Page 22 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 02.18

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Together for sustainable development of Tidal Elbe
The position of the Port of Hamburg in the heart of the city and a dynamic metropolitan region acts as a big plus for its economic, social and ecological development. It facilitates the economic, environment friendly mode of transport – sea-going ships - to come close to the markets. The environmental impact on a port is nonetheless both complex and challenging. Setting course for the ‘Green Port’, the main focus is on the Elbe as the ‘lifeline’ for the Port of Hamburg. Reconciling interests between forward-looking economic development and environmentally compatible measures is often beset by conflict. The Elbe Habitat Foundation has performed a balancing act, bringing representatives from the most varied of interests to work constructively around the same table.
The Elbe is among the most significant river systems in Europe. The Tidal Elbe, stretching some 150 kms be- tween the weir at Geesthacht and the river mouth near Cuxhaven, has been cultivated by man for centuries. Through dyke building, floodplains were made usable for agriculture. Other economic and social uses such as fishing, local recreation and tourism are closely linked to the Tidal Elbe. Today, the Lower Elbe is also an impor- tant industrial location for aircraft manufacture and ship-
building, production of metals and steel, and chemical plants. And: The Tidal Elbe connects the Port of Ham- burg, Germany’s major seaport, to the world. The Port is the economic heartbeat for the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. It depends on secure access and suf- ficient draft on the Elbe for the shipping traffic. The tidal areas of the Elbe are equally of great ecological signifi- cance. It is this tidal dynamic that creates such a rarely found habitat for rare plants and animals.
22 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2018