News

Barely a month after hosting the 24th ICPDR Standing Working Group Meeting in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, brought the Danube community together again. On July 24th, Ukraine hosted its 6th National Participation Day in Odesa as part of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). The event highlighted the alignment between the priorities of Ukraine’s ICPDR Presidency and the country’s path towards EU membership.

Hot summers and recurring droughts are no longer a marginal phenomenon in southern and central Europe.

On Friday, 26th June, the Marble Hall of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) was filled with familiar faces and new energy as the International Association for Danube Research (IAD) and its Austrian Committee marked a double anniversary: 70 years of the IAD and 50 years of its Austrian Committee.

With just one month to go until Danube Day 2026, preparations are well underway across the Danube River Basin. On 29 June, countries, communities, schools, institutions and organizations throughout the region will come together to celebrate the Danube and the shared responsibility to protect it.

Award ceremonies are taking place across the Danube River Basin, facilitated by relevant ministries in the winning countries. Over the coming months, further national award presentations will follow, highlighting young perspectives from across the basin.

VIENNA, 14th December 2022 – After almost 3 years of online activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 saw the return of many in person outreach activities including the Danube Art Master competition. The announcement of this year's international winners took place during the ICPDR’s 25th Ordinary Meeting in Vienna, where an award ceremony was held to crown the international Danube Art Master in each of the competing categories.

The 2021 Annual Report provides detailed insight into an eventful year for the ICPDR– from the updates of the two Management plans and the return of in-person Danube Day events to the completion of the fourth Joint Danube Survey (JDS4). The 2021 Annual Report depicts this broad spectrum of ICPDR activities. It illustrates the ICPDRʼs ever-broadening commitment as needed by the multi-faceted nature of the Danube River itself.

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 ICPDR has published an informative summary report on accident prevention and control for dissemination to the interested public. It highlights the ICPDR activities on basin-wide level for accident prevention and emergency management, focusing on the tools, pragmatic procedures and mechanisms that are available for the ICPDR member countries.