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The Sava is the Danube's largest tributary of the Danube in terms of discharge and the second largest in terms of catchment area. The Sava is shared by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. The joint management arrangements acted as a pilot for the implementation of the European Union's Water Framework Directive for the Danube and Europe.

Covering an area of 157,186 km², the Tisza River Basin is the largest sub-basin of the Danube River Basin. The Tisza River is the longest tributary of the Danube (966 km), and second largest in terms of flow after the Sava. The countries of the Tisza Basin (Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia) agreed to close transboundary co-operation, aiming to achieve integrated water resources management of the Basin.

The Drava River is the fourth largest, as well as the fourth longest Danube tributary. It connects the Alps with the Danube and the Black Sea. The Drava has been considerably regulated with dams constructed to generate hydroelectricity and channels dredged to direct its flow. Nevertheless, natural habitats along the middle and lower reaches host unique varieties of flora and fauna, and several endemic species.

Since the 16th century, people have been changing the natural course of the rivers in the Danube River Basin, mainly for flood defence, hydropower generation and navigation. All these changes affect the ecological quality of the rivers. Changes in the depth or width of a river typically reduce flow rates, interrupting natural sediment transportation as well as the migration routes of animals.

A river does not end at its bank. The Danube and its tributaries form many diverse riverine habitats, including intricate networks of water bodies, creeks and channels, floodplain forests, water meadows, lakes, gravel islands, sandy banks and the unique delta habitats by the shores of the Black Sea.

The Danube is a major economic, geographical and cultural force in Austria. Draining over 96% of the country’s territory, the basin is home to 7.7 million people. In a country dominated by the Alps, the flat lands provided by the rivers are vital for the agricultural sector, human settlements and infrastructure. The Austrian territory accounts for 10% of the total area of the Danube Basin.

The Danube River Protection Convention forms the overall legal instrument for co-operation on transboundary water management in the Danube River Basin. The Convention was signed on June 29 1994 in Sofia (Bulgaria) and came into force in 1998. It aims to ensure that surface waters and groundwater within the Danube River Basin are managed and used sustainably and equitably.

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.