Hilpoltstein/Kelheim (dpa/lby) – The nature conservation association LBV is suing against the approval for shipping in the Danube breakthrough – Weltenburger Enge – near Kelheim. “Nature protection must have absolute priority in the valuable ecosystem of the Weltenburger Enge. The permitted speeds and the number of trips put a considerable strain on the Danube and the shore areas in this highly sensitive area,” said LBV chairman Norbert Schäffer on Tuesday in Hilpoltstein .
The Weltenburger Enge is a nature reserve and since February 2020 Bavaria’s first national natural monument. The river landscape with its steep cliffs is also popular with tourists, who visit them in large numbers on boat trips between Kelheim in Lower Bavaria and Weltenburg Abbey across the Danube.
In the opinion of the LBV, when approving the passenger ships in the Weltenburger Enge until 2031, the Kelheim district office did not sufficiently take into account the motorized boats, tourist use of the banks, increasing low water and increased water temperatures, which also had a negative impact on the fish species and spawning grounds .
