Preface Atlas
The ICPR programme “Rhine 2020” targeted at the sustainable development of the Rhine, aims, among other things, at improving the Rhine ecosystem and at restoring the biotope network along the Rhine.
The ICPR-atlas on the biotope network along the Rhine presents the state of affairs for the biotope network in the Rhine lowlands from Lake Constance to the mouth into the North Sea on a scale of 1:100,000. For a total of 35 sections of the Rhine, the current status, the need for development (target status) and the resulting need for action per group of biotope type are presented on the basis of defined groups of biotope types.
The atlas must be considered in connection with the ICPR-report “Network of biotopes along the Rhine”. The report describes, among other things, the procedure for producing the maps and contains a detailed description of the information areas (current status, development goals and need for action) for the individual sections. An analysis of the biotope network has been carried out for the entire Rhine.
It has led to ICPR-recommendations for the development of a sustainable biotope network along the Rhine, the implementation of which is necessary to promote the development of self-sustaining populations of typical organisms under the given spatial conditions.
The combination of report and atlas provides a good basis for the corresponding planning and assessment procedures in the Rhine bordering countries. This is another step on the way to a gradually more naturally functioning Rhine ecosystem, in which man, his water use and the river are permanently connected with each other.
The atlas is available in German, French and Dutch.