EU Commissioner Roswall visits Lower Saxony: Moor and bird protection in focus!

EU Commissioner Roswall visits Lower Saxony: Moor and bird protection in focus!

On November 17, 2025, the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, visited the regions of Lower Saxony and Bremen. The focus of their visit was on protecting meadow birds and moors. In slightly rainy weather, she found out about the “GreenMoor II” project in Bremen Blockland and the “wet triangle”. Roswall was accompanied by Jan Ceyssens, the deputy head of the cabinet, as well as MEPs Lena Düpont, David McAllister and Stefan Köhler.
During the visit, Lena Hauschildt from the Lower Saxony/Bremen Grassland Center explained how emissions are measured at different water levels. Rural People's President Dr. Holger Hennies expressed optimism about the talks that were organized together with the Bremen Agricultural Association. Various topics were addressed during the day, including the renewed commitment to water level regulation and the restoration of peatlands, which play a key role in reducing greenhouse gases through permanent grassland.

Cooperation for nature conservation

“Cooperation instead of regulation” was the motto of the day. Hennies emphasized that positive cooperation between agriculture, nature conservation and politics is essential. The difficulties caused by fertilizer regulations in “red areas” were also discussed, which lead to an undersupply of plants. He was critical of collective punishments without the polluter pays principle. On this day, keynote speeches were given on water protection area advice and the nutrient situation in Lower Saxony and Germany, which are intended to provide starting points for improving the situation.

The need to protect peatlands is also clearly outlined in the Federal Climate Protection Act. These soils, which make up around 8% of the agricultural area in Germany, are important carbon sinks and play a crucial role in the water cycle. Approximately 53 million tonnes of CO2 emissions are generated annually, resulting from the decomposition of drained peatland. The federal government has therefore initiated the National Moor Protection Strategy, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents annually by 2030. The focus is on rewetting measures in order to improve the emissions balance and promote intact moors as near-natural resources.

Innovative solutions

A future-oriented approach is paludiculture, in which wet moor areas are used sustainably. These include, for example, the cultivation of cattails and peat moss as well as the keeping of water buffaloes. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is funding such possible uses with an amount of around 80 million euros until 2032. The switch to new cultivation methods becomes a challenge for farmers, as new machines and sales channels are often necessary.

As part of the 2030 climate protection program, agrophotovoltaics, which represent a combination of photovoltaic systems and agricultural use, also received support. This innovative approach should also be promoted on rewetted moorland in the future. A current study by the University of Greifswald will research the effects of PV systems on moorland and thus contribute to the further development of sustainable practices in the agricultural sector.

In conclusion, it can be said that the day not only provided important impetus for moor protection, but also highlighted the need for cooperation between different actors in the areas of agriculture and nature conservation. Accordingly, future-oriented concepts are required that both support climate protection and offer farmers prospects.

Further information on current developments in peatland protection can be found at Country folk, BMELH and Agriculture.de.