based management. Continuous stakeholder engagement and transparent communication are central to ensuring that lessons learned can be applied beyond the Hotspot 30 region.

A diverse area with many challenges

“The Lebenslandschaft Vorpommern contains a mosaic of peatlands, rivers, lagoons, salt-marsh coasts and dune systems, yet suffers from drained wetlands, nutrient-laden run-off, fragmented habitats and heavy tourism pressure.

The project restores these ecosystems to obtain more carbon storage, buffer floods and droughts, foster biodiversity and enrich local livelihoods – all core goals of the ANK fields of action on peatlands, water balance, seas and coasts, natural areas , forests, soils and research and capacity building,” explains Managing Director and Project Lead Ulrich Stöcker from Rewilding Oder Delta.

Through a range of 25 measures, the project aims to restore natural processes, support wildlife comeback, and create balanced livelihoods through ecotourism and inclusive land management. Working with local stakeholders, promoting considerate land use, and raising public awareness, the project will restore wetlands, reconnect habitats, and improve water retention and carbon storage.

Role model for rewilding

“In the past months, we have conducted various workshops, created theories of change and discussed core changes with the client. The evaluation concept we derived specifically for this project provides both the necessary methodological rigour and the flexibility to account for the diversity of projects, timelines and stakeholders. It will guide our data collection and analysis going forward,” says Clara Gunzelmann, the project’s Lead Consultant at Syspons.

“This Hotspot 30 project is a role model for rewilding and nature restoration,” Clara explains. “It stitches wetlands back together, tests climate-smart farming, and places local communities centre-stage. It aims to demonstrate how ANK turns federal climate funds into tangible ecosystem recovery on the ground.”

“Our main contribution to the project so far is our detailed evaluation concept aligned with EU and UN biodiversity frameworks, which will help to keep the project accountable and on track through 2030 — with a wide range of environmental and socio-economic benefits for the region as the projected reward,” adds NIRAS Advisor Kasper Kopp.

The next steps include finalising key impact areas and indicators, conducting the baseline assessment, and starting annual progress reviews to ensure adaptive management and learning with continuous feedback helping to improve implementation over time.

As the project progresses, it will serve as a blueprint for future environmental and socio-economic evaluation projects.