Water retention

Water

Stabilizing our Landscape Water Balance

Poor harvests due to heat and drought

The landscape water balance is out of equilibrium: Straightened rivers, sealed soils, and drained peatlands retain too little water in the landscape. The consequences: drought, declining groundwater levels, and flooding. The solutions: retain water through adapted land management, give rivers more space, allow floodplains to flood, and manage land and soil in a climate-resilient way. read more

Water

Flood prevention

The River Elbe during a flood in the Elbe Biosphere Reserve

In the past, flood protection was often strongly focused on technical measures. Sustainable flood prevention focuses more on natural flood protection, addresses the causes of floods, restricts the use of land along rivers and raises awareness of natural hazards among the population. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment