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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.

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.

In the framework of the joint EU and UNDP project -“Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea – Phase II” (EMBLAS) new opportunities for public monitoring of the Black Sea coastal status using so called “ecological sentinels” are developed.

Ice control has a long history on the Danube river. The extremely low temperatures experienced in the past weeks throughout the Danube River basin which have been causing continuous ice formation on the Danube are reminding us of the importance of cross-border cooperation.

On Monday, 23 January, the European Union takes over the annual Presidency of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).
Incoming President Peter Gammeltoft has set three main priorities for his term: strengthening of financial support for the ICPDR, assessing the impact of agricultural activities on the Danube River Basin environment, and increasing the visibility of the ICPDR.

On 6 and 7 December 2016 the ICPDR held its 19th Ordinary Meeting in Vienna.
Beside the heads of delegation and representatives of the 15 contracting parties to the ICPDR, about 60 participants from all Danube countries, observers and invited guests attended this important event.

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.

On 27 October 2016, the Donauauen National Park celebrated 20 years of existence. ICPDR Executive Secretary Ivan Zavadksy addressed in his keynote speech the parallels that can be drawn between the creation of the ICPDR and that of Danube Parks - both results of environmental awareness-raising following the fall of the iron curtain and both institutions to be considered as “agents of change”.