Eco-points and compensation areas
City of Heidelberg
Eco-points immediately available from officially recognised eco-accounts for impacts in the city of Heidelberg. greeNature supports your compensation under the Ökokonto-Verordnung (ÖKVO) as a full-service partner, from requirement analysis through land allocation to recognition by the City of Heidelberg's lower nature conservation authority.
The City of Heidelberg at a glance
Heidelberg is an independent city (Stadtkreis) in the Karlsruhe administrative region and, with around 156,000 residents across roughly 109 km², one of the best-known cities in Baden-Württemberg. The city is divided into 15 neighbourhoods and lies where the Neckar leaves the Odenwald for the Upper Rhine plain. It is the seat of the Landratsamt of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, but as a Stadtkreis it does not belong to that district.
In landscape terms, Heidelberg lies at the transition of two natural regions. The west, with Bahnstadt, Pfaffengrund, Kirchheim and Wieblingen, belongs to the Oberrheinisches Tiefland (D53), while the east, with the Altstadt, Ziegelhausen and Schlierbach, belongs to the wooded Odenwald (Odenwald, Spessart und Südrhön natural region, D55). Between them, the narrow Neckar valley, with the slopes of the Königstuhl and Heiligenberg, shapes the cityscape.
Ecologically significant are the lower reaches of the Neckar with its floodplain remnants, the woodland of the Kleiner Odenwald, and warmth-favoured slope and vineyard sites. Heidelberg has a share of the FFH sites Unterer Neckar Heidelberg-Mannheim and Steinachtal und Kleiner Odenwald within the Natura 2000 network and has several nature and landscape protection areas.
As a growing university and science city with dense development, Heidelberg continually generates compensation requirements. Housing on conversion sites, the expansion of research and clinical facilities in the Neuenheimer Feld, and transport projects regularly trigger compensation and replacement obligations under §§ 13 to 15 BNatSchG and the Ökokonto-Verordnung.
🗺️ Associated natural regions
Go to natural region D53 ›
Go to natural region D55 ›
📍 City districts
🌿 Ecological features
- Neckar valley at the point where it leaves the Odenwald, a defining watercourse with floodplain remnants and steep valley slopes
- FFH site Unterer Neckar Heidelberg-Mannheim with nature and landscape protection areas along the river
- FFH site Steinachtal und Kleiner Odenwald, roughly half of which lies within the Stadtkreis Heidelberg
- Wooded slopes of the Königstuhl and Heiligenberg as part of the Odenwald, habitat for bats and hazel dormouse
- Warmth-favoured vineyard and traditional orchard slopes in Handschuhsheim and Rohrbach with sand lizard populations
- Natural-region transition between the Upper Rhine plain (D53) and the Odenwald (D55) over a short distance
- Green space and habitat network within the densely built-up city area, with high enhancement potential through desealing
✅ greeNature on the ground
greeNature operates nationwide and works consistently in Baden-Württemberg with the assessment system of the Ökokonto-Verordnung (ÖKVO). We coordinate measures with the City of Heidelberg's lower nature conservation authority, know the natural differences between the Rhine plain, the Neckar valley and the Odenwald, and assign eco-points from recognised eco-accounts precisely to the relevant impact. In the densely built-up city area with limited land, sound nature-conservation allocation is particularly demanding. From requirement analysis through land allocation to documentation, we handle the whole compensation process.
Typical measures in the city of Heidelberg
Watercourse restoration on the Neckar
Revitalising bank sections and tributaries of the lower Neckar with bank flattening, deadwood and reconnection of floodplain structures. This improves connectivity and creates habitats for kingfisher, fish and amphibians.
Desealing and green connectivity
Removal of sealed surfaces within the city and on conversion sites, converting them into structurally rich green and woody areas. Desealing is an effective and land-efficient enhancement in the densely built-up city.
Traditional orchards and disused vineyards
Creating and managing traditional orchards, and extensively managing slope and vineyard sites in Handschuhsheim, Rohrbach and Ziegelhausen. Habitat for cavity-nesting birds, bats, wild bees and the sand lizard.
Woodland conversion in the Kleiner Odenwald
Developing structurally rich mixed broadleaf woodland on the slopes of the Königstuhl and Heiligenberg, preserving old and dead wood patches and cavity trees as habitat for hazel dormouse, bats and black stork.
Grassland enhancement in the surrounding area
Extensifying and enhancing grassland, and creating hedgerows and margins in the floodplains and at the Odenwald edge as stepping-stone habitats and compensation for impacts in the densely developed urban area.
Species protection CEF and FCS
Advance compensation measures (CEF) and measures to maintain favourable conservation status (FCS) under § 44 BNatSchG, for example replacement habitats for the sand lizard, bat roosts and newly created spawning waters for amphibians and the great crested newt.
Protected species in the Neckar valley at the transition of the Upper Rhine plain and the Odenwald
Sand lizard
The sand lizard inhabits railway banks, vineyard walls, embankments and fallow land in Heidelberg, for example on the south-facing slopes of Handschuhsheim and Rohrbach. It is a frequent target species for settlement and infrastructure projects and regularly requires advance CEF measures with replacement habitats.
About this species ›Bats
Several strictly protected bat species use the woodland of the Odenwald, building roosts in the Altstadt, and the waters of the Neckar valley as foraging grounds. Building demolition and tree felling can require the preservation and replacement of roosts under § 44 BNatSchG.
About this species ›Kingfisher
The kingfisher inhabits near-natural stretches of the Neckar and its tributaries and needs steep faces to breed. Bank scarps and restored watercourse stretches are effective compensation measures.
About this species ›Hazel dormouse
The hazel dormouse lives in undergrowth-rich broadleaf woodland, woodland edges and hedgerows of the Kleiner Odenwald on the valley slopes around Heidelberg. Where woody vegetation is lost, connectivity structures and preserving shrub-rich margins are required.
About this species ›Great crested newt
The great crested newt, protected under Annex II of the FFH Directive, uses fish-free small water bodies and pools in the floodplains of the lower Neckar and at the Odenwald edge. Newly created and connected spawning waters are a typical compensation measure.
About this species ›Black stork
The black stork breeds with minimal disturbance in the extensive woodland of the Odenwald and depends on structurally rich streams and wet meadows as foraging habitat. Projects near woodland can trigger FCS measures.
About this species ›Which projects trigger a compensation obligation?
Housing on conversion sites
The development of former military and rail sites such as Patrick-Henry-Village and the Bahnstadt creates housing for tens of thousands of people and generates significant compensation requirements. greeNature provides suitable eco-points from recognised eco-accounts and handles liaison with the authority.
Science, clinical facilities and commerce
The expansion of the university, research institutes and the university hospital in the Neuenheimer Feld, as well as new commercial and office sites, regularly trigger compensation and replacement obligations under §§ 13 to 15 BNatSchG.
Transport and infrastructure
New construction and extension of tram lines, Neckar crossings, connections to the A5 and A656 motorways, and rail projects within the city require compensation under nature conservation law and often species protection CEF measures.
Infill development and urban renewal
Infill development, building upward, and reorganising inner-city neighbourhoods in the limited urban space affects green structures, bat roosts in buildings and trees, which can trigger compensation and species protection measures under § 44 BNatSchG.
From enquiry to monitoring
Contact and enquiry
Tell us your compensation requirement and the natural region. We check availability.
Offer and advice
A transparent offer covering measure types, scope and availability.
Coordination with authorities
Full coordination with the lower nature conservation authority. We handle everything.
Long-term monitoring
Permanent securing of the land, management and documentation across the contract term.
Eco-points in adjoining districts
All about eco-points
in the city of Heidelberg
Request eco-points in the city of Heidelberg
We will promptly prepare a transparent offer with matching eco-points held in stock in the city of Heidelberg.