NABU demands ecological restoration of the Rhine amid historic low water
NABU NRW and WWF warn against deepening the Rhine's fairway after historic low water, urging ecological restoration, shallow-draft vessels and digital traffic management instead.
Historic low water prompts call for restoration
Amid historic low water on the Rhine, the environmental organisation NABU NRW is demanding an "ecological restoration" of the river. The group says the Rhine urgently needs more space for natural river processes and habitats, with retreat zones for animals and plants and a greater diversity of structures. Heide Naderer, the NABU state chairwoman in North Rhine-Westphalia, said the central goal is to retain more water across the floodplain and mitigate low-water phases.
Klaus Markgraf-Maué, who oversees Rhine policy at NABU NRW, added that the natural stabilisation of the river through Alpine glacier runoff will largely disappear within a few decades. That loss of glacier-fed flow removes a natural buffer that has helped regulate water levels.
Opposition to fairway deepening
NABU and WWF both warn against deepening fairways in the Elbe, Oder, Weser and Rhine. WWF said such projects "do more harm than they benefit," because deepening a river does not create more water but concentrates it, draining the surrounding area further.
Anyone who now invests millions in further deepening is risking a bottomless barrel: the construction projects take many years, while extreme weather and sinking water levels have long since outpaced the technical solutions.
Naderer stressed that only a combination of ecological restoration, fleet adaptation and flexible use can secure the Rhine's role as a central lifeline and economic artery in the long term.
Digital and fleet alternatives
NABU NRW advocates stronger digital networking and real-time sensor technology to allow fairways to be used flexibly and safely. In problem sections, one-way directional traffic could help maintain operations. The organisation also says ships must adapt to the Rhine rather than the other way around, becoming shallow-water capable. "Oversized ships" with deep draft can no longer guarantee industrial supply security during low water, the group argued.
Cabinet ministers divided
Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) said inland shipping transport should become more crisis-resistant. Speaking to RTL/ntv, he said confidence in inland shipping is necessary if goods are to be shifted from road to waterway. Bilger acknowledged that climate adaptation requires waterway expansion in some places, adding that ecological compensation would be carefully considered.
If we want goods to be shifted from road to waterway, then there must be confidence in inland shipping.
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) called for more far-reaching measures, arguing that simply deepening rivers cannot be the answer. He said a stronger transformation of rivers is needed, including restoration away from canals toward natural rivers with meandering arms and floodplain landscapes that retain water across the surface.
