Map: Model region Western Pomerania with administrative districts of North-Western Pomerania, (East-)Western Pomerania, Demmin as well as independent cities of Stralsund and Greifswald. The map also shows the moored river valleys.
Study Region
The model region focused on the administrative districts of
- Demmin,
- North-Western Pomerania,
- Western Pomerania
- and Uecker-Randow
- as well as the independent cities of Greifswald and Stralsund.
With its high ratio of drained peatlands the model region is a global hot spot regarding peatland degradation. Both land-use abandonment and intensification of land use that is not site adapted lead to an aggravation of ecological and socioeconomic conflicts. Those conflicts exemplify global problems due to degradation of peatlands. Paludiculture offers an alternative concept for a sustainable management of these problematic sites. It helps to reduce the environmental burden and to develop regional value chains. Rural areas and booming coastal regions can be more strongly linked.
Facts about the model region:
Population: estimated 478.000 (2009)
Population density: 62/km²
Land area: 7721 km²
Peatlands: 108.877 ha (14%)
Unemployment rate (November 2010): Demmin: 17 %, Greifswald: 11,8%
Migration balance (2009): administrative districts: from -1 to 0.4%, Greifswald: +0.5
