First European Riverprize 2013: success on the Rhine
First European Riverprize 2013:
success on the Rhine
Once known as the dirtiest river in Europe, the Rhine has cleaned up its waters and its reputation to serve as a model for international cooperation in river basin management.
The Rhine received the European Riverprize 2013 for remarkable achievements in integrated river basin management following a 50 year legacy of river degradation. Pictured from left to right: Matt Reddy (IRF), Ulrike Sapiro (Coca-Cola Europe), André Weidenhaupt (ICPR), Ben van de Wetering (ICPR), Anne Schulte-Wülwer-Leidig (ICPR), Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević (ICPDR), David Stuart (Australian Ambassador to Austria). © ICPDR
The Rhine is one of the most important rivers in Europe. For centuries, it has been not only a vital shipping lane, but also a source of food and water, a crystallisation point for human settlements. The banks of the river were the site of some of Europe’s most important industrial development, with severe water pollution and river degradation the result. Once known as the sewer of Europe in the 1960s and 70s, it has become one of the cleanest international rivers.
Although water quality problems in the Rhine were recognised as early as the 15th century, the extent of the deterioration was not really apparent before the end of the 1960s. By that time, pollution from organic substances had led to acute oxygen problems and a disappearance of almost all aquatic life. Discharges of heavy metals, pesticides, hydrocarbons and organic chlorine compounds caused further ecological problems. Efforts had to be continuously increased to produce good quality drinking water.
Working together for protection. The International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) was established in 1950 as the first intergovernmental body for protection against pollution in the Rhine with Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the European Union as Contracting Parties. Since the entry into force of the EU Water Framework Directive, the cooperation also includes Austria, Lichtenstein and Wallonia (Belgium).
What started with the development of a joint monitoring strategy in the 1950s and 60s has developed into a comprehensive integrated management strategy of the Rhine, comprising aspects of water quality, emission reduction, ecological restoration and flood prevention. This development has been guided by a process of learning by doing which was triggered by a series of major disasters.
THE EUROPEAN RIVERPRIZE 2013
Awarded by the International RiverFoundation, the IRF European Riverprize is one of the world’s most respected environmental awards, giving recognition, reward and support to outstanding programmes in river management. Entries for the European Riverprize are judged by an all-European panel of experts, based on a documented river management framework, evidence of social and economic gains, an integrated approach to river management, a long-term vision and demonstrated, outstanding achievements in river ecology.
As the recipient of the European Riverprize, the Rhine will now automatically qualify as a finalist for the Thiess International Riverprize in 2014.
Learning from disasters. In the 19th century, the course of the Rhine was drastically altered to improve conditions for navigation and to enable the use of alluvial riverside areas for agriculture and other purposes. Between Basel and Mainz the length of the river was reduced by more than 80 km and 85 % of the alluvial land was lost. Meanders were cut off, causing great changes in the river ecosystem. Flow velocity increased, the river bed eroded and groundwater levels dropped. Numerous dams and weirs serving hydropower production were constructed. Due to these physical barriers migratory species could no longer reach their spawning grounds and catches of Rhine salmon decreased dramatically from more than 280,000 tons of fish around 1870 to zero in 1950. These problems could only be solved effectively in a basin-wide approach, and obviously, for the Rhine, this meant international cooperation.
The first two decades of cooperation within the ICPR were dedicated to getting a common understanding of the Rhine problems and to creating a legal and institutional basis for cooperation. Joint monitoring programmes were developed, but the first joint measures to protect the river against the effects of organic pollution were only taken after 1970. Between 1970 and 1985, successful programmes were developed to reduce inputs of polluted municipal and industrial wastewater and oxygen levels steadily rose.
During this time, efforts focused on ‘end-of-pipe’ techniques such as wastewater treatment rather than on preventive measures – until 1986, when a serious disaster forced further progress. At the Sandoz plant near Basel, 10–30 tons of toxic substances flowed into the river and caused the death of almost all aquatic life downstream as far as the Loreley rock near St Goarshausen. The development of the Rhine Action Programme of 1987 was the political answer to the disaster.
Measuring success. When adopting the Rhine Action Programme, ministers agreed to ambitious targets such as the return of salmon by the year 2000 and a 50–70% reduction of inputs of dangerous substances between 1985 and 1995. Measures were taken all along the river to prevent pollution, and since 1970, more than 80 billion Euros have been invested in constructing municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants; about 96% of the population in the Rhine catchment is connected to municipal waste water treatment plants. Inputs of most priority substances were reduced by 70–100% or were no longer detectable, and by 2000 almost all reduction targets had been achieved.
In addition, the Salmon 2000/2020-Programme is responsible for seeing, by 2012, nearly 7000 adult salmon return to spawn. Further measures are required to achieve a self-sustaining salmon population in the Rhine catchment; however the ongoing reactivation of parts of the former flood-prone areas will lead to more room for the river, higher biodiversity and a more natural river system.
Extreme floods in 1993 and 1995 gave an extra impetus and resulted in a stronger political commitment for further integration of policies. As after the Sandoz disaster in 1987, these two floods convinced the Rhine states that floods measures had to be taken and the ICPR adopted an Action Plan on Floods. By 2010, measures costing over 10.3 billion Euros had been implemented, and since then retention areas for 229 million m³ of flood water along the main stream have been created.
The successful cooperation achieved by the ICPR has been an example for many other river basin organisations, and delegations from all over the world continue to visit the ICPR to share experiences and learn from the remarkable change brought about on the river.
