Mercer Stendal donates 25,000 euros for an Elbe protection umbrella

The Elbe is one of the last rivers in Europe that still exists in its natural state. Making its way from the Giant Mountains to the North Sea, the river also flows through Saxony-Anhalt. Over the past three decades, fauna and flora have recovered in many areas due to the decision to declare the Elbe River landscape a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Since then, life and color have returned. 

To preserve this natural treasure and support these efforts, Mercer Stendal decided to make a generous donation. 25,000 euros was presented by Mercer Managing Director André Listemann to Leif Miller, Federal Executive Director of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) Germany, on Wednesday, August 24. “Our intention is for these funds to help preservation as well as further develop this natural paradise in which we live and work for ourselves and, above all, for future generations,” explained Listemann.

He and Leif Miller had met in Havelberg for the handover. The reason: under the motto “A protective umbrella for the Elbe”, NABU plans to expand Werben in the Elbe floodplain – specifically Paschenwerder, located between Werben and Havelberg in a bend of the Elbe – by more than 24 hectares in the near future. 

Leif Miller (left), executive director of Nabu’s national board, accepts the donation from André Listemann, Managing Director of Mercer Stendal, on the Elbe near Havelberg. A few kilometers downstream, behind the trees in the background is Paschenwerder, where land is being purchased for the Nabu project.  Photo: Mercer Stendal 

“Little by little, we want to build up a closed foundation area here, where nature can develop undisturbed in the future,” said Miller about the project. In recent years, the NABU Foundation has been able to acquire almost 100 hectares of valuable land in the Elbe floodplain near Werben and thus secure it permanently. Miller continues: “Now we have the great opportunity to buy twelve hectares and another twelve and a half hectares of land.” This area is characterized by riparian forests, bushes and small bodies of water, which alternate with wet meadows and dry grasslands. 

This Elbe bend also provides a habitat for the barred warbler, red-backed shrike and reed warbler. They still find sufficient food here and the best conditions for their continued existence. White-tailed eagles, along with red and black kites fly their circles above the area. “It is precisely this natural paradise that we want to preserve forever,” said Miller.

With the donation from Mercer Stendal, the foundation is one step closer to to achieving its goals – to preserve the Elbe in its natural state, protect endangered species and keep reintroduced ones. 

About us

Mercer Stendal is an organization of the North American group Mercer International Inc. Mercer operates production sites in Germany, Canada and Australia. Mercer Stendal produces pulp, bioenergy and various biochemicals from approximately 3.5 million solid cubic meters of softwood annually. The company employs about 455 people, including 30 apprentices. Mercer Stendal’s annual production capacity of kraft pulp is 740,000 tons. The biomass power plant at the site is one of the largest of its kind in Germany with an output of 148 megawatts. For more information, visit our website at www.mercerint.com. 

Mercer International Inc. is a global manufacturer of wood-based products with locations in Germany, the United States and Canada. The company’s production capacity is 2.3 million tons of pulp, 550 million board feet of lumber and 140,000 cubic yards of cross-laminated timber (CLT) per year. For more information about Mercer, visit www.mercerint.com.