- No nomination for “Living Lake 2025” due to lack of progress in water protection
- Criticism of water status: less than 10% of German waters meet the minimum criteria of the EU report
- Demands on the German government: investment in water restoration, compliance with EU laws and better climate protection measures.
Berlin / Radolfzell, 22.03.2025: On today’s UN World Water Day, the Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the Network Living Lakes Germany (NLSD) are calling for effective protection of natural water resources in Germany. For the 15th year, no living lake will be nominated by the NLSD. Current events demand clear commitments from all political actors and consistent action by the new German government to protect water and water bodies.
GNF and the Living Lakes Network Germany have been naming the Living Lake of the Year every year since 2011 to highlight progress and successes in wetland management. Lakes and lake regions throughout Germany have been honored in this way, which supports the anchoring of water protection in many places and has repeatedly focused attention on this topic nationwide. “In light of current events, we have decided not to award a Living Lake 2025 in the 15th year of the campaign,” says Thomas Schaefer, who coordinates the network at GNF. Instead, the experts point to the urgency of effective protection of natural water resources in Germany and call for effective natural climate protection. Rapid action is urgently needed.
The following developments have prompted GNF and NLSD not to designate a Living Lake in 2025:
- According to the EU report on water protection from February 2, 2025, not even one in ten water bodies in Germany meets the required minimum criteria for good water status. Excessive amounts of excrement from animal production are still being spread on open spaces and increasingly toxic pesticides are being used in agriculture. Added to this are emissions from industry and power plants, which do not even stop at borders. The EU report makes it clear that Germany will still not achieve the targets of the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC of October 23, 2000) by 2027. “For 25 years, the WFD targets for good water status, which are essential for us humans, have been repeatedly missed. Even if good work has been done at the official level in many cases, the failure in water protection must be blamed on the seven federal governments that were responsible during this period,” emphasizes Udo Gattenlöhner, Managing Director of the GNF.
- The most recent ruling by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG 10 C 1.24 – ruling) from March 6, 2025 shows the extent to which water and water protection are subordinated to economic goals in Germany. Increased expenditure by water companies in northern Germany demonstrates the socialization of environmental damage for the benefit of meat industry profits. This has been an issue for decades and has not been resolved. The quality of water as a foodstuff must have top priority.
- The accident involving a tanker truck in the Rhineland-Palatinate “Thürer Wiesen” on February 24, 2025 is a prime example of how vulnerable water bodies in Germany still are. The Seveso III Directive (Directive 2012/18/EU of July 4, 2012 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances) requires effective protection of nature conservation areas and wetlands in particular. Nevertheless, an estimated 12,000 of the 31,000 liters of fuel oil loaded leaked into the valuable ecosystem. The impact on wildlife was immediately visible, but the long-term effects cannot yet be assessed.
On today’s UN World Water Day, the water protection experts from GNF and NLSD are calling on the new German government to
- substantial investment in water restoration, nature-based solutions and fair water prices;
- Reliable integration of risks from climate change, droughts and floods in order to achieve better resilience and protect people and nature;
- not to accept any exceptions to the achievement of EU laws;
- Compliance with all limit values for pollution from agriculture and other sectors; wastewater must not be discharged unhindered;
- a comprehensive investigation into the course of the disaster at the Thürer Wiesen in order to determine responsibilities and prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
- Reuse of water in arid regions Water must be reused in order to prevent the overuse of water resources. Illegal withdrawals must be stopped, also to alleviate temporary droughts.
Suitable solutions have been on the table for years. In addition to the aforementioned EU directives, which the Federal Republic of Germany has undertaken to comply with, the new EU Nature Restoration Act (Regulation EU 2024/1991) must also be implemented. The Natural Climate Protection Action Program of the Federal Government and the federal states is an indispensable building block for protecting and restoring wetlands in Germany and making Germany fit for climate change with regard to floods and droughts. Various activities to protect the most important wetlands in Germany through the International Convention on Wetlands (“Ramsar Convention”, UN Treaty Series No. 14583) and to communicate their value also point in the right direction.
About the Living Lakes Network Germany
The Living Lakes Network Germany creates a nationwide platform for the exchange of experience and cooperation between organizations that are active in the protection of lakes and wetlands. The network is linked to the successful international environmental initiative Living Lakes, which connects over 140 partner organizations worldwide. The network focuses on the sustainable protection of lakes and wetlands.
Global Nature Fund | Water protection
About the Global Nature Fund (GNF)
The Global Nature Fund (GNF) is an independent, non-profit foundation for the environment and nature with headquarters in Radolfzell on Lake Constance and additional offices in Bonn and Berlin. The GNF is involved internationally with projects in the areas of nature conservation, sustainable development cooperation, water & living lakes, biodiversity & business and environmental education.