In addition to the protection of moors, Volkswagen Financial Services are also actively involved in river renaturation. The aim is to increase the biodiversity of flora and fauna and provide reliable flood protection. Around 800,000 euros have already been invested in specific projects on the River Schunter (Braunschweig) and the River Aller (Verden).
For decades, many of the small and minor watercourses have been straightened like canals and artificially constricted by means of embankments. The purpose was to make rivers navigable so that they could be used for regional freight transport. However, straightening the natural flow of running waters has negative repercussions – for humans, animals, and nature.
Naturally flowing waters are vital and valuable. They provide a diverse habitat for animals and plants in the water and along the banks. They also provide us with food, clean our drinking water, and give us space for recreation. In a natural state, water flows through the curves and meanders of the river at varying speeds. Many species of animals and plants are adapted and specialized to the different conditions. In straightened rivers, the flow rate of the water increases significantly. Some animal species adapted to calmer waters lose their habitat. Due to the high flow rate and lack of retention basins, floods and flood disasters are becoming more and more dangerous. Intact watercourses and floodplains, on the other hand, provide a natural flood protection.
The statistics show how important it is to actively protect watercourses: a good 75 percent of the river floodplains are cut off from natural flood events by human intervention. The rivers have been straightened, dammed, and artificially separated from their water meadows by dikes. As a result, most of the natural habitats and ecological niches for the typical species of fish, birds, insects and plants have been lost. A further burden on this environment is the excessive input of nutrients and pollutants. At the present time, only three percent of the around 7,300 river kilometers of the German waterway network achieve the "good ecological status" required by law.
Image source Aller: Erich Schwinge/Klemens Karkow
