Mannheim (dpa / lsw) – After half a year of preparatory work, the renaturation of the Neckar in Mannheim has started. With the earthworks that started on Tuesday, the project is slowly taking shape as part of the Federal Horticultural Show (Buga) 2023. According to Buga, it is currently the most important water structure measure in the southwest. “We want to make the Neckar a new experience for people and more accessible,” said Buga Managing Director Michael Schnellbach in Mannheim. Overall, the Neckar will be renatured over a distance of 3.3 kilometers and thus improved for flora and fauna.
The natural course of the river was once changed by straightening, and with it the habitat for flora and fauna – for example, there were no longer any floodplains. Now the river should be able to meander again by dumping and taking back material on the bank. Dead wood, piles of stones and over 90 newly hung nesting aids are intended to open up new habitats for birds and other animals on the meadows on the Neckar.
The country’s Ministry of the Environment supports the Buga with 12.4 million euros. The money is intended to help create lively stretches of water. The redesign creates a floodplain, for example. According to the ministry, floodplains are important and increasingly rare habitats that serve as natural water reservoirs. The total investments amount to 17.6 million euros.
On the Buga site (April 14 to October 8, 2023), a panoramic walkway is currently being built over a floodplain with 1.6 hectares of habitat for many animal and plant species.
