Development of DRBM and FRM Plan 2015
The project “Support for the development of the 2nd River Basin Management Plan and 1st Danube Flood Risk Management Plan” (2nd DRBM Plan and 1st DFRM Plan) contributed vital resources to the main steps towards two comprehensive management plans for the Danube River Basin. The project was successfully implemented by the ICDPR between 1 October 2014 and 1 April 2016.
Together, the 2nd DRBM Pland and the 1st DFRM Plan set the water management priorities for a period of six years, from 2015 to 2021. As such, the plans should be seen as major milestones for the implementation of both, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the EU Floods Directive (FD) in the Danube River Basin.
The project-related tasks were targeted towards the development and advancement of particular elements of these two plans which were adopted by the ICPDR in December 2015 and politically endorsed at the ICPDR Ministerial Meeting in February 2016. With regard to the individual tasks and specific deliverables, the following can be summarised:
Task A: Project management and reporting to EC
The management structure was set up and the contents and objectives of the project clearly communicated to relevant staff of the ICPDR Secretariat. Regular meetings were organised and project implementation closely linked to the work of the ICPDR Expert and Task Groups. A progress report was submitted regularly to the European Commission and the ICPDR Heads of Delegations from the Danube countries and European Union and informed about progress in the implementation of the project.
Task B: Establishment of emission database and assessment of nutrient emissions
Data templates for data collection were elaborated and the emission database was established with support from the ICPDR’s Pressures and Measures Expert Group and Information Management and GIS Expert Group, allowing for improved pollution-related assessments. The research institute IGB Berlin accomplished the modelling of nutrient emissions in the Danube basin using the MONERIS model. Data availability also from non-EU Member States could be improved and data gaps further closed, in particular for Montenegro via the organisation of a workshop, but also for other countries via linking the project with other EU funded projects and initiatives in Ukraine, Moldova and the Sava Region.
Task C: Support for assessments on hydromorphology and invasive alien species
The Ecological Prioritisation Approach for River and Habitat Continuity Restoration was updated based on a revised methodology and latest data with involvement of the Hydromorphology Task Group. A 3-day workshop on hydromorphological assessments was held with participants from the Danube River Basin and beyond, including a practical field trip and allowing for intensive expert discussions. The Guidance Paper on Invasive Alien Species was updated with involvement of specialists from the Monitoring and Assessment Expert Group.
Task D: Economic analysis
The economic analysis was revised and updated with involvement of the Economics Task Group. An additional chapter and annex on financing possibilities for the Program of Measures was elaborated and is contained in the DRBM Plan. On flood risk management, a resource document on economics and the Floods Directive was elaborated with involvement of the Flood Protection Expert Group, serving as an annex to the DFRM Plan.
Task E: Ensuring coordination and public consultation
A workshop on flood risk management and links to the WFD was held in Zagreb jointly with the Sava River Basin Commission, UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation, allowing to discuss coordination requirements for the achievement of objectives for both, the reduction of flood risk and for the water environment. Chapters on coordination requirements were integrated into the DRBM and DFRM Plan. The public was consulted for feedback on the drafts for both plans, in particular during the workshop “Voice of the Danube” which was organised in Zagreb, allowing for further improved documents broadly supported by various stakeholders
Task F: Dissemination
Improved layout versions of both plans were elaborated and published. The project results and related activities were broadly disseminated, e.g. via this webpage, but also through articles related to river basin and flood risk management as well as public participation. An overview on the vast amount of data which was required to be collected for the comprehensive elaboration of both plans can now be transparently obtained, also by external users, via an INSPIRE compliant meta database which was elaborated in the frame of the project.
In summary, the project allowed to further advance integrated water management approaches and for the elaboration of comprehensive River Basin and Flood Risk Management Plans for the Danube River Basin, addressing the period 2015 until 2021. The activities were successfully accomplished in close coordination with experts from administrations and relevant water-related stakeholders from the whole Danube region.
EU Grant Agreement 07.0203/2014/691950/SUB/ENV.C1
This activity was co-funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union.
Related
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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.
