I Integrated M management plan P Elbe estuary Publishing authorities Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Ministry of Urban Development and Environment http://www.hamburg.de/bsu The Federal State of Lower Saxony Lower Saxony Federal Institution for Water Management, Coasts and Conservation www.nlwkn.Niedersachsen.de The Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Areas http://www.schleswig-holstein.de/UmweltLandwirtschaft/DE/ UmweltLandwirtschaft_node.html Northern Directorate for Waterways and Shipping http://www.wsd-nord.wsv.de/ http://www.portal-tideelbe.de Hamburg Port Authority http://www.hamburg-port-authority.de/ http://www.tideelbe.de February 2012 Proposed quote Elbe estuary working group (2012): integrated management plan for the Elbe estuary http://www.natura2000-unterelbe.de/links-Gesamtplan.php Reference http://www.natura2000-unterelbe.de/links-Gesamtplan.php Reproduction is permitted provided the source is cited. Layout and graphics Kiel Institute for Landscape Ecology www.kifl.de Elbe water dropwort, Oenanthe conioides Integrated management plan Elbe estuary I M Elbe estuary P Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Cuxhaven Freiburg Introduction As a result of this international responsibility, the federal states worked together with the Federal Ad- The Elbe estuary – from Geeshacht, via Hamburg ministration for Waterways and Navigation and the to the mouth at the North Sea – is a lifeline for the Hamburg Port Authority to create a trans-state in- Hamburg metropolitan region, a flourishing cultural tegrated management plan which aims to provide landscape of historical significance. For the people guidelines for state actions. of this region, the Elbe has enjoyed an excellent reputation for numerous reasons, which include its This plan is the result of constructive cooperation internationally important shipping channel, its trade between the partners involved, including numerous and industrial links, its agriculture and fishing, and its organisations, stakeholders and individual scien- leisure and recreation resources (including extensive tific experts. Requirements, targets, the potential water sports). The Port of Hamburg alone, the sec- for synergy and conflict of the various interests in ond largest sea port in Europe, employs more than using the estuary were carefully brought together, 160,000 people in the region. discussed, and weighed up, and are the consensual basis for a comprehensive collection of measures At the same time, the Elbe estuary is a unique hab- to ensure the sustainable development of the Elbe itat of international importance. The Elbe is home estuary in the future. to many types of animals and plants, some of which are unique to this region. The powerful rhythm of the The gradual implementation of the integrated man- tides, the dynamic interaction between erosion and agement plan is a mutual consent of the federal sedimentation, and the differing salt concentration states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower all lead to a near-natural landscape, which due to its Saxony, the Federal Administration for Waterways high conservation value throughout Europe was reg- and Navigation and the Hamburg Port Authority. We istered by Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lower would like to thank all of those who have been in- Saxony almost entirely as a Natura 2000 site with volved so far (and all of those who will be in the fu- the European Union. ture!). Please continue to support us as energetically in the future as you have done in the past. Jutta Blankau Dr Juliane Rumpf Dr Stefan Birkner Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg The Federal State of The Federal State of Lower Saxony Ministry of Urban Devolopment and Schleswig-Holstein Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment, Environment Ministry for Agriculture, Environment Energy and Climate Protection and Rural Areas Dr Hans-Heinrich Witte Jens Meier Northern Directorate for Waterways and Navigation Hamburg Port Authority Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Wedel Hamburg Geesthacht Cuxhaven Freiburg Stade I M Elbe estuary P Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Cuxhaven Freiburg Acknowledgement The trans-state Elbe estuary integrated manage- We wish to thank the BHD (Birds- and Habitats-Di- ment plan (IMP) for Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein rective) Steering Committee of the North German and Lower Saxony is a joint piece of work which is Federal States for their trust and for explaining dif- the result of four years of intensive labour based on ficult specific questions. comprehensive technical analysis, numerous discus- sions and many valuable conversations. We would like to thank the Kiel Institute for Land- scape Ecology for the layout and the numerous ed- We would like to thank the members of the planning itorial