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The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an International Organisation consisting of 14 cooperating states and the European Union. Since its establishment in 1998, the ICPDR has grown into one of the largest and most active international bodies of river basin management expertise in Europe.

Given the complexity of the Danube River Basin, including many countries with widely differing economic and environmental management needs, one overall framework was required to sustainably manage the basin. In 2000, the ICPDR contracting parties nominated the ICPDR as the platform for the implementation of all transboundary aspects of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The WFD is a holistic legal and policy framework, based on transboundary cooperation in basins, seen by many as the strongest water protection legislation in the world. The ICPDR received a similar mandate in 2009 to support the coordination of the implementation of the EU Floods Directive. In its work to implement the EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the EU’s Floods Directive (FD), the ICPDR and its partners have developed a truly integrated approach to the management of the river basin and its resources.

The Danube River flows into the Black Sea at the Danube Delta, making the Black Sea the receiving sea for the Danube's water. A receiving sea refers to the body of water into which a river or other watercourse empties its flow. In this context, the Black Sea serves as the final destination for the waters of the Danube River.

Below you will find a collection of 10 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), collected from common requests and inquiries made by journalists, observers, NGOs or the general public about the organisation, objectives and history of the ICPDR. They are also available in a PDF version.

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.

daNUbs was a mulitnational EU research project carried out under the leadership of the Technical University of Vienna. The results from this project include estimates of nutrient inputs into the river network (MONERIS), as well as an assessment of the loads of nitrogen, phosphorus and silica transported via the river network. These results indicate that the nutrient status in the Black Sea has significantly improved since the 1980s.

The DABLAS (Danube - Black Sea) Task Force is a successful example of providing a platform between International Funding Institutions, donors and beneficiaries to support cooperation and to leverage investment projects for the protection of water and water-related ecosystems of the Danube and Black Sea.