Fish passes
and renaturation
projects

The overall aim of the WeNatureEnns LIFE project is to restore an approximately 20 kilometre-long stretch of river with its riparian corridor and ecosystem functions in order to improve the conditions for protected habitats and species.

“Together for the Inn” is the maxim for the INTERREG INNsieme connect project, which continues the successful INTERREG INNsieme project (2019–2022). Partner organisations from several countries come together to strengthen the Inn River as a valuable habitat and create a network for its conservation. This is made possible through co-finance from the European Union under the INTERREG Bavaria-Austria funding programme up to 2027.

Fish passability and renaturation on the Inn and Danube: The planned Blue Belt Danube Inn LIFE project aims to connect the valuable habitats along the Inn and Danube and improve habitat conditions within Natura 2000 sites. The project is intended to complement completed and ongoing LIFE projects on the Danube and Inn.

The Lower Inn is a lifeline and shapes the habitat far beyond the riverbanks. The LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn nature project aims to achieve the main objectives of the Habitats and Birds Directive within the framework of the European Natura 2000 network.

The LIFE Network Danube Plus project links the habitats along the VERBUND Danube power plants Altenwörth and Greifenstein. Together with our partners, we have made the Danube fish-friendly and barrier-free. In the process, Lower Austria’s longest fish pass was created in Altenwörth. In Greifenstein, fish-friendly measures in the bypass channel connect the Schmida and Göllersbach rivers with the Danube again without barriers.

The LIFE Network Danube project focused on nature and water conservation at power plant sites. Five Natura 2000 areas were linked with already renaturalized areas. As part of the project, a mosaic of existing and new habitats was created from 2015 to 2021, which also resulted in increased accessibility for fish: the Ottensheim, Abwinden-Asten and Greifenstein fish passes allow fish to pass through the power plants.

VERBUND is investing €2.6 million in the LIFE WILDisland project. This project brings together 15 partners from 8 countries to restore and conserve a total of 34 islands along the Danube all the way from Germany to Romania. The project provides for the restoration of islands in hydropower plants, optimisation of grey infrastructure (shipping), sediment management, measures to restore softwood floodplain forests, and a Danube-wide awareness and conservation campaign for the Danube Wild Island Habitat Corridor.

LIFE+ Traisen created a 10 kilometre-long river landscape with a mosaic of existing and new habitats between 2009 and 2019. A new estuary zone in the Danube was created. Many endangered animal and plant species have found a new home here. The 60 hectares of vibrant wetlands will continue to develop naturally over 10 kilometres.

Between 2004 and 2009, the delta of the Ybbs River’s mouth to the Danube was redesigned. The Melk Danube power plant received a new fish pass, which combined a river bypass and vertical slot fishway. The project area is part of the Natura 2000 area known as the “Lower Austrian Alpine Foothills Rivers”.