News & Media

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.

The Hague, 19 – 21 March 2013. A consultation conference organized by UNESCO IHP upon the occasion of World Water Day discussed the regional issues of groundwater resources governance. Andreas Scheidleder, chairperson of the Groundwater Task Group, and other ICPDR representatives ensured a strong focus on the Danube River Basin.

Vienna, 26 March 2013. The ICPDR has published a manual with practical advice for measures that aim to ensure fish migration at transverse structures such as dams and weirs.

Vienna, 4-5 April 2013. The ICPDR will hold a meeting to discuss the results of the Danube Joint Program of Measures, to learn about funding needs and existing potential funding for the actions, and to discuss the preparation of the Danube Basin Analysis and the 2nd Danube River Basin Management Plan.

Danube Basin, 20 March 2013. World Water Day 2013 is an occasion to celebrate achievements, but also to look at challenges in the Danube River Basin and beyond, says ICPDR President Ermina Salkičević-Dizdarević.