Natural and Anthropic Environmental Risks to the Rhine River and Delta

The Rhine River in Western Europe flows from two small headwaters in the Alps of east-central Switzerland and drains north and west through Netherlands to the North Sea. It has been an international waterway since the Treaty of Vienna in 1815. Approximately, 870 km of the Rhine River is navigable as far as Rheinfelden on the Swiss-German border. Its catchment area, including the delta area, exceeds 220,000 km2. The Rhine River is a classic example of a political and cultural boundary line and as an artery of cultural and political unification. The primary objective of this paper is to document the natural and anthropic risks to the Rhine River and Delta including navigation, stream capture, settlement, invasions, and trade. Environmental risks include contamination, pollution, industrial and urban wastewater, overfishing, threats to food supply, urban development, channelization, dams, shoreline erosion, and flooding.