For decades, many coastal strips along the former socialist countries were completely or partly closed to public access. Not only did these strips demark national borders, but even constituted a barrier seperating two systems. This former seperative line formed the basis for the Baltic Green Belt. Similar to the terrestrial border strips, these areas preserved vast, almost pristine stretches of coastland. Some of them were successfully designated as nature reserves or national parks after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, many pearls of nature up to now grace the water line both above and below the water surface largely undiscovered, unrecognised and unprotected. Sea weed forests and sea gras meadows, bogs and beach walls, lagoons, bays and many other submarine and terrestrial

paradises are typical of the Green Belt along the Baltic.

The conservation and sustainable development of these habitats will be persued within the Baltic Sea Region Programme project Baltic Green Belt.

The Baltic Green Belt project community is establishing a platform for

transnational cooperation between stakeholders working in nature

conservation and sustainable development of the southern and eastern Baltic Sea coast. The Baltic Green Belt project brings together a set of diverse partners engaged in sustainable economy and ecology development. The partnership consists of NGOs, scientific institutions, public authorities and economic stakeholders and thus excellently mirrors the Green Belt approach of successfully integrating a wide set of actors and supporters.

The Baltic Green Belt project demonstrates good practice in sustainable tourism, ecological agriculture, coastal and marine conservation, integrated regional planning and public participation. By preserving natural zones and biodiversity through sustainable coastal development practice, the Baltic Green Belt project serves the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea and the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.