Danube Conference in Vienna adopts raft of measures
The countries of the Danube river basin agreed today in Vienna on joint steps to protect the Danube. At a conference of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), representatives of 14 states agreed on management and flood-prevention plans for the entire Danube river basin. Gunther Adler, State Secretary for Building and the Environment, took part on behalf of the German government. He said: "By adopting the two management plans, we are implementing two important EU Directives for water pollution control and setting priorities for our work over the next six years. It is thanks to the international cooperation in the Danube region that all the countries of the Danube river basin are jointly pursuing the same goals and are committing themselves to comparable measures."
The 2015 to 2021 management plan is the first update of the management plan presented for the first time in 2009 under the EU Water Framework Directive. It also contains a package of joint measures. This package of measures aims to reduce the nutrient and pollution load of the Danube and ease structural deficits such as obstacles to migratory fish species in order to ensure that the water in the River Danube catchment area has a good status.
The flood-risk management plan also covers the period 2015 to 2021. It has been presented for the first time in accordance with the EU Flood Risk Management Directive. The plan provides an overview of goals and measures for the entire Danube catchment area. It focuses on the solidarity principle (no export of flooding to other regions), natural water-retention measures that also play an important role in the management plan, and the provision of the necessary financial resources. In Germany, the Flood Protection Programme of the German government and the Länder contains a raft of measures for the Danube region.