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Vienna, 1 July 2025 (Motto am Fluss) - Held every six years, the Joint Danube Survey (JDS) builds on the legacy of its predecessors and brings together experts from across the Danube River Basin and beyond for its implementation. The Survey conducts the most comprehensive scientific analysis of Europe’s second-longest river. Today marks the official launch of the fifth edition of this unique initiative: JDS5.

Paris, 12 June 2025 – As UNESCO celebrates 60 years of global water science and the 50th anniversary of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the ICPDR proudly contributed to this international milestone by co-hosting a side event that placed the Joint Danube Survey 5 (JDS5) firmly in the spotlight.

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.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released its latest report, “Europe’s State of Water 2024: The Need for Improved Water Resilience,” shedding light on the growing challenges to Europe’s water security. The report, which draws on data from the 3rd River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), highlights significant pressures on surface and groundwater bodies across Europe, emphasizing the need for immediate action to strengthen water resilience.

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.

VIENNA – 29 April 2021. Coordinated with the ICPDR, many hundreds of experts in the countries of the Danube River Basin as well as other actors engaged in the fourth Joint Danube Survey – JDS4 – in 2019 and 2020. The final results have now been published and made available to the public and scientific communities online.

Budapest, 27 June 2019 – The official kick-off for JDS4, the fourth Joint Danube Survey, is taking place in Budapest this year, starting up the Danube-wide survey in the heart of the Hungarian capital hosted by the City of Budapest and organised by the Hungarian Ministry of Interior and the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF).

In 2015 significant parts of the Danube River Basin were affected by droughts which negatively impacted different water-dependent economic sectors, vegetation and the aquatic environment. This is the latest of a series of drought events which occurred in Europe during the last decade.

Vienna, 22 March 2015. Just in time for this year's World Water Day, the Joint Danube Survey 3 Final Scientific Report was published today.

Vienna, 22 March 2015. The Joint Danube Survey 3 (JDS3) was the world’s biggest river research expedition in 2013. Its results are now available in a comprehensive report, which can be downloaded from this website.