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On the occasion of the festivities to mark the fall of the Iron Curtain and the birth of the European Green Belt 30 years ago, Austria set a strong political signal for the international nature conservation project. With the Illmitz Declaration the Austrian Federal Government and the “Green-Belt-Bundesländer” (the Federal States on the Green Belt) have jointly committed themselves to the European Green Belt.

Despite the rain showers, the atmosphere was excellent: Happy people, world music, homemade cake, a mobile playground for children, excursions in the surrounding and a well-attended information stand on the European Green Belt and the project LIFE for MIRES. The trans-boundary summer festival on 30 years breakdown of the Iron Curtain took place on 7 July 2019 directly at the hikers’ border crossing Haidmühle-Nové Údolí (Germany-Czech Republic).

The day was saved when the group saw the first orange-golden shimmering butterfly: The Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia) is a Europe wide endangered species living in nature related, late mowed meadows or extensively grazed pastures. It is strongly depending on its caterpillar’s only food plant, the devil's-bit (Succisia pratensis). The European Green Belt is one of the places where this rare species found a last retreat.

The venue for the BUND political summer party on 5 June 2019 was symbolic: Directly on the banks of the Spree River in Berlin, where 30 years ago the border of the divided town still ran. From the terrace, the 350 guests had a view to the “Oberbaumbrücke”, where a border crossing once marked the inner-German border.

To kick-off this year's jubilee "30 Years Fall of the Iron Curtain – 30 Years Green Belt Germany" Vladimir Mana, Deputy Minister of State Administration of the Czech Republic and the three German Federal State environmental ministers Thorsten Glauber (Bavaria), Thomas Schmidt (Saxony) and Anja Siegesmund (Thuringia) met at the Green Belt in the border triangle of Bohemia, Bavaria and Saxony.

The Shar Planina/Korab-Koritnik region in the trilateral border area of North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania is one of the pearls of the Balkan Green Belt. During 2019 two new projects were launched in order to identify and develop appropriate and innovative measures for nature protection and regional development facing the main threats to biodiversity, such as unsustainable use of natural resources and constructions.

The last remaining population of around 30-35 breeding pairs of Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus) on the Balkan Peninsula can be found in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park in Greece, right in the Balkan Green Belt. In 2018 the project “Vulture Back to LIFE” initiated the reintroduction of the species in Bulgaria. On 16 August 2018 the project team released the first three juvenile Cinereous Vultures, tagged with GPS transmitters to monitor their movements. The data from all three birds show us that vulture conservation requires coordinated efforts across borders.

What lasts long will finally be good! The last missing puzzle stone for the future five-country UNESCO Biosphere Park Mur-Drava-Danube, the Styrian border segment of the Mur, was added by Austria on 19 June 2019. The area is part of the last intact dynamic river landscapes of Europe. The goal for the Danube-Drava-Mur region between Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia is the realization of a transboundary biosphere reserve.

From 2-4 April 2019 the 4th National Conference for the Management of the Green Belt Germany took place in the historical venue Water Castle Mitwitz – place of birth of the Green Belt-Idea in Germany. Under the slogan “30 years boundless love for nature” the 40 participants also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Green Belt Germany and the breakdown of the Iron Curtain. The conference supported exchange and cooperation of the stakeholders including partners from nature conservation, environmental and historical education as well as from the nature tourism sector.

In the South of Montenegro, right at the European Green Belt, lies a magnificent bird´s paradise: Ulcinj Salina. With about 15 km2, Ulcinj Salina is one of the biggest nesting and resting sites for more than 250 bird species on the Adriatic flyway. This unique habitat evolved during the almost 90 years of salt production. Unfortunately, the salt production stopped in 2013 leading to unemployment of 400 salt workers and the start of the ecosystem´s degradation. Only with a proper water management, and in the best case also salt production, this specific habitat will stay alive.