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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".

The Danube River Basin is Europe's second largest river basin, with a total area of 801,463 km². It is the world's most international river basin, flowing through the territory of 19 countries. The ecosystems of the Danube River Basin are highly valuable in environmental, economic, historical and social terms, but they are subject to increasing pressure and serious threats of pollution from agriculture, industry and cities.

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.