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The ICPDR Ministerial Meeting 2004 was the first Meeting of the Parties to the Danube River Protection Convention. The Meeting was happeing in the year of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Danube River Protection Convention. The meeting aimed to highlight the success achived and to get ready for the challanges to come.

The Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin (EPDRB) was initiated in 1991 (Bulgaria) based on ongoing activities to strengthen the international cooperation along the Danube river, aiming to enhance environmental quality of the river basin. The EPDRB, especially through its Strategic Action Plan, supported also the development of the Danube River Protection Convention.

The Pollution Reduction Programme was prepared in the frame of the UNDP/GEF assistance to the Danube Programme Coordination Unit. The PRP presents a group of projects and measures that respond to identified pollution and transboundary effects in the Danube River Basin and the Black Sea. Projects for pollution reduction are presented for identified sub-basin areas and for significant impact areas (SIA).

The UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project was launched to reinforce regional cooperation of the Danube countries. It supported the development of national policies and legislation and the definition of priority actions for pollution control. This all to ensure a common approach to the protection of international waters, sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity.

The Joint Action Programme of the ICPDR outlined the specific steps that were agreed to be taken over the period 2001-2005 to achieve the environmental objectives outlined in the Danube River Protection Convention including many large-scale measures to reduce water pollution, to promote nature conservation, to restore ecosystems, and to safeguard the long-term sustainable management of the environment.

The Republic of Serbia covers an area of 88,499 km² and includes two provinces: Vojvodina (21,614 km²) and Kosovo and Metohija (10,910 km²); the latter being currently under an international protectorate. Approximately 92% of the country lies within the Danube Basin (accounting for 10% of the total Basin). Of this land, 30% is forested. With more than 90% of Serbia’s renewable water resources originating from outside national territory, international cooperation on water issues is crucial for sustainable water management.

The Sava is the Danube's largest tributary of the Danube in terms of discharge and the second largest in terms of catchment area. The Sava is shared by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. The joint management arrangements acted as a pilot for the implementation of the European Union's Water Framework Directive for the Danube and Europe.

Covering an area of 157,186 km², the Tisza River Basin is the largest sub-basin of the Danube River Basin. The Tisza River is the longest tributary of the Danube (966 km), and second largest in terms of flow after the Sava. The countries of the Tisza Basin (Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia) agreed to close transboundary co-operation, aiming to achieve integrated water resources management of the Basin.