Kai Frobel is a German environmental ecologist. When he was young he lived very near the German part of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

,
on the west side, near

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

. He realized that the public-excluded security zone along the Iron Curtain had become a de facto wildlife reserve. When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, he was instrumental in getting these wildlife reserves preserved as the European Green Belt. He runs the Ribbon of Life project which seeks to preserve these areas. He is associated with the BUND (

Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (; BUND, ) is a German non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to preserving nature and protecting the environment. The name means "German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation". ...

Awards

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(2020)

Awards

Notes

See also