Schwerin (dpa / mv) – According to Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania must rewet almost half of all drained moors by 2040 in order to achieve its climate goals. “Of the 300,000 hectares of moors in the country, we will do everything we can to give 130,000 hectares to renaturation, to watering,” said Backhaus on Thursday in the state parliament. The aim is not to completely flood the areas, but to raise the water level so that a certain amount of use is still possible on the areas that are often used for agriculture today.
The two largest contiguous and drained moors in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are the Friedländer Große Wiese in the districts of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Vorpommern-Greifswald and the Lewitz south of Schwerin. According to Backhaus, the Lewitz alone covers around 17,000 hectares. There is a lot of agriculture from large and small users there, which must be taken into account, he said. The largest farmer there is a stud farm owned by the former world-class show jumper Paul Schockemöhle with several thousand horses.
Drained moors are considered to be the largest source of CO2 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. One third of all climate-damaging emissions in the federal state are attributed to them. The CO2 escapes as peat decomposes when it is dry.
