News

130 high school students from ten countries have contributed to the fifth Joint Danube Survey (JDS5), the world's largest surface water monitoring effort, collecting water samples along the Danube and its tributaries that were then screened for 447 pesticides in a European Commission laboratory. For the first time, citizen science forms an integral part of the Joint Danube Survey.

The ICPDR is pleased to share a first glimpse into the microbiological findings emerging from the Joint Danube Survey 5 (JDS5) — the world’s largest river basin monitoring programme carried out on a single river system. While full results will only be available once all samples from the 108 sampling sites have been analysed, early data from the microbiology component show encouraging trends across the entire Danube Basin.

The 5th Joint Danube Survey (JDS5) has reached a significant milestone by incorporating citizen science into its outreach activities for the first time. Under the Motto "Let's Go Sampling Together", this activity Coordinated by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and supported by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), engaged schools across the Danube Basin in a collaborative effort to monitor and protect the river's ecological health.

On 7 July 2025, the Vienna International Centre’s Rotunda came to life with creativity, collaboration, and a shared appreciation for one of Europe’s most iconic rivers. Under the title “Surface & Substance: Exploring the Danube Through Science and Art,” the ICPDR launched a special week-long exhibition celebrating the power of both scientific investigation and artistic expression in protecting the Danube.

The Joint Danube Survey 5 (JDS5), the world’s most comprehensive investigative surface-water monitoring effort, will officially kick off on 1 July 2025 in Vienna. This large-scale scientific survey will bring together experts from 14 countries to assess the health of the Danube River and its major tributaries.

Building on the successes of the Danube Hazard m3c project, the Tethys project was launched in January 2024. Funded by the Danube Regional Programme, Tethys will bring together 13 project partners and 10 associated strategic partners to address hazardous substances pollution in the Danube River Basin.

Building on the successes of the Danube Hazard m3c project, the launch of the Tethys project is set to take place on April 11-12, 2024, in Vienna. Funded by the Danube Regional Programme, Tethys will bring together 13 project partners and 10 associated strategic partners to address hazardous substances pollution in the Danube River Basin.

The project involves 15 partners from 8 countries and aims to restore and conserve 34 islands from Germany to Romania. With the support of the EU Commission, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, and the Ramsar Convention, the LIFE WILDisland project is set to become a great example of transboundary cooperation.

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 Thursday 12 December 2019, We Pass – an EU-funded project with the ICPDR aiming to facilitate fish migration and habitat conservation in the Danube River Basin – held its first stakeholder workshop on the banks of the Danube River in Vienna, Austria.