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On October 10th and 11th, the much-anticipated biannual Danube Forecasting Forum (DAFF) took place in Budapest, Hungary. Organized in collaboration with the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the EU Joint Research Center (EU JRC), this event brought together stakeholders from the 13 countries along the Danube and members of the Danube Youth Council (DYC) under EUSDR PA5.

One of the primary advantages provided by the ICPDR is its capacity to assist national decision-makers in effectively balancing the competing needs and various uses of the Danube River. These encompass areas such as hydropower generation, agriculture, and climate risk management. The ICPDR functions as a comprehensive platform for member countries, facilitating consultation, coordination, and the holistic management of the Danube River Basin.

In the Danube River Basin, five main pressures that affect water status: organic substance pollution, nutrient pollution, hazardous substance pollution, hydromorphological alterations and effects of climate change (drought, water scarcity, extreme hydrological phenomena and other impacts), have been identified as Significant Water Management Issues (SWMIs). The groundwater quantity and quality are also under constant pressure.

According to Floods Directive, the Member States shall, at the level of the river basin district or unit of management, prepare flood hazard maps and flood risk maps at the most appropriate scale for the areas identified under Article 5(1).

In accordance with Article 4 of the FD, the first milestone in the FD basin-wide implementation is undertaking a preliminary flood risk assessment (PFRA), as well as identifying those areas for which it has been concluded that potential significant flood risks exist or might be considered likely to occur (so-called Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk (APSFR)) as in accordance with FD Article 5.

The ICPDR’s legal basis is rooted in the "Convention on Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable use of the Danube River", commonly known as the "Danube River Protection Convention" or "DRPC". This pivotal convention was signed in Sofia in 1994 and took effect in October 1998.

The DRPC binds contracting parties (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and the European Union) to unify their efforts in sustainable water management.

The Joint Programme of Measures is constructed upon the findings of the pressure analysis and the assessment of water status. These serve as the foundation for updating the Danube River Basin Management Plan, incorporating measures of basin-wide significance aligned with the established visions and management objectives outlined in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the year 2027.