Bargerveen Nature Reserve 2.31

Bargerveen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Dutch province of Drenthe that has been included in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Since 2006 it is part of the Internationaler Naturpark Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen (engl. Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park), a nature reserve located on both sides of the border between the Netherlands and Germany. Most of the transboundary nature reserve, some 134km2, lies in Germany, in the west of the state of Lower Saxony. The sparsely populated landscape consists of large peat areas, heather, and small lakes.The Dutch part of the nature reserve was founded in 1992 as Natuurreservaat Bargerveen. It was designated as a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance) the following year. Bargerveen has a size of 21km2. It consists mainly of peat bog.Bog restorationSome of the wetland area had become degraded, and, after peat extraction was discontinued, restoration work was needed to improve water retention. The project had the objective of creating active raised bog and was coordinated by Staatsbosbeheer, the government agency that manages the site. The work was supported by the European Union's LIFE programme in the years 2003-2006, but it was noted that the full effects would be seen in the longer term.