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VIENNA, 16th December 2020 – The environmental Art competition, “Danube Art Master” is delighted to have received a surprisingly large number of artworks submitted in 2020, despite taking place under truly exceptional circumstances.

Vienna, 29th June 2020 - Danube Day 2020 will be moving online this year, due to the uncertainty, necessary border-closures, and quarantine measures stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, on 29th June we invite more than eighty million people in the14 Danube countries to celebrate Danube Day, and learn and experience the waters of the world’s most international river basin.

Accidental pollution in the Danube River Basin can cause widespread damage to the environment, and endanger the health of local people and the state of local economies downstream. This was exemplified by the effects of the Baia Mare cyanide spill in Romania in 2000 or by the Hungarian redsludge accident at Ajka in 2010. The ICPDR is working to prevent accidental pollution and to improve response capability by compiling an inventory of all relevant "Accident Risk Spots".

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.

The best way to protect and manage water is by close international co-operation between all the countries within the river basin – bringing together all interests upstream and downstream. All countries of the European Union are using a river basin approach for water management since the adoption of the EU Water Framework Directive.