A man in yellow rubber boots and a white shirt from project partner LIFE looks into the distance from the riverbank with binoculars. You can see him from behind in the front of the picture, standing in the sun next to a tree surrounded by bushes. At the back of the picture, the river shimmers in a clear blue. Behind the river is a lush green forest, which also shines in the sunshine.

News about the
project events

Find all the latest information on the LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn project here. We report on the latest developments relating to the progress of the measures, right up to the site inspection and the official start of the project.

Scouts plant 1,100 saplings: Restoration of the Kößlbach stream successfully completed

As part of the EU LIFE project “Blue Belt Danube Inn,” 45 scouts from the Sauwald am Kößlbach group sent a strong message in support of nature. By planting 1,100 native saplings—including willows, poplars, elms, and alders—they took an important step toward the restoration of the Danube floodplain landscape.

This project marks the completion of aquatic ecological work in the Jochenstein reservoir. New habitats for fish, amphibians, and insects are being created across approximately six hectares, further advancing the sustainable protection of the Danube’s ecosystems.

That was the tree-planting event
Children dressed in weatherproof clothing are planting young trees on the bank of a body of water. They are standing and kneeling on wet soil, many holding saplings. A wooded landscape is visible in the background.

VERBUND Begins Implementing Aquatic Ecological Measures in the Jochenstein Reservoir Area

October 2025

Work on the LIFE project began in early October 2025 in the reservoir area of the Jochenstein Danube power plant. A key component of the project is the restoration of riverbank areas. Many sections of the Danube are restricted in their natural flow by artificial bank reinforcements and development. By creating new, near-natural riparian zones, future habitats for fish, birds, amphibians, and other animal species are being established. The river is becoming more natural again, and valuable floodplain landscapes are emerging. In the planning of gravel banks and oxbow lakes, special attention was paid to creating spawning habitats for fish.

The first key step is the restructuring and extension of the Kößlbach’s estuary. On the adjacent land, covering approximately 6 hectares, an oxbow lake, several amphibian ponds, and a new, large gravel island will be created along the Danube bank. A total of approximately 190,000 m³ of material will be moved for this project. Furthermore, the Hecht oxbow lake, which has become heavily silted up due to flooding, will be cleared of fine sediments and deepened. In the area of the Jochenstein Danube power plant, the first construction phase—which is now beginning—will also involve excavating an oxbow lake in Roning and enlarging the gravel bank at the outdoor swimming pool in Engelhartszell. 

“Our association, the Fischereiberechtigten Passau-Jochenstein e.V., views the planned ecological measures with great optimism and expressly supports them. The creation of new spawning habitats and the dredging measures will result in significant improvements to the structure of our waterways. Measures are being implemented here that we have been striving in vain to achieve with the relevant authorities for many years. Our association’s top priority is the preservation of a livable river landscape with a balanced fish population in numbers appropriate to the river’s size. These measures bring us a great deal closer to this goal.”

Alois Pröll Chairman of the Passau-Jochenstein Fishing Rights Association

Fish migration aid planned at VERBUND's Ybbs-Persenbeug power plant

March 2025

Project manager Ulrike Drabek demonstrates the challenges faced by the LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn team when planning the fish migration aid at the Ybbs-Persenbeug Danube power plant. There are also new gravel banks there, which serve as a model for similar measures along the Danube and Inn.

Creation of the fish migration aid in Passau-Ingling

August 2023

NEEMO visitation

June 2022

First EU monitoring visit to the LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn project: Together with the project management team, Jörg Böhringer was commissioned by NEEMO to see the impact of the construction projects for himself. They visited the renaturalisation areas around the Simbach-Braunau, Passau, Jochenstein and Aschach Inn power plants. Together with the LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn project, valuable habitats will be created along the Danube and Inn rivers in the coming years.

Who is NEEMO?
The NEEMO team poses together in the LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn area. A large flag with the LIFE logo is held up in the centre. In the background is a bright green forest with a bright blue sky above.

ARTE documentary "Paradies aus Menschenhand"

In the documentary "Paradies aus Menschenhand" (Paradise by human hand), the TV broadcaster ARTE focused on the Lower Inn. The key points here were the measures near the power plants and the ecological success of the bank structures, ballast islands and fish passes along the Inn.

Preview image for the Arte documentary 'Man-made paradise' showing a hydroelectric power station from the downstream side. You can see green-blue water flowing over the weir fields, while in the background you can see the blue River Inn and a landscape with dark green forests and, above, a blue sky with puffy white clouds.

Official start of the project

February 2022

VERBUND, the leading hydropower producer in Central Europe, is connecting the last previously interrupted habitats along the Danube and border Inn with the huge "LIFE Blue Belt Danube Inn" programme. Following on from successful projects, the Schärding-Neuhaus, Passau-Ingling, Jochenstein, Aschach and Ybbs-Persenbeug power plants will be equipped with fish migration aids and the banks will be extensively renaturalised. The investment of 60 million euros will make the Danube and Inn passable for fish from Romania to Rosenheim by 2027.

Kick-off
A current breaker can be seen in the Altenwörth fish migration aid, consisting of large rocks and stones as well as green plants. The current breaker serves as a nesting place for living creatures and is therefore placed in the centre of the dark blue water to break the current properly.