Presentation short abstract

I develop a more-than-human political ecology of the Elbe estuary to investigate how ecologies of repair renegotiate human–estuarine relations, center–periphery dynamics, and the interfaces between land and water.

Presentation long abstract

The port of Hamburg is the third-largest port in Europe and is located approximately 120 km from the North Sea in the inner delta of the vast Elbe estuary. The expansion and maintenance of the port requires continuous hydrological interventions. These include permanent maintenance dredging to ensure that the shipping channel remains sufficiently deep, regular capital dredging to accommodate larger vessels, and environmental offsetting measures. In the latest round of deepening, 32 million m³ of sediment were removed between 2019 and 2021. However, regular draft restrictions illustrate that this intervention has been challenged by the unruliness of the estuary and its increasing sediment loads. To reduce sediment loads caused by tidal pumping effects and to ensure compliance with EU and federal environmental law, “nature” is increasingly framed as an important solution for maintaining accessibility to Germany’s largest port. Nature-based solutions, building with nature, and ecosystem restoration were key measures in the planning approval of the latest deepening and are now being implemented across the estuary. I use the Elbe estuary as an example to unpack how the politics of ecological repair are inscribed in contemporary estuarine landscapes and seascapes. My contribution builds on an analysis of planning documents, newspaper articles, qualitative interviews, and participant observation, focusing on conflicts and tensions among the estuarine population, environmental NGOs, and state agencies. Conceptually, I develop a more-than-human political ecology of the Elbe estuary to investigate how ecologies of repair renegotiate human–estuarine relations, center–periphery dynamics, and the interfaces between land and water.