Protected areas and biosphere reserves

Nature conservation and land use are often seen as conflicting interests. Yet the opposite is correct. Only intact ecosystems can fulfil their ecosystem functions, which are also important for us humans. Given this basic requirement land use can deliver a long-term supply of people. The Succow Foundation is committed to this conception by establishing and developing protected areas and biosphere reserves worldwide. 

In its efforts to meet the immense challenges posed by global climate change the Succow Foundation pursues site adapted, ecosystem-based approaches that take a holistic view of the natural environment from a landscape-ecological perspective.

The Succow Foundation is dedicated to the long-term preservation of unique, still intact natural areas by establishing World Heritage Sites. But cultural landscapes have also evolved over thousands of years of interaction between man and nature. Today these landscapes occupy by far the largest part of the earth's land surface. Cultural landscapes have always provided us humans with food, a place to live, a workplace, a home and simply with well-being. At the same time they are home to a significant part of biological diversity. The protection and preservation of cultural landscapes through the UNESCO World Heritage Convention is therefore an important concern of the Succow Foundation.
 

Current projects