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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 ICPDR has released a 23-page Interim Report on the implementation of its ‘Joint Program of Measures in the Danube River Basin’. The brochure is both a snapshot of the progress being made, and a look at the future of the ICPDR’s three main aims: to make Danube waters “cleaner”, “healthier”, and “safer”. It’s also the first such publication by the ICPDR to take on a new design-focused look, deploying more images and a clearer language in a public-friendly format.