Search Results

Water quality in the Danube has improved over the years, but there is still much work to be done to meet the region’s goals for water status. To improve the water quality, an ambitious programme of measures for the whole Danube River Basin District has been agreed under the EU WFD. To assess trends in water quality, the ICPDR oversees the TransNational Monitoring Network (TNMN). The network carefully monitors physical, chemical and biological conditions in the Danube and its tributaries, and provides in TNMN Yearbooks an annual overview of pollution levels as well as long term trends for water quality in the basin.

19 countries share the Danube River Basin, which makes it the world’s most international river basin. 79 million people of different cultures and languages call the Danube Basin their home. For centuries they have been interconnected through the widely ramified water system of the Danube. All countries sharing over 2,000 km² of the Danube River Basin, as well as the European Union, are contracting parties of the ICPDR.

Agriculture has long been a major source of income for many people living in the Danube River Basin. Today however, it is also a major source of pollutants – including fertilizers and pesticides and facing emerging issues like water scarcity and droughts.

Floods are natural phenomena. They can, however, turn into disasters causing widespread damage, health problems and even deaths. This is especially the case where rivers have been cut off from their natural floodplains, are confined to man-made channels, and where houses and industrial sites have been constructed in areas that are naturally liable to flooding.