News & Media

On March 15, 2023, the Neptune Water Prize winners, including the Neptune State Prize, were announced by Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig, along with the partners of the Neptune State Prize for Water and other Austrian water representatives. Participants competed in five categories: WasserGEMEINDE, WasserWIEN, WasserFORSCHT, WasserBILDUNG, and WasserKREATIV, with prizes awarded every two years to outstanding water-related projects.

(Press Release) VIENNA, 22 March 2023 – The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is proud to join the world in celebrating World Water Day on March 22, 2023. The theme for this year's celebration is "Be the Change," which highlights the vital importance of water and how we can protect and manage this precious resource for future generations.

On March 4th, 2023, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) drafted a new agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

A recent large-scale modelling study has shown that restoring floodplains and reconnecting cut-off water bodies with the Danube River, and its tributaries could play a significant role in improving water quality and removing nitrate pollution in the Danube River Basin.

On 18 October 2022, the Central and Eastern Europe WWF participated in a side event on “Achieving Functional Biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by Mainstreaming Ecological Connectivity – how to make it happen” during the 11th EUSDR Annual Forum 2022. The annual forum, which took place in a hybrid format, was jointly organized by the Ukrainian EUSDR Presidency, the former Slovak EUSDR Presidency, the European Commission, and the Danube Strategy Point, with the financial support of the Danube Transnational Programme.

The European Commission proposes to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030, one of the flagship legislative proposals to follow the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. The new rules on chemical pesticides will reduce the environmental footprint of the EU's food system, protect the health and well-being of citizens and agricultural workers, and help mitigate the pesticide use-related economic losses.

As the climate crisis worsens, severe droughts devastate European landscapes. According to the data published by the European Drought Observatory, more than 60% of land in the European Union and United Kingdom – an area nearly the same size as India (!) – is now affected by drought conditions. The Danube River Basin and the Danube itself have been affected by serious droughts in the past, e.g., in 2003, 2015, and now again one of the most feared natural phenomenon has gripped much of the Danube River Basin.

The new Bathing Water Report published at the beginning of June by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission (EC) reveals that the quality of Europe’s bathing waters has improved dramatically in recent decades. According to European Union standards that classify the waters as “excellent”, “good”, “sufficient” or “poor”, almost 85% of the European bathing sites now ranks as “excellent”.

On 20th May 2022, the ICPDR along with other UN-based organizations, including CTBTO, IAEA, IOM, UNIDO, UNODA and UNODC, participated in this year’s “Long Night of Research” (“Lange Nacht der Forschung”) Austria’s biggest science event for the public.

VIENNA, 22 March – World Water Day 2022 is focusing on groundwater and making the invisible visible.