News

On 27-28 March 2018, Belgrade payed host to the ICPDR Climate Change Adaptation Workshop. The ICPDR workshop was hosted by the Institute for the Development of Water Resources - "Jaroslav Cerni" The gathering included 80 participants from Danube countries, the International Sava River Basin Commission, the Carpathian Convention, the Danube Commission, the ICPDR Secretariat, the European Commission, GWP CEE, UNEP, the EUSDR and WWF who all contributed valuable input and advice.

Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 March 2018 in Rio de Jenerio (Brazil), the ICPDR had the opportunity to provide essential input in 3 different sessions at the 8th World Water Forum. The overarching agenda involved engaging in fruitful debates surrounding topics such as the overall theme of the Forum "Sharing Water" and the Sustainability Process; the debate in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the additional water-related targets and the Paris Climate Agreement. The ICPDR was able to contribute to this debate by providing real-world examples of regional processes in the Danube River Basin and the Black Sea.

With its Sturgeon Strategy, adopted in December at the ICPDR Ordinary Meeting (now available for download), the ICPDR is contributing to the effort ensuring the survival and recovery of sturgeons in the Danube River Basin. A first follow-up step is the organization of a Sturgeon Conference under the upcoming Austrian EU Presidency next July in Vienna. The event is organized jointly by the ICPDR and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT).

Vienna, 2 February 2018 - The 2nd of February is the World Wetlands Day. The ICDPR takes this occasion to highlight the vital significance of wetlands in the Danube River Basin.

VIENNA, 10 October 2017 – A secondary school in Bosnia and Herzegovina has won the ‘International Danube Art Master 2017’ competition. The winner was announced by Susanne Brandstetter, Chairperson of the Public Participation Expert Group of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) at the House of the European Union in Vienna on 9 October.

On 2-3 June 2017 the sixth Youth Parliament of the Sava River Basin competition was held in Belgrade (Serbia). The motto for this year’s competition was “The Impact of Climate Change on the Lives of the Sava River Basin”. 60 students and teachers from nine secondary schools from the Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina attended. The Sava Commission is an observer of the ICPDR.

VIENNA, 29 June – Eighty-one million people in all 14 Danube countries are invited to ‘Get Active for a cleaner Danube’ on 29 June as part of the celebrations for the 14th annual Danube Day.

Vienna, 20 March 2017 - Wastewater from homes, cities, industry and agriculture flowing back to nature without being treated or reused pollutes the environment in many regions. Without proper wastewater treatment we are losing valuable nutrients and releasing dangerous substances. Beside significant threats to human health, the impact on water resources and ecosystems is tremendous.

On 15-16 February 2017, Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly convened a two-day preparatory meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in order to consider the themes for the partnership dialogues and elements for a "Call for Action" in preparation for the June 2017 high-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, known as the Oceans Conference.

Sediment Management is an essential element of River Basin Management Plans. Sediment is an essential, integral and dynamic part of our river basins. Where human activities interfere with sediment quantity or quality, sediment management becomes necessary. the European Sediment Network (SedNet), aims at providing scientific and user oriented input into the WFD implementation phase and organised its third Round Table in cooperation with the ICPDR and the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River.