Eco-points and compensation areas
District of Goslar
Eco-points available immediately from officially recognised eco-accounts in Goslar district. greeNature solutions, your full-service partner for compensation under Lower Saxon nature conservation law in the Harz and the northern Harz foreland.
The District of Goslar at a glance
Goslar district lies in the south-east of Lower Saxony and forms the northern edge of the Harz. Lower Saxony is not divided into administrative regions, statistically the district belongs to the Braunschweig region. The district seat is the World Heritage town of Goslar, with its historic old town and the former Rammelsberg mine, both recognised by UNESCO.
In terms of landscape, the district extends from the Upper Harz with the Wurmberg (971 m) and the area around the Brocken, across wooded low mountain slopes, to the loess-shaped northern Harz foreland. The west around Seesen and Langelsheim belongs to the Innerste Hills. This gradation in altitude creates a dense mix of mountain forests, mountain meadows, raised bogs, watercourses and open cultural landscape.
The Harz National Park, including its Lower Saxon section, is ecologically defining for the district, alongside a network of nature reserves, FFH sites and special protection areas within the European Natura 2000 network. The Oker, Innerste, Gose and Radau streams, the mountain meadows of the Upper Harz and the old mining galleries used as bat roosts are among the most valuable nature conservation features of the region.
Economically, the district is shaped by historic ore mining and smelting, tourism in the Harz and the chemical industry in Langelsheim. Raw material extraction, wind energy in the Harz foreland, and road building and flood protection projects regularly trigger a compensation requirement, which in Lower Saxony is assessed using the habitat value procedure (eco-points) under the NAGBNatSchG.
🗺️ Associated natural regions
Go to natural region D36 ›
📍 Selected municipalities
🌿 Ecological features
- Harz National Park (Lower Saxon section), an extensive forest protection area with natural woodland development
- Harz Landscape Protection Area, which covers more than a third of the district
- 22 nature reserves in the Upper Harz and on the edge of the Harz
- FFH sites and special protection areas of the Natura 2000 network, including for the European wildcat and black stork
- Mountain meadows and raised bogs of the Upper Harz as protected FFH habitat types
- The Oker, Innerste, Gose and Radau watercourses, with near-natural stretches
- Historic mining galleries as important bat winter roosts
✅ greeNature on the ground
greeNature operates nationwide and works in Lower Saxony consistently in line with the requirements of the NAGBNatSchG and the guidance documents of the NLWKN. We assess compensation using the habitat value procedure (eco-points), know the requirements of the lower nature conservation authority (Untere Naturschutzbehörde) of Goslar district, and coordinate measures in the Harz and the Harz foreland with the authorities on a sound technical basis.
Typical measures in the district of Goslar
Near-natural forest conversion
Conversion of non-native spruce plantations into site-appropriate mountain and mixed deciduous forests with beech, sycamore and rowan, particularly on Harz areas affected by bark beetle. Enhancement assessed via the habitat value procedure under the NAGBNatSchG.
Watercourse restoration
Removal of bank reinforcement and bed sills on the Oker, Innerste, Gose and Radau, and creation of gravel banks, eroding banks and riparian woodland fringes as habitat for the kingfisher, brown trout and dipper.
Mountain meadows and calcareous grassland
Restoration and extensive management of species-rich mountain hay meadows and Nardus grasslands in the Upper Harz, as well as calcareous grassland on the edge of the Harz, maintaining protected FFH habitat types through mowing and grazing.
CEF/FCS species protection
Securing and improving mining galleries as bat winter roosts, habitat structures for the European wildcat and hazel dormouse, and sand lizard habitats on railway and path embankments, coordinated with § 44 BNatSchG.
Bog and wetland protection
Rewetting of raised bogs and spring mires in the Upper Harz by blocking old drainage ditches, restoring peat formation and creating habitats for amphibians and bog-typical species.
Hedgerows and habitat network
Creation of hedgerows, field copses and field margins in the open farmland of the Harz foreland, providing stepping-stone habitats that connect woodland edges, watercourses and open land.
Protected species in the Harz and the northern Harz foreland
European wildcat
The Harz is one of the important distribution areas for the European wildcat in Germany. Structurally rich deciduous and mixed forests with deadwood, woodland meadows and undisturbed refuges are crucial for its conservation and a typical target of compensation measures.
About this species ›Bats in mining galleries
The numerous historic galleries and mines of the Harz are among the region's most important bat winter roosts, used by the greater mouse-eared bat, Daubenton's bat and other species. Securing roosts is a common CEF measure.
About this species ›Black stork
The black stork breeds in the extensive, quiet forest areas of the Harz. It uses near-natural streams and woodland pools to forage, which is why watercourse restoration and reducing disturbance in the forest are important conservation measures.
About this species ›Kingfisher on Harz streams
The Oker, Innerste and Gose offer the kingfisher breeding opportunities in steep banks and a rich fish stock. Eroding banks, near-natural watercourses and clear water are the basis of stable populations.
About this species ›Amphibians of the mountain region
Fire salamander, Alpine newt and great crested newt, along with common toad, inhabit spring streams, woodland pools and small water bodies in the Harz and on its edge. Creating and connecting spawning waters are typical standard compensation measures.
About this species ›Hazel dormouse
The hazel dormouse lives in structurally rich woodland edges, scrub and coppice with a good supply of fruit. Maintaining continuous woody structures and species-rich forest fringes secures its habitats in the Harz foreland.
About this species ›Which projects trigger a compensation obligation?
Raw material extraction and post-mining land
Stone and lime extraction, the chemical industry in Langelsheim, and the redevelopment of post-mining landscapes generate impacts that must be compensated for under nature conservation law. greeNature develops compensation areas for this that are true to the natural region.
Wind energy in the Harz foreland
New construction and repowering of wind turbines in the open Harz foreland trigger compensation and replacement obligations and often require species protection measures under § 44 BNatSchG, for example for wind-sensitive species.
Transport and infrastructure
Expansion and refurbishment of federal and state roads (including the B6, B241 and B4) as well as bridge and rail projects in the Harz area lead to a compensation requirement, which is assessed using the habitat value procedure.
Flood protection and reservoirs
Measures at the Harz reservoirs and watercourses, as well as flood protection on the Oker and Innerste, require accompanying compensation and replacement measures, often in the form of watercourse and floodplain restoration.
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.
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