News

On 19-20th January 2021, the ICPDR co-hosted an online workshop on rural wastewater management with the World Bank and the Danube Water Program.

VIENNA, 17 March 2020 – Following recent developments of the coronavirus, and in line with both the measures taken by the Austrian authorities, and the advice from the Vienna International Centre Medical Service, I have instructed all staff of the ICPDR Secretariat to work from home.

On Thursday 12 December 2019, We Pass – an EU-funded project with the ICPDR aiming to facilitate fish migration and habitat conservation in the Danube River Basin – held its first stakeholder workshop on the banks of the Danube River in Vienna, Austria.

The signing of the grant agreement between the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and DG REGIO will enable a feasibility study that aims to identify ways forward to preserve of fish stocks at the Romanian-Serbian border. This action is an important step in the ongoing efforts to achieve a central objective of the EU Strategy for the Danube River: saving the Danube sturgeons from extinction. Despite its longevity, this “dinosaur fish” is considered one of the most endangered species in the world.

Budapest, 2 October 2018 (Press Release) - DANUBE FLOODPLAIN project kick-off meeting sets the stage for 30 months of intense transnational cooperation across the Danube river basin.

VIENNA, Haus der Europaeischen Union, 24 January 2018 (Press Release) –
As Germany takes over the annual Presidency of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) today, incoming President Helge Wendenburg has set three main priorities for his term: promote adaptation to climate change in the Danube River Basin, take the next steps in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Flood Directive (FD), and further strengthen the integrated approach of ICPDR and the basin-wide exchange of experiences.

On Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 December 2017, the ICPDR held its 20th Ordinary Meeting in Vienna. Beside the heads of delegation and representatives of 13 of the contracting parties to the ICPDR, around 85 participants from all Danube countries, observers and invited guests attended this important event.

On 28-29 November 2017, over 120 participants from around 20 countries attended the first International Workshop on Wastewater Management in the Danube River Basin at the Ramada Majestic Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. The Workshop was co-organised by the ICPDR, the International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD), the World Bank and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. The event was hosted by the National Administration “Romanian Waters” and the Romanian Ministry of Waters and Forests.

In 2015 significant parts of the Danube River Basin were affected by droughts which negatively impacted different water-dependent economic sectors, vegetation and the aquatic environment. This is the latest of a series of drought events which occurred in Europe during the last decade.

Ice control has a long history on the Danube river. The extremely low temperatures experienced in the past weeks throughout the Danube River basin which have been causing continuous ice formation on the Danube are reminding us of the importance of cross-border cooperation.