News

As the climate crisis worsens, severe droughts devastate European landscapes. According to the data published by the European Drought Observatory, more than 60% of land in the European Union and United Kingdom – an area nearly the same size as India (!) – is now affected by drought conditions. The Danube River Basin and the Danube itself have been affected by serious droughts in the past, e.g., in 2003, 2015, and now again one of the most feared natural phenomenon has gripped much of the Danube River Basin.

The new Bathing Water Report published at the beginning of June by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission (EC) reveals that the quality of Europe’s bathing waters has improved dramatically in recent decades. According to European Union standards that classify the waters as “excellent”, “good”, “sufficient” or “poor”, almost 85% of the European bathing sites now ranks as “excellent”.

The ICPDR is happy to continue our workshop series jointly organised with the World Bank's Danube Water Program, with a forthcoming event discussing sustainable financing of wastewater management with experts from and beyond the Danube River Basin to be held on 3rd February 2022.

The ICPDR has developed a recommendation paper on wastewater management, communicating the challenges, needs and potential solutions to wastewater management in the Danube River Basin.

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.

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.

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.