How can things go better?
It is now important to inform the local people about the risks and to coordinate the measures for collecting the fish carcasses. This must not be left to volunteer actions. We need a targeted and systematic disposal of the fish. I saw myself on my tour that no one was there to collect fish for a good 50 kilometers. It is also very important that samples are not only taken from the water and the fish carcasses, but also from the sediment to see what has been deposited there. And then everything that additionally affects the Oder must be stopped in the short term – for example, the construction work on the extension of the groynes on the Polish side must be suspended at least for the time being.
And longer term? Can the Oder turn back into a living river?
If we’re lucky, life will return to the Oder via the tributaries – as it did in the Rhine back then – and new animal populations will form. I wouldn’t paint the devil on the wall just yet. But of course we shouldn’t leave that to chance. We now have to include funds for a renaturation program in the budget at the federal level – even if we can’t say exactly what that will look like at the moment. I see the danger that the polluters in Poland might not be identified so quickly. But what we need to avoid is a fight and bickering about who is paying for the cleanup. Now money must be made available quickly. And of course we must not immediately forget the people who are in need.
Who do you mean?
People who live directly on and from the river must be compensated unbureaucratically. Nature tourism providers, fishermen and some livestock farmers who depend on water from the Oder or its tributaries for drinking are at stake. It must be ensured quickly that they continue to have a future.
Back to renaturation: Where could appropriate measures start?
We should look at the ecosystem functions of the individual habitats. For example, there are many floodplains along the Oder, especially in the Lower Oder Valley National Park or on the Polish side. If we ensure more floodplain renaturation, we create surface filters at the same time and help the river to become more resilient. I already have some hope that the floodplains can play an important role in self-cleansing in the years to come.
Could the catastrophe help to bury the plans on the Polish side for the expansion of the Oder, which would further damage the ecosystem?
Irrespective of the current catastrophe, environmental organizations and the state of Brandenburg take the position that the development of the Oder must be stopped. Morawiecki has said that the Oder should be restored to its natural state. I hope this promise also includes critically examining the development of the Oder.