The islands that protect Germany from the North Sea
By Sophie Hardach
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Up to 50 times a year, the North Sea floods the small, flat German island of Nordstrandischmoor where Ruth Hartwig-Kruse lives with her children and grandchildren. In a phenomenon known as "land under", the island almost entirely vanishes beneath the sea.
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The German coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein, which includes the Halligen, is spending millions of euros to enlarge the mounds on which the islanders live, preparing for a sea level rise of up to 1 metre (3.3ft) by 2100.
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The idyllic Halligen are part of a much bigger ecosystem. They lie in the protected Wadden Sea, an intertidal area that acts as a natural wavebreaker for Germany's North Sea coast, and teems with wildlife. One of the most dramatic features of this ecosystem is the extreme effect of tidal forces.
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A pilot project to create three climate mounds on Hooge, Nordstrandischmoor and Langeness is nearing completion. It has turned out to be considerably more expensive than expected, costing between €3.7m (£3.2m/$4.5m) to €9m (£7.9m/$10.9m) per mound, largely because of the cost of the sand needed for construction, and its transport.
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