ICPR – International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine

Successes of the programme “Rhine 2020” in the field of floods, low flow and climate change

  • From 1995 to 2020, the states in the Rhine catchment area invested more than 14 billion euros in flood protection and flood prevention.
  • Flood risks have been reduced by 25 %.
  • Many measures to hold back floods and give more room to the river have been completed. In 2020, a retention volume for large floods of about 340 million m3 will be available on the Rhine.
  • The risk awareness of the population has been strengthened, among other things, by the publication of the flood maps, which are now comprehensively available via the ICPR Rhine Atlas.
  • Flood forecasting has been significantly improved and flood reporting is up and running. The forecast periods have been doubled compared to 1995.
  • In 2017, the ICPR published a comprehensive inventory on low water. Uniform low water monitoring has been in place since 2018.
  • ICPR studies on the effects of climate change on the water balance, water temperature and ecology with scenarios for the future are available.
  • The first climate change adaptation strategy for the Rhine catchment was published in 2015.