Environment More protection for the Aargau banks of the Rhine meets with much criticism

The Aargau government has sparked fierce criticism with its plan to completely revise the Rhine bank protection decree, which has been in force since 1948. The SVP and the Center Party do not want to grant the canton more rights. The banks of the Rhine should not become an open-air museum. The SP and GLP support the government.

After 76 years, the cantonal government wants to transfer the Rhine bank protection decree into a cantonal utilization plan. It concerns a 72-kilometre strip along the Rhine - from Kaiserstuhl in the east to Kaiseraugst in the west. This section with 19 municipalities forms the national border with Germany.

The plan is intended to put the demands on the left bank of the Rhine on a new footing. The aim is to ensure effective protection of the valuable landscape in the future, it was said. At the same time, the demands of society on the area should be taken into account.

Riverside landscape is changing dramatically

The expansion of settlement areas, infrastructure facilities and buildings outside of building zones as well as intensive land use have left their mark in recent decades, according to the cantonal administration's report.

In the Rhine landscape, there has been a "striking loss" of near-natural, undissected and low-noise areas and stretches of riverbank that are not subject to construction. This is accompanied by a loss of biodiversity, a greater fragmentation of habitats and the unique character of the landscape.

The riparian landscape is a natural basis for life, a production basis for agriculture and forestry and a habitat for 65 animals and plants. At the same time, it is a space for energy generation, sport, recreation and tourism as well as a testimony to cultural history.

Municipalities want a free hand

However, the government council is facing headwinds with its intention. This is not going down well with the SVP and the Center Party in particular. The SVP wants nothing to do with a cantonal utilization plan.

Special concerns could be regulated via the communal land use plans. "This has worked well so far and it is not clear why the autonomy of the municipalities should be undermined by a cantonal land use plan," the SVP states.

The banks of the Rhine should not become a Ballenberg

The Center Party agrees with the objectives. However, it rejects the comprehensive utilization plan as "unnecessary". The banks of the Rhine should not become a Ballenberg open-air museum. The plan imposes further restrictions on the municipalities and leaves hardly any room for maneuver.

The FDP is cautious about the plans of its building director Stephan Attiger. The total revision is welcomed in principle. However, the areas of "landscape of cantonal importance" should not extend to the settlement area and should be reduced.

The Fricktal and Zurzibiet Region planning associations had previously voiced criticism. There was no need for the cantonal plan. The municipalities are already obliged to protect the riverbank. The planning autonomy of the municipalities should not be restricted.

SP wants coordination with neighbors

The government has the backing of the SP and GLP. The SP wants more: nutrient buffer zones are also needed to prevent pesticides from entering the Rhine. In several municipalities, intensively farmed agricultural areas would come into direct contact with the riverbank protection and watercourse zone.

The SP criticizes the fact that the new land use plan is not being drawn up on a cross-cantonal and cross-border basis. It is of interest to see what protective measures are being taken in other cantons along the Rhine and on the German side of the river.

The GLP supports supra-regional protection planning. The aim is to develop the banks of the Rhine in a way that is compatible with nature in times of climate and biodiversity crisis and an increasing number of people seeking recreation. The opinions of the Greens and the EPP are still pending.