International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine says protection policy has been successful
BMU-Pressedienst 111/03 vom 01. Juli 2003Policies geared to protecting the Rhine will in the next few years concentrate on implementing the EU Water Framework Directive and the Rhine Programme 2020. Both the Directive and the Programme constitute a holistic approach to conserving the river. This was stressed by the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) at the end of a 2-day meeting in Bonn, hosted by the German Ministry for the Environment. Government representatives from France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the EU stressed the success achieved so far in rehabilitating the river. German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin commended the transboundary cooperation in the river basin as an example for other river basins in Europe.
Federal Environment Minister Trittin: "Today the Rhine is again a living water body. Its water quality has improved substantially, fauna in the river has recovered, and the salmon programme has been successful. Thanks to ICPR recommendations for the safety of industrial plants and prevention of accidents, industrial plants alongside the Rhine are now better equipped to deal with accidents and the number of accidents involving substances hazardous to water such as chemicals has been considerably reduced. At the same time the successful implementation of the action plan on flood defence is continuing."
The ICPR outlined that the "Rhine Action Programme", launched after the 1987 chemical accident at Sandoz, has been a success. Since 1987, point discharges of hazardous substances have decreased by 70 to 100 per cent. Discharges of dioxins and DDT are no longer found. Discharges of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper and zinc and discharges of pesticides have been substantially reduced. Nitrogen discharged from non-point sources into tributaries, i.e. from agricultural soils, is still a problem.
Evidence shows that more than 1900 adult salmon have returned to the Rhine. With 63 species present today, the original fish fauna of the Rhine has almost been completely restored. Only the sturgeon is still not prevalent.
The ICPR has published a flood atlas on the Internet which for the first time ever depicts flood-prone areas. Currently the ICPR is working on models which are to reflect the impact of flood defence measures on the population.
In its "Rhine 2020 Programme" the ICPR defined its goals for the next 20 years. This programme is the continuation of the "Rhine Action Programme". New programme objectives include the further improvement of the river’s ecological status, a holistic flood defence approach which takes into account ecological requirements, the conservation, improvement and restoration of natural habitats and natural flow characteristics. A further goal is to take groundwater into consideration - provided there is interaction with the Rhine.
In the Rhine river basin the EU countries’ water protection policies will primarily focus on implementing the Water Framework Directive. The Directive obliges member states and rim countries to elaborate a management plan for the entire river basin. The ICPR supports this endeavour.