News & Media

Vienna, 28 October 2018 (Press Release) - Ten countries along the Danube (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine) join forces in an EU-funded project to conserve endangered migratory fish species in the Danube river basin by identifying and improving access to habitats and promoting the establishment of ecological corridors.

Vienna, 10 July 2018 (Press Release) - An international event took place on 9th and 10th July in Vienna within the framework of the Austrian Presidency of the EU. In attendance were 50 experts from national administrations, EU and international institutions, academia and NGO representatives, who can all potentially provide the long-term framework of action indispensable for the conservation of sturgeon stocks in Europe.

With its Sturgeon Strategy, adopted in December at the ICPDR Ordinary Meeting (now available for download), the ICPDR is contributing to the effort ensuring the survival and recovery of sturgeons in the Danube River Basin. A first follow-up step is the organization of a Sturgeon Conference under the upcoming Austrian EU Presidency next July in Vienna. The event is organized jointly by the ICPDR and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT).

Sediment Management is an essential element of River Basin Management Plans. Sediment is an essential, integral and dynamic part of our river basins. Where human activities interfere with sediment quantity or quality, sediment management becomes necessary. the European Sediment Network (SedNet), aims at providing scientific and user oriented input into the WFD implementation phase and organised its third Round Table in cooperation with the ICPDR and the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River.

On 23 September 2016, the opening ceremony of the hatchery station of the EU project LIFE Sterlet was held on the Danube Island in Vienna.
The ICPDR has been one of the first organisations to advocate the protection of this flagship species, raise awareness for the threat to see Danube sturgeons become totally extinct and support projects and initiatives such as LIFE Sterlet.

Danube Basin, 21 May 2016. World Fish Migration Day (WFMD) is held on May 21 and will bring together more than 1,500 organizations, featuring more than 350 events worldwide.

Vienna, 7 April 2016. In the frame of the MARS project, a group of 60 river basin managers, Water Framework Directive officials, European Environment Agency representatives, external experts and MARS aquatic scientists met to discuss the key challenges for freshwater management and policy across Europe.

Vienna, 9 February 2016. Cleaner, healthier and safer waters for everyone to enjoy - this is the objective of two management plans for the Danube River Basin that were endorsed in Vienna today. The management plans foresee measures that will be implemented over a six-year period until 2021.

Vienna, 16 December 2015. Defining the water management priorities for the Danube Basin until 2021, the ICPDR has published the Danube River Basin Management Plan Update 2015 and the Flood Risk Management Plan for the Danube River Basin today.

Belene, 18 November 2014. WWF has released some 5,000 sterlets into the Danube River today as part of a 50,000-strong sturgeon restocking programme. This is the first restocking of endangered sturgeons performed by a non-government organization in Bulgaria, after years of scientific research, climatic and biological challenges.