News & Media

Budapest, 27 June 2019 – The official kick-off for JDS4, the fourth Joint Danube Survey, is taking place in Budapest this year, starting up the Danube-wide survey in the heart of the Hungarian capital hosted by the City of Budapest and organised by the Hungarian Ministry of Interior and the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.