Securing your own annual drinking water needs ecolo­gi­cally

A hectare of drinking-water forest…

… may seem unremar­kable at first glance – about the size of one and a half football pitches -, yet great things happen on this area:

Year after year, up to 800,000 litres more clean ground­water are generated here on average than in pure conife­rous forests. That is enough to supply around 800 people with drinking water – families, neigh­bours, children, friends and colle­agues who depend on it every day.

A drinking-water forest is created when a pure conife­rous forest area is converted back into a species-rich mixed deciduous forest through the planting of deciduous trees. Its diverse tree species form a stable ecosystem that promotes humus forma­tion, which filters and stores rainwater parti­cu­larly well. In this way, a drinking-water forest protects our most important liveli­hood – water. At the same time, it stores carbon, provides shade, cools and creates habitats for count­less species.

In profes­sional forestry, a hectare of mixed deciduous forest – depen­ding on the region and forestry practice – is usually estab­lished with 4,000 deciduous tree saplings. This means that anyone can ecolo­gi­cally secure their own annual drinking water needs if they have around five deciduous trees planted.

In times of climate change and water scarcity, planting deciduous trees is more important than ever. Mixed deciduous forests are more climate-resilient than conife­rous forests, and every deciduous tree is a silent hero: it cleans the air, enriches the soil, cools, protects the climate, provides habitat for many species and gives us clean water.

Together, we can plant drinking-water forests that give life and secure the future.