Baltic Danube Strategy Workshop, Budapest, Hungary, 5 April 2011

1. Regional Experiance for
Danube Strategy
Dr. Mitja Bricelj
GWP
Budapest, April 5, 2011

2. Focus on
- National
- Transboundary
- Regional (Danube RB)
- Transregional (Danube/Black Sea/Med)
COOPERATION for sustainable use
of shared water bodies /water resources (IWRM)

3. From the Black Forest
to the Black Sea

5. Danube River
Protection Convention
Signed
on 29 June 1994
in Sofia - Bulgaria
DRPC is a legal frame for cooperation to assure
the protection of water and ecological
resources and their sustainable use in the
Danube River Basin.

6. ICPDR -
International Commission for the
Protection of the Danube River
The ICPDR, established by the DRPC:
has the mandate to ensure conservation, improvement and
rational use of surface waters and ground water
reduce inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances
control floods and ice hazards
reduce pollution loads to the Black Sea
Since 2000 the ICPDR is the coordinating body for
implementing the EU Water Framework Directive in DRB

7. Contracting Parties
Germany Bosnia & Herzegovina
Austria Serbia
Czech Republic Montenegro
Slovakia Romania
Hungary Bulgaria
Slovenia Rep. of Moldova
Croatia Ukraine
European Union

8. Danube River Basin
Management Plan
Finalised in December 2009
Reflects
 Water status of the DRB waters
 Significant Water Management Issues
Includes
 Joint Programme of Measures
 Evaluation on measures
implementation
Enables
 Conclusions on investment and funding

9. Trans National Monitoring
Network - TNMN

10. Significant Water
Management Issues
Organic Nutrient Hazardous Hydromorphological
Pollution Pollution Substances Pollution Alterations

11. DRBM Plan
Joint Programme of Measures
It is the heart of the DRBM Plan that outlines:
 Visions and management objectives for each
Significant Water Management Issues
 Measures on the basin-wide scale
 Needs for future funding
JPM addresses the problems in the Danube River Basin

12. Investments
Number of investment projects achieved by 2006 per country
35 3.5 billion Euro
30
6
3
invested in
2 6
25
6
7 140 wastewater
3
20
14
3
13 3
6
treatment
7
15
7 0
15
5 22
plants.
10 4 17 4
0 0
11 12 12 1 5 13
5 8 2
0 8
7 5 7
4 4
0
AT BA BG HR CZ DE HU MD RO RS SK SI UA
Municipal Industrial and agro-industrial Wetlands

13. Key Results
Considerable reduction through measures
– objectives will not be achieved by 2015
Organic Significant efforts still need to be
Pollution
undertaken to reduce water pollution of
the Danube rivers
Basin-wide importance:
P-free laundry and dishwasher detergents
Nutrient
Pollution

14. Cooperation Asked
Good water quality and effective
water management cannot be
achieved without cooperation with
business and economic sectors.

15. Dialogue with Hydropower:
How to Cooperate
⇒ Hydropower generation,
identified as one of the key
drivers that may provoke impacts
on water bodies.
⇒ Facilitating dialogue on hydro-
power issues to balance
economic needs, social and
environmental performance.

16. Agriculture and Land Use -
Agri-environmental Measures
in the DRB
⇒ Nutrients reduction, e.g. limits in fertiliser
use (time and type), nutrient balances on
farm level
⇒ Pesticide reduction in all farming
practices
⇒ Organic farming: input reduction,
rotation, intensification of livestock
⇒ Soil erosion measures
⇒ Wetlands reconnection

17. Joint Statement
adoped by
Danube Commision,
ISRBC and ICPDR
PLATINA Manual
for sustainable navigation

19. ICPDR newest response:
Action plans for sub-basins
17 flood action plans for the
sub-basins prepared in 2009
Comprehensive compilation
of hundreds of measures to
reduce flood risks

21. Consequences
Significant local hazard.
• Monitoring from the Danube did not reveal
acute toxic records.
• The main pollution did not reach the Danube,
but continued monitoring and assessment is
needed (done by Hungary and the neighboring
and downstream countries).
• Mitigation measures, clean-up work and
assessment at Torna creek and Marcal river
and in local areas are ongoing.

22. Important: RBM is
proces
Integration
Participation
Implementation
----------------------------
Shared vison : - management
- research
- monitoring

23. Ministerial Meeting
February 16, 2010

24. Ministrial Declaration
- ICPDR is major coordinating body in the region with
regard to all water managemnt issues
- DRBMP and JPMs should be an integral part of the
EU Strategy (Environmental Pillar).

25. Important for RBM
implementation
Data is not information,
information is not knowledge
knowledge is not understanding,
understanding is not wisdom.
Integrating and Applayin Science, 2010 University of Maryland Center for
Enviromental Science

26. Partnering with
Business

27. For further information see www.icpdr.org
Thank you for your attention!