The formation of the working group was prepared by the Office for Nature Conservation and Environmental Protection together with IKU - die Dialoggestalter. Ms Lena Herlitzius moderated the working group meetings in an impartial, objective and goal-oriented manner and held personal discussions with some of the farmers farming in the "Großer Bruch", with representatives of the authorities and other people as part of the definition of objectives.
The first meeting in January of this year served in particular to familiarise the members of the working group with each other and to jointly define a working framework. It was agreed that a total of four working group meetings would be held, each with clearly defined objectives. At the second meeting, which took place in March, all working group members presented their respective interests and expressed their expectations of the working group's activities. It already became clear that there is a large overlap of common interests.
The third meeting of the working group in May was particularly important and decisive. At this meeting, the common goal was worked out and formulated. In particular, the technical support provided by Dr Dietmar Mehl, Managing Director of biota - Institut für ökologische Forschung und Planung GmbH, quickly led to a clear definition of the objectives of the members of the working group.
The working group formulated three main objectives as a contribution to climate protection by reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
Preservation/revitalisation of the Großes Bruch fenland area
Securing the livelihood of farms in the Großes Bruch
Clearly regulated water regulation to stabilise the water balance.
Work is now to continue within this agreed framework.
The fourth and final working group meeting served to review the jointly developed objectives and to agree on the next steps. It is important to all those involved to continue the regular exchange of information. In future, local authorities and other interest groups are to be involved in the participation process in addition to the working group.
As part of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) project " Participatory development of regional solutions for peatland protection", two other regions (Conventer Niederung in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Rambower Moor in Brandenburg) have been selected in addition to the Großer Bruch to trial professionally supported participation processes in peatland protection.
The state of Saxony-Anhalt has already supported the preparation of a water retention project in the Große Bruch with a 100% grant for a concept in 2024.
During the working group's activities, the opportunity arose to submit a further funding application to the Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office. With the approval of the working group and the specialist committee for construction and the environment of the district council, €120 thousand was applied for from the EAFRD fund for the determination of basic data. Whether the funds will be approved will be decided by 30 June.