Status: 12/28/2022 3:09 p.m
For the German Nature Conservation Union it was “the biggest environmental mess of the year”: the massive fish kill in August in the Oder. The environmental disaster has therefore been awarded the NABU negative prize “Dinosaur of the Year”.
In connection with the massive fish kills in the summer, the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU) has given the German-Polish border river the Oder a negative price. At an event in Berlin, the river received the “Dinosaur 2022” award. “Anyone who is looking for the biggest environmental mess this year will immediately have the environmental catastrophe on the Oder in mind,” said NABU President Jörg-Andreas Krüger. The prize is “representative of the critical situation on many other rivers in Germany”.
Mass extinctions in summer
An environmental disaster of historic proportions occurred on the Oder in the summer. Massive numbers of fish died on the Polish and German sides in August. Other river animals also died. Experts believe salt discharges were a major reason, coupled with low water, high temperatures and a toxic species of algae.
According to NABU President Krüger, the negative price for the border river is intended to draw attention to the poor condition of many rivers in Germany. With an online petition, his organization wants to put pressure on the environment ministries of the federal states. The aim is to stop all harmful environmental influences on German rivers. For the Oder, “repairing maintenance measures” would also have to be checked. In view of the rapidly accelerating climate crisis and declining biodiversity, surface waters would now have to be adapted to long dry periods and heavy rain in record time, emphasized Krüger.
There is further criticism of the straightening of river courses, bank reinforcement and deepening of the fairway. This leads to higher flow rates and destroys important habitats for animals. “Rivers are losing their resilience,” said Krüger.
Awarded for the 30th time
NABU awarded the “Dinosaur of the Year” for the 30th time. The replica of a giant lizard, weighing 2.6 kilograms, has been going to public figures since 1993 “who have distinguished themselves through particularly regressive public commitment to nature and environmental protection”. Since 2020, it has no longer been awarded to individuals, but to specific projects.
The winner in 2020 was the A26 Ost motorway project, and in 2021 the Conrebbersweg construction area in Emden was recognized as representative of land use throughout Germany.