It is obvious that the Oder will take a long time to recover after the massive fish kill. However, Environment Minister Lemke is now expressing doubts as to whether this will ever be the case.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke expects long-term damage to the German-Polish border river after the environmental disaster in the Oder. It is not yet possible to say whether the Oder will fully recover, said the Greens politician in an interview with the editorial network Germany. “In the Oder as an ecosystem, far greater damage was done than the fish kill alone,” says Lemke. The first test results raised fears that there could be more serious damage.
“The causes have not yet been finally clarified,” said Lemke. Nevertheless, she would draw the conclusion that it was man-made water pollution – “probably in combination with the heat, which caused low water levels and high water temperatures,” said the minister. In view of the Oder disaster, one must check whether there are also approved discharges into water bodies elsewhere that will become more dangerous in the future due to rising temperatures, explained the environment minister.
“Many rivers have permanent and legal discharges of chemicals, salts and nutrients. Common sense suggests that low water levels and high temperatures can be a bigger problem for a body of water than low water temperatures and greater dilution.” Masses of dead fish had been discovered in the Oder. The exact cause of the fish kill is not yet clear. Scientists see a major reason for the environmental catastrophe in the river’s high salinity, combined with low water, high temperatures and a toxic species of algae. Environmentalists had warned of another fish kill.
In view of the environmental disaster in the Oder, several nature conservation and environmental organizations are pushing for a comprehensive rescue plan for the German-Polish border river. “The dramatic loss of fish, mussels and other molluscs, both in absolute numbers and in biodiversity, as well as the unforeseeable consequences for the ecosystem of the Oder require rapid, comprehensive political action,” demanded the German Nature Conservation Ring.
