Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Key Note Presentation World River Day 2011 11-2011 Transboundary River Management in the Danube Basin Philip Weller International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/wrd2011_keynote Philip Weller is the Executive Secretary of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), based at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. The ICPDR is the forum for 14 Danube countries and the European Commission to implement their commitments to improve water quality and water management in the Danube Basin. In his previous position as Program Director of the Danube Carpathian Program of WWF International, Mr. Weller was the driving force behind the Lower Danube Green Corridor - an agreement between Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine that remains the largest wetland protection and restoration initiative in Europe. Previously, he served as Director Great Lakes United, a binational coalition focused on the Great Lakes. Mr. Weller is author of three books on environmental topics, including Freshwater Seas. Recommended Citation Weller, Philip. "Transboundary River Management in the Danube Basin." (Nov 2011). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the World River Day 2011 at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Key Note Presentation by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact opensiuc@lib.siu.edu.
The Danube Experience International Cooperation in Protection and Restoration of the Danube River Basin ICPDR Philip Weller Carbondale, 7 November, 2011
The Danube is diverse ecologically, socially, politically Most international River Basin in the World, 19 Countries, 81 M inh.
From Black Forest to Black Sea
Human activities damaged the Danube
Danube River Protection Convention 29 June 1994 Sofia - Bulgaria Protection of water / ecological resources Sustainable use of water in Danube River Basin Reduce inputs of nutrients and hazardous substances ICPDR coordinates implementation of EU Water Framework Directive
Contracting Parties Germany Austria Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary Slovenia Croatia Bosnia & Herzegovina Serbia Montenegro Romania Bulgaria Rep. of Moldova Ukraine European Union
Stakeholder Involvement: 21 Observers
Danube River Basin Analysis Report WFD Article V Roof Report Approved at the Ministerial Meeting Vienna, 13 December 2004
TransNational Monitoring Network (TNMN)
Joint Danube Survey
Significant Water Management Issues Organic Pollution Nutrient Pollution Hazardous Substances Pollution Hydromorphological Alterations
Danube River Basin Management Plan - 2009 Reflects Water status of the DRB waters Significant Water Management Issues Includes Joint Programme of Measures Evaluation on measure implementation Enables Conclusions on investment & funding Potential link to Danube Strategy
Joint Program of Measures (JPM) Heart of DRBM Plan: Management objectives for each Significant Water Management Issue Measures on basin-wide scale Needs for future funding JPM addresses the problems in Danube River Basin
Key Conclusions Nutrient Pollution N emissions to surface waters in 2015: 602 kt/a = 12% lower than 2009. Load to the Black Sea: Below present state but still far above (40%) that of the 1960 s. Management objectives and EU WFD objectives not ensured by 2015 P emissions to surface waters in 2015: 46 kt/a = 21% lower than 2009. Load to the Black Sea: Below present state but still above (15%) that of the 1960 s Management objective will not be achieved by 2015 and this is most likely also the case for the WFD environmental objectives Introduction of limitations on P in detergents is seen as a cost effective and necessary measure
River & Habitat Continuity Interruptions 2009
River and habitat continuity interruption Restoring lateral and longtitudinal connectivity for fish and other organisms.
Danube Salmon Hydromorphological Alterations Ecological prioritisation approach for basin-wide measures for river continuity Should ensure free fish migration in DRB Classification of fish regions in DRB List and map of key migration routes of medium and long distance migratory fish species Prioritisation index for measures based on Sturgeon agreed criteria Map illustrating prioritisation index and therefore measure priority
Redsludge Accident Hungary A large amount of industrial red sludge was released and caused the loss and injury of human life and significant environmental damages. The sludge and alkaline liquids from the spill entered into tributaries of the Danube. www.redsludge.bm.hu
Sustainable Flood Protection Implementation of EU Floods Directive EU FLOODRISK project 17 flood action plans for sub-basins prepared in 2009 Flood Action Programs list hundreds of measures
DRB Investments Number of investment projects achieved by 2006 per country 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 6 14 11 3 7 8 2 13 12 0 4 7 6 7 12 15 1 5 7 3 17 AT BA BG HR CZ DE HU MD RO RS SK SI UA 0 2 4 5 5 4 0 8 3 6 13 3 6 22 4 0 7 Municipal Industrial and agro-industrial Wetlands
Ministerial Meeting February 16, 2010
Joint Statement on Navigation
Platina Manual Illustrates Joint Statement with principles & criteria New legal framework conditions for river management New approaches in integrated planning General practical guidance for integrated planning Examples for ecology-oriented waterway & river bed engineering
Showcase Studies Down-sized groynes Re-connected sidearms Restored river banks
Hydropower Balancing economic interests with environmental needs
Agriculture & Land Use Joost.j.bakker, wikipdia.org Nutrients reduction Pesticide reduction Organic farming Soil erosion measures Wetlands reconnection
Climate Change Adaptation Wikipedia, GFDL Wikipedia/GFDL
Danube Day: June 29
Danube Box More than 1 Mio. children reached English and national languages Cooperation with business partner www.danubebox.org In partnership with:
Danube Watch 8500+ copies 3-4 issues/year Distributed worldwide via subscription
Thank you! Further information: www.icpdr.org