News

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.

On Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 December 2017, the ICPDR held its 20th Ordinary Meeting in Vienna. Beside the heads of delegation and representatives of 13 of the contracting parties to the ICPDR, around 85 participants from all Danube countries, observers and invited guests attended this important event.

On 28-29 November 2017, over 120 participants from around 20 countries attended the first International Workshop on Wastewater Management in the Danube River Basin at the Ramada Majestic Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. The Workshop was co-organised by the ICPDR, the International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD), the World Bank and the Joint Research Center of the European Commission. The event was hosted by the National Administration “Romanian Waters” and the Romanian Ministry of Waters and Forests.