Over 90% of German rivers and streams are straightened, constricted, piped or interrupted by structures such as weirs or barrages. Restoration can improve the ecological status and attractiveness of water bodies. Bulldozers are not always needed to restore a river. Lively waters manage their restoration themselves when space for development is provided and initiating measures trigger the dynamics of a river. If the watercourse cannot be changed, small measures can still considerably improve the structure of a river.

This interactive infographic lists and visualizes restoration measures for four different starting situations:

• Measures to achieve watercourse continuity - if obstacles interrupt the river’s continuity
• Measures using the existing river profile - if the watercourse cannot be changed
• Measures in the river and the surrounding areas - if river profile and banks can be changed
• Measures extending into the floodplain - if large-scale development is possible

Click here to go to the interactive online Infographic on the website of the German Federal Environment Agency.

Furthermore, you can download the infopgraphic as a poster (A3).

The infographic is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 license, i.e. it may be used unchanged if the author is named. The infographic is part of a series of four infographics on river restoration developed by Ecologic Institute for the German Federal Environment Agency's information platform on river restoration.