improvements they made. groups for Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg and Lower Saxony for their continued technical, constructive Finally, we would like to thank all associations, au- and reliable cooperation. thorities, offices, working groups and people who have supported the project by giving technical ad- The authors of the various special reports provided vice, bringing in their wide-ranging experience and an important technical basis for the IMP, and made providing data. many of the discussions easier. For the Elbe estuary IMP Working Group: Dr. Elisabeth Klocke Bernd-Ulrich Netz Gerd-Michael Heinze Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ministry Agency for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal for Urban Development and Environment Areas, Schleswig-Holstein Defence and Nature Conservation Agency Dr. Günther Eichweber Dr. Boris Hochfeld Northern Directorate for Waterways and Navigation Hamburg Port Authority Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Wedel Hamburg Geesthacht Cuxhaven Freiburg Stade I M Elbe estuary P Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Cuxhaven Freiburg IMP guide: where can I find more information? http://www.natura2000-unterelbe.de/links-Gesamtplan.php All of the texts and plans for the IMP can be down- www.portal-tideelbe.de www.tideelbe.de loaded from the website for the integrated manage- ment plan (IMP) as PDF files. Messages and news- www.fgg-elbe.de www.wasserblick.net letters will also appear there. Together, the linked sites offer a comprehensive This page is also linked to other internet sites in or- overview of the state, programme of measures and der to provide access to information on the activities research activities related to Natura 2000 in the Elbe of various groups and organisations working in the estuary. The groups who run the respective sites are Lower Elbe Region. responsible for their content. Overall view/functional areas The planning area stretches over a river length of For example, the legal framework and the approach around 148km and covers an overall surface area chosen for the integrated Natura 2000 plan are ex- of approximately 46,770 hectares. In such a large plained. An overview of the Natura 2000 legislation area, a coordinated planning process is necessary and the uses of the planning area are explained. when considering cross cutting themes. But it must Guidelines on the integrated targets, measure con- be remembered that the estuary is also a very var- cept and associated information on its implementa- ied area and as such, many questions are better tion are then discussed. addressed at a local scale. Accordingly, the IMP is made up of two main parts. In the general overview In part B, the focus is on the seven functional areas (part A), the higher-level framework is defined, with of the Elbe estuary. On a local level, the interaction more detailed information at a ‘functional area’ level between Natura 2000 and the uses of the area as being offered in part. well as the important partnerships are identified. For each functional area, targets are defined and meas- In part A, “general overview”, topics are addressed ures are suggested. which are relevant to the entire planning area. Two planning groups – one IMP for the Elbe estuary The IMP was developed in Hamburg, Lower Saxony stein) were set up, and their work was coordinated and Schleswig-Holstein at the same time using a uni- across the states. This report is a synthesis of the form project structure. Due to the size and spatial di- work of the two planning groups. versity of the Elbe estuary and the different manage- ment structures and responsibilities, two planning groups (Lower Saxony and Hamburg/Schleswig-Hol- Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Wedel Hamburg Geesthacht Cuxhaven Freiburg Stade I M Elbe estuary P The complete contributions of the two planning They contain a large amount of specific information groups from Lower Saxony and Hamburg/Schle- on the Natura 2000 sites within the planning area swig-Holstein can be found on the attached DVD and of the uses of the estuary at those sites. Maps (part C: material) and on www.natura2000-unterel- and information on measures to be taken are also be.de/left-Gesamtplan.php. included. Brunsbüttel Glückstadt Cuxhaven Freiburg Content Part A and B Part A: General overview A 1 Introduction 1 A 2 Legal basis, planning process 3 A 2.1 Legal basis 3 A 2.2 Tasks of the IMP 4 A 2.3 Project organisation and structure of the IMP 5 A 2.3.1 Planning groups 5 A 2.3.2 Structure of the IMP 6 A 3 Nature and uses in the Elbe estuary 7 A 3.1 Natura 2000 network 8 A 3.2 Functional areas as the basic units of planning 9 A 3.3 Looking back at the development of the Elbe estuary 11 A 3.4 Current situation 13 A 3.5 Habitats and species in the SACs 14 A 3.5.1 Complex habitat: “estuaries” 14 A 3.5.2 Other HD habitats 15