The Baltic Sea is under pressure – but it’s also brimming with possibilities for protection. Our new brochure “Sea of Opportunities: Collaborating Towards Effective Protection and Restoration of the Baltic Sea” takes you straight into the heart of the action. Through the Baltic Coast Dialog-project (2023–2025), Rewilding Oder Delta and five partner organisations explored the Baltic Sea and its shores, talking with people across borders, uncovering what really works, and discovering where nature needs a helping hand. You’ll see why protected areas alone are not enough, why EU law now demands restoration, and how collaboration across countries can turn good intentions into real change. Full of insights and practical lessons, this brochure isn’t just a report – it’s a call to dive in, learn, and join the effort.

Working together for the comeback of large herbivores in the Oder Delta – Large wild animals such as moose and bison are not only fascinating to observe – they shape entire landscapes and strengthen the resilience of our ecosystems. Transboundary knowledge exchange, cooperation and understanding are necessary for their successful and well-managed, naturally occurring return to Germany. For the past four years, a German-Polish working group has been collaborating to jointly develop monitoring and management approaches for these species, paving the way for peaceful coexistence between humans and animals.

Thanks to funding support from the Open Rivers Programme, a vital next step towards restoring nature and biodiversity in the Baltic region has begun.

Thanks to continued support from the Open Rivers Programme, a new restoration project will remove two barriers on the Wołczenica River and one on the Sławęcinka River. This will open 47 kilometres of free-flowing water for fish and other aquatic wildlife. The intervention will halt harmful riverbed erosion, bring back more natural river flows, and strengthen the region’s resilience to climate change.

Beavers had been almost completely eradicated in Europe, but their return to the Peene River 50 years ago marked a turning point for natural climate protection. Beavers have a significant impact on our waters: they build dams out of branches, mud and wood, which dam up the water and create ponds, shallow water zones and wetlands. In doing so, the beaver creates the foundations for life that ensure the survival of many species, e.g. food sources and breeding grounds. It thus ensures the creation of new habitats for numerous animal and plant species in the region, such as the bulbous snail, brook lamprey, river lamprey and otter.

Upon invitation of Rewilding Oder Delta, around 30 representatives of various stakeholder groups such as Bauernverband Ostvorpommern and Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, state authorities from Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as federal authorities met on July 9th and 10th 2024 in Stralsund to talk about the restoration and benefits of salt marshes.

On 25th and 26th September 2025, the EnviroSustain team returned to our rewilding centre in Glashütte for two team days to support with hands on actions: Equipped with pliers crimpers and spades the team worked hard by not only removing about 50 m of old fencing on Rewilding Oder Delta’s property but also clearing the … Continued

The Baltic Sea is in crisis – overfertilisation, intensive use and the loss of valuable habitats are taking their toll. At the same time, current projects by Rewilding Oder Delta and partners show that solutions are possible: sustainable fishing, restoration of seagrass meadows and reefs, more dialogue across national borders. At the international conference ‘Sea of Opportunities’ in Stralsund, concrete steps were discussed – and a strong network was established to promote the protection of the Baltic Sea in the future.

On 26–27 September 2025, Polish-German workshops will take place in Zalesie near Szczecin and in Rothenklempenow. The event “Im Dialog über den Wolf – Sicheres Zusammenleben in Vorpommern / Rozmowy o wilkach – bezpieczne współistnienie na Pomorzu Przednim” aims to build trust, expand knowledge, and develop practical tools and strategies to reduce conflicts and support living alongside wolves and people.

Around 40 experts from research, administration, and practice accepted the invitation from Rewilding Oder Delta e.V. in cooperation with Kiel Marine Science at Kiel University (CAU) to develop recommendations for the reintroduction of seagrass meadows in the Baltic Sea in a two-day workshop. In addition to exciting expert input, the focus was on exchange, cooperation, and shared experiences—a strong symbol for restoration in research and practice.