“Water protection is climate protection,” says Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency. “Floodplains adjacent to rivers act like a sponge. During floods, they store water and during droughts , they slowly release it again. In addition, the stored water has a cooling effect on its surroundings during extreme heat. Expanding the land available to rivers and streams is therefore not just done for its own sake— it’s key to managing climate risks. An increase in water bodies always brings increased protection against climate extremes.”
Our Waters Today
Germany is crisscrossed by a dense network of streams and rivers. The total length of all rivers and watercourses amounts to approximately 590,000 kilometres. This network of water bodies is heavily utilised and has been extensively modified for the benefit of settlements, agriculture, transport, and energy production. Rivers have been straightened, separated from their floodplains by dykes, stripped of riparian vegetation, deepened, and reinforced with stones or concrete. As a result of these developments, about 80 percent of the land once available for the expansion of streams and rivers has been lost.
The European Union has set itself the goal of achieving good ecological status for rivers and watercourses. This goal is still far from being reached.Even as recently as 2022, 90 percent of streams and rivers did not meet the criteria for a good ecological status.
Our Waters Tomorrow
If we return as much of the lost land to streams and rivers as possible, they can redevelop their natural structures and thus provide habitats for numerous organisms. These structures include, for example, sand and gravel banks, islands, or fallen trees.
However, water bodies having more land not only means they have the necessary conditions for sustainable water protection. Natural river and floodplain landscapes are proven to fulfill more than 40 different functions. For instance, they provide drinking water and food, store carbon for climate protection , and offer attractive spaces for recreation and leisure.
Restoring Land and Retaining Water
Climate change is fuelling more extreme weather. Heavy rainfall and flooding can have devastating consequences. Periods of drought lead to water shortages in rivers and streams. Here, too, providing more space helps.. A longer river course slows down the water runoff ,allowing it to remain in the landscape for longer. Floodwaters that spread into adjacent floodplains are temporarily stored there like in a sponge. During dry weather conditions , the water is gradually released again, cooling the surroundings and preventing droughts. These results call for a paradigm shift: instead of channelling water out of the landscape as quickly as possible, the goal in the future must be to retain it locally for longer. This way, soils, vegetation, and groundwater reserves can benefit more – an important step towards climate resilience and sustainable water management.
Two Percent – An Ambitious but Achievable Vision
Reclaiming two percent of the national land area for natural-based watercourse development is a major challenge – especially in a densely populated country like Germany. Since the Water Framework Directive came into force in 2000, more than 4,500 square kilometers have been newly developed for settlement and transport purposes. In contrast, only 71 square kilometers of floodplains have been restored since 1983. This discrepancy highlightsa clear gap between ambition and reality in water protection, despite individual successes.
However, river restoration is not an isolated goal. It aligns with many other land-related environmental, nature conservation, and climate protection measures. A land-use target for watercourse development is an important component.
Further information
The calculation methodology, further results on natural areas for watercourse development, and research findings on ecosystem services can be found at the following links.
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