The Drömling was once part of an expansive area of wetland lowlands with fen woodland stands, tall sedge swamps, peatland- and riparian woodlands along with predominantly damp meadows and pastures.

Its numerous ditches are such a distinctive feature that it is known as the 'land of a thousand ditches'("Land der tausend Gräben").

The species categorized as endangered at national level include the: Eurasian river otter (Lutra lutra), Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus), pond bat (Myotis dasycneme), brown and grey long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus and Plecotus austriacus), the Eurasian crane (Grus grus), black stork (Ciconia nigra), white stork (Ciconia ciconia), curlew (Numenius arquata), sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), quail (Coturnix coturnix), common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), barred warbler (Sylvia nisoria), European tree frog (Hyla arborea), moor frog (Rana arvalis), various fish species (including burbot (Lota lota) and loach (Misgurnus fossilis)), and a large number of threatened dragonfly species - Lestes barbarus and Lestes virens, the northern damselfly (Coenagrion hastulatum), southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) and Irish damselfly (Coenagrion lunulatum), the white-faced darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) and large white-faced darter (Leucorrhinia pectoralis) and their Nordic relative (Leucorrhinia rubicunda). The highly endangered vascular plant species include lesser marshwort (Apium inundatum), pillwort (Pilularia globulifera), ivy-leaved crowfoot (Ranunculus hederaceus), fen ragwort (Senecio paludosus), marsh violet (Viola palustris) and floating club-rush (Isolepis fluitans).

The overall objective of the project is to conserve the large-scale lowland peat mass, primarily by means of rewetting programmes. Further objectives are the institution of strict nature reserves, the extensification of agricultural and silvicultural land use, the creation of bog lakes and levelling of dikes, the conversion of weirs (into fish ladders, for instance) and the transformation of arable land into grassland.