News & Media

Kolontár, 4 October 2010. A dam at a Hungarian aluminium factory near Kolontár broke. Approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of alkaline red sludge and water were released with disastrous consequences: 10 people died, hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were contaminated. One year after these events, we collected information on the current environmental conditions in the area. As an ongoing effort, the Accident Prevention and Control Expert Group of the ICPDR continues its work to avoid or mitigate such disasters in the future.

Brisbane, 27 September 2010. The US Charles River Watershed Association was awarded the Thiess International Riverprize 2011 for excellence in river management. The award was presented in Brisbane, Australia, on September 27. The $350,000 (approximately 250,000 EUR) award is divided between the winner and finalists, and is the most prestigious river prize in the world.

Bratislava, 13 September 2011. German children have won the „International Danube Art Master 2011“ competition, as the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) announced today.

Astana, 21 September 2011. The Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference is scheduled to take place in Astana (Kazakhstan) from 21 to 23 September 2011. The Conference is being prepared in accordance with the provisions of Reform Plan of the “Environment for Europe” process.

Danube Delta, 26 September 2011. A detailed analysis and assessment of the Danube Delta will be held within the project "Joint environmental monitoring, assessment and exchange of information for integrated management of the Danube delta region" from 26 September until l 7 October 2011.

Stockholm, 21 August 2011. The “World Water Week” is taking place in Stockholm, Sweden, from August 21 to 27. The event, which is held annually since 1991, is organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

Danube Basin, 29 June 2011. Danube Day 2011 will be celebrated on the 29th of June and calls on people of the 14 countries to get active in protecting water resources. This year, the annual Danube Day will receive a lot of attention, as it coincides with the adoption of the European Union (EU) Danube Strategy. This set of EU policies and initiatives will affect the lives of more than 100 million Europeans who live in the Danube catchment area and neighbouring regions.

Sofia, 1 May 2011. In order to protect endangered sturgeon species, Bulgaria decided to ban sturgeon fishing in May 2011. Romania was the first country to implement a sturgeon fishing ban in the Danube in 2006 and is now followed by its southern neighbour.

Uzhgorod, 11 April 2011. The five Tisza River Basin countries Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine entered a new stage in joint water management to ensure good water quality. In the course of a Ministerial Meeting held in Uzhgorod (Ukraine), a management plan was signed that commits the five countries to further cooperation in their efforts to protect the valuable environment of the basin. What used to be a matter of individual countries is now an international endeavour.

Vienna, 5 April 2011. After the 2nd Joint Statement Meeting held in Zagreb last year, the ICPDR Secretariat has the pleasure to welcome the participants for the 3rd Joint Statement Meeting on Inland Navigation and Environmental Sustainability on 5th and 6th April 2011 in Vienna.