Saxony-Anhalt will invest over 130 million euros to protect its waters

According to the State Environment Minister, natural bodies of water are much more resilient to climate fluctuations

Today, the state government of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, announced they will invest over 130 million euros for the climate protection and resilience of the regions’ bodies of water in 2022. The move was described by the state's Environment Minister, Armin Willingmann, as a way to strengthen water in the face of the enormous stress test that is climate change.

The funds will be split into two parts, with around 95 million going towards flood protection and 37 million towards nature conservation. Notably, the ministry has more than doubled the budget for nature conservation compared to that in 2021, when it was just 15.5 million.

In terms of climate resilience and flood protection, the budget has gone up from 73.6 million to 95.3 million euros, largely because of last year’s devastating floods. This represents an increase of around 30%.

Expanding natural water bodies to prepare for climate change

Minister Armin Willingmann explained that both floods due to heavy rain and droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity in the coming years. This makes larger bodies of water significantly more hostile, however, it could lead to smaller ones drying up altogether.

At the same time, he also pointed out that natural and semi-natural bodies of water are quite resilient as well. He gave an example with a 2018-2020 drought that did not have a significant impact on them and this is, to a large extent, why authorities should focus on expanding them.

A good year for natural conservation in Saxony-Anhalt

According to a statement by the Environment Ministry, this year they will fund nearly 30 conservation projects on lakes and rivers. Many of those include land restoration, meaning increasing biodiversity and restoring favourable natural conditions for local species.

One of the stand-out projects is for the Tanger river, a tributary of the Elbe. It calls for the construction of gravel banks and flow guides, as well as waterside plants in an area of eight kilometres along the stream. The project will cost around 1.1 million euros.

Another project calls for dismantling a pipeline helping the small river Saubach pass through Bad Bibra, without disrupting the town's daily life. This project will cost 460,000 euros and hopes to restore an unbroken biotope along the whole river course